Alligator Gar

[willtang3000]

well they grow about 7-8foot in captivity but larger in the wild as they have more room.Iam pretty sure it would be very expensive to keep a gar in a pond as oyu would need some pretty high watt heaters and electricity doesnt come cheap

 

[jayjay]

There are reports of RTC's getting 8' so 10' isn't much more

 

[nmonks]

I wouldn't recommend getting an alligator gar for the home. While only exceptionally do they get to ~140 kilos and 3 metres long, a more typical "big fish" is still around 70 kilos and about 2 metres long. That's still a massive fish. In an aquarium, it might only get to half that, but a metre long fish is still way bigger than any aquarist can handle easily (or safely -- these things are exceptionally strong and armed with sharp teeth).

http/filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Summary/Speci...ary.php?id=1073
http/www.thejump.net/2fishphoto/fish5.htm

Look out for a Florida gar, which seem to get to 60-90 cm in aquaria. They're much more manageable, and in my experience should do fine in a 200 gallon tank wide enough for them to turn around in.

If you don't have the space, there are various characins, needlefish, and even halfbeaks that do the same kind of thing as gars but in smaller sizes. There's a very nice brackish/marine halfbeak on the market right now, which at 15-20 cm makes a very cool alternative.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[cane76]

if they are alligator gar i wont get them but if they are spotted gar i just might

 

[CFC]

The gars in the waterlife center are Florida gars not aligators, aligator gars have a shorter broader snout and a double row of teeth in the jaw where as all other gars have a single row.

 

[ringham]

Aligator gars look gr8 alhough admitidly not great for keepig with fish lol.

Also when I was in Florida I caught a Florida gar when fishing. Of course I let it go after a few seconds of marveling at myself for catching something 2' on my second go ever at fishing.

 

[cane76]

i knew they wernt gators.is that a good price for a florida gar?

 

[CFC]

You can usually pick them up a bit cheaper, around £25 seems to be average but they are a fairly good size already so the higher price tag can be justified if you need to buy larger fish.

 

[cane76]

im going to get the larger one this afternoon if its still there.do you visit there often are they a good lfs?its the first time ive been there

 

[CFC]

To be honest its probably about the worst LFS in the area, the only reason i pop in there is because my mrs goes there for the reptiles and inverts place next door, the staff are pretty ignorant and the state of some of the tanks and fish are awfull at times, they also stock dyed glass fish from time to time.

Have you still got the jardini? If you have then it wont take kindly to another surface predator in the tank and there will be violence.

 

[nmonks]

CFC, I almost PMed you to ask what you though of the place. Twenty years ago it wasn't bad, and had some really nice stuff. Amazing marines, my dad even got a slipper lobster there once. Hadn't been there since, and went back about a year ago, but was very diasppointed. The big shark aquarium has vanished, and they seem to have lots of little tanks with grim fish.

It's a shame really. Another victim of the Maidenhead Aquatics spread?

Neale

To be honest its probably about the worst LFS in the area, the only reason i pop in there is because my mrs goes there for the reptiles and inverts place next door...

 

[CFC]

I think its more a case of only paying minimum wage so not being able to employ anyone who actually gives a damn about the shop and the stock, i enquired about a managers job going there some years ago and it was only paying £12,500 a year, you have to really love the hobby to be prepared to work hard for that kind of money.

 

[cane76]

i only went there to get meal worms for my gecko too and popped in on the off chance.staff were pretty useless.reptile shop on the other hand had good fresh live food and seemed like a good shop.my jardini wont be sharing with the gar or any other fish for that matter hes to aggresive i have tried tank mates but they get battered.it even attacks the kids through the glass

 

[Kuhni]

How much did the alligator gar cost in britain? 25 pounds???!!!

The only time I seen them here in Western Australia was for $699 AUD....................

 

[cane76]

CFC are you sure about them being florida gar?people on another forum are saying it is a gator gar for sure