Why you should keep GAR

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palgo47;2824308; said:
could anyone tell me what is the minimum tank size for a gar to live happily? im planin to keep one but not sure if my 5ft tank would be large enough..thanks!

oh btw those ars look amazingly awesome!
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Depends what the width of the tank is as they cant turn very easily, id say an ideal tank size would be 8x3x3 might get away with 8x30"x2ft (LxWxH) for smaller species like floridas/spotted and maybe short nose but the larger species will need much bigger homes in the long run, and i dont think aligators are at all suitable as they will easily top 5ft and in the wild they have been recorded at 10ft++
A florida/spotted gar maybe ok in your tank for a while if you buy one at a smaller size but id get an 8ft
 
Tom500;2824411; said:
Depends what the width of the tank is as they cant turn very easily, id say an ideal tank size would be 8x3x3 might get away with 8x30"x2ft (LxWxH) for smaller species like floridas/spotted and maybe short nose but the larger species will need much bigger homes in the long run, and i dont think aligators are at all suitable as they will easily top 5ft and in the wild they have been recorded at 10ft++
A florida/spotted gar maybe ok in your tank for a while if you buy one at a smaller size but id get an 8ft
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whattt....imo florida's wouldn't need much more than say, a 6x3x2. or at least a minimum of 5x2.5x2. but to say 8x2.5x2 is a minimum is somewhat of an exaggeration. cubans and trops don't really need much more than 3ft wide, perhaps 4ft wide to be really comfortable.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=109. post if you have more qns on GAR:D
 
xander;2824463; said:
whattt....imo florida's wouldn't need much more than say, a 6x3x2. or at least a minimum of 5x2.5x2. but to say 8x2.5x2 is a minimum is somewhat of an exaggeration. cubans and trops don't really need much more than 3ft wide, perhaps 4ft wide to be really comfortable.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=109. post if you have more qns on GAR:D
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I have an 18" florida and he got there fairly quickly i think that any fish, especially one that cant turn very well that gets to 18" or more will need an 8x2.5x2 minimum otherwise it just isnt fair, anyone that keeps any true gar species in a 5ft tank is stupid (once they get large) and need to upgrade. And yes like i said others need a much larger tank like you said 3ft-4ft width, any fish you keep should be "really comfortable"
 
Tom500;2824653; said:
I have an 18" florida and he got there fairly quickly i think that any fish, especially one that cant turn very well that gets to 18" or more will need an 8x2.5x2 minimum otherwise it just isnt fair, anyone that keeps any true gar species in a 5ft tank is stupid (once they get large) and need to upgrade. And yes like i said others need a much larger tank like you said 3ft-4ft width, any fish you keep should be "really comfortable"
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so you're saying that a 3" gar should be given a 150/180 gal tank to ensure it's "really comfortable"?

with florida gars you wouldn't need anything close to 8ft long. in fact, a 5x4ft footprint is more than enough, or even prefered compared to an 8x2.5. all the gars pictured in this thread are in a 5ft tank, and i assure you they are "really comfortable"

"minimum" and "really comfortable" are actually 2 completely different things that you seem to have confused for having the same meaning. an 8' long tank would definately be impressive by any standards, but not really necessary for gar. as Solomon previously mentioned, width is more important for these fish, and a 6x4 would be prefered compared to an 8x3
 
Weylin;2824273; said:
My biggest tank right now is a 36x18x18..which i don't think is big enough for a single florida / spotted..
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ah you could keep one of those pike cichlid spotted crocodile gar thingys instead...:nilly:
 
To be honest.. gars is the hardest fish to find... they come and go... cuz most places that do have them.. are off limit to export.. or illegal

i too know a few places with nice gars.. but the owner wants about $300 for a 7"... i think thats crazy...
 
cause all true gars are illegal in cali i believe?

ah....get a new tank damnit!!
 
I´ve never payed much attention to gars but I must say that your fish are absolutely stunning. Nice monsters. They´re def on my list for future purchases now.
 
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