will a 12" gar attack 8" tankmates?

[new2natives]

so i finally found a florida gar for sale at my LFS!
he is about 10-13" and average size, not too fat, not skinny either

so the tank i want to put him in is coldwater with my sterlets, both of which are about 7"
if i keep it stocked with feeders, will he leave my sterlets alone, or should i just put him in a different tank until they are larger? ?

 

[ozz465]

ive seen 10+ in gars in tanks with 10 3 in loaches and no prob , but thats a rare occurence . most gars are rather ill tempered , may work but most will say no .

 

[CTU2fan]

My FL gar is about 16" and leaves small tankmates alone, but it really depends on the gar (crappy answer I know). My guess is they'd be fine...the gar probably isn't big enough to outright eat them so if he does pick at them you'll have time to observe and separate them.

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

IMO - No...

Main issue thou is COLD water?!?!?

 

[Johny]

cold water??? no

 

[demjor19]

You are trying to keep two fish from totally different environments together. Sturgeon like cool faster moving water...sort of the opposite with a Florida Gar. They are a rather sedentary fish and typically abvoid fast current.

It may work, but probably shouldn't be done. I don't think attacking will be the biggest issue though...

 

[E_americanus]

if the sturgeon are skinny enough (and poorly feeding ones can be) then the gar will likely take them down if it gets hungry. more elongate fishes are the prey of choice for gars. if it were a sunfish of the same length then the body depth would prevent the gar from eating it (difference in body shape).

just because they are called coldwater sterlets doesn't mean he's keeping them in a true coldwater system. what is your tank size, temperature, etc? the sterlets one finds in the aquarium trade are usually the little white sturgeon, which is Acipenser ruthenus. they will do fine in cooler water and don't outright need cold water. gars, in similar fashion can do just fine in cooler temps. if your tank is right around 70-75F both species should be ok temp-wise.

personally, i would keep the sterlets separate and grow them up a bit more (at least a few more inches) then combine them with the gar--
--solomon

 

[demjor19]

if the sturgeon are skinny enough (and poorly feeding ones can be) then the gar will likely take them down if it gets hungry. more elongate fishes are the prey of choice for gars. if it were a sunfish of the same length then the body depth would prevent the gar from eating it (difference in body shape).

just because they are called coldwater sterlets doesn't mean he's keeping them in a true coldwater system. what is your tank size, temperature, etc? the sterlets one finds in the aquarium trade are usually the little white sturgeon, which is Acipenser ruthenus. they will do fine in cooler water and don't outright need cold water. gars, in similar fashion can do just fine in cooler temps. if your tank is right around 70-75F both species should be ok temp-wise.

personally, i would keep the sterlets separate and grow them up a bit more (at least a few more inches) then combine them with the gar--
--solomon

I have kept Sterlets and Florida gar...thus i gave my advice per my personal experience.

I kept my Sterlet at around 74 degrees with good filtration, current, and aeration. I know Florida gar do just fine in the lower-mid 70's, but i still would not house them together. As Solomon said...maybe grow the Sterlet out a bit, then give it a shot.

 

[new2natives]

tank is 125g, temp 68-72 depending on how much i'm running the lights. (usually hovers in the 70-72 range as i run my lights a decent amount)
sand substrate, about 1/3 of the tank has floating plants as topcover
1 HOB, one canister for filtration, and 2 powerheads for surface aggitation / aeration

right now its just 2 6" sterlets (and they are in fact sterlets, not white sturgeon
and the 13" gar, and about 10 comets for him to munch on

 

[E_americanus]

tank is 125g, temp 68-72 depending on how much i'm running the lights. (usually hovers in the 70-72 range as i run my lights a decent amount)
sand substrate, about 1/3 of the tank has floating plants as topcover
1 HOB, one canister for filtration, and 2 powerheads for surface aggitation / aeration

right now its just 2 6" sterlets (and they are in fact sterlets, not white sturgeon
and the 13" gar, and about 10 comets for him to munch on

what is the species of your sterlets as that is not a species but a common name applied to a group of acipenserid fishes?

either way, as jordan also said, i would not house them together at this time since the gar will eventually eat them. it is basic fish ecology that predators will eventually favor frequently encountered larger prey items than numerous smaller prey items...with an abundance of prey, predators will get pickier. for more on this, i suggest reading up on what is called "Fry's Paradigm".

--
--solomon