Alligator Gar

[CFC]

I'd be 99% certain its not a aligator gar, it "could" be a crocodile gar which is a aligator/florida hybrid, there were a few around a couple of years ago because i bought one thinking it was a true florida. To be absolutely sure catch the fish and open up its mouth, 2 rows of teeth and its a aligator or a cross of one, single row of teeth and its a florida.

Anyway heres your gar compared to aligator, Florida and crocodile gars. I'm sticking with Florida gar, the snout is wrong to be a aligator and the markings dont match.

Yours

Aligator

Florida

Crocodile

The source of the pictures http/www.primitivefish.com/Gars.htm

 

[cane76]

look at the 3rd and 5th pictures of the juvenile alligator gars in your link.thats my gar for sure

 

[andywg]

Surely the easy answer is to check the mouth. If it is an Alligator it will have two rows of teeth in the upper jaw, as that is disitinctive of the Atractosteus genus.

 

[cane76]

i really dont fancy trying to look in its mouth but if its the only way to be sure

 

[cane76]

looks like i have a gator gar then it has 2 rows of teeth on the upper jaw

 

[CFC]

It could still be the hybrid crocodile gar, it looks nothing like the aligator gars they have/had at wildwoods which are a much more olive green and have far fewer spots as well as very short broad snouts.

 

[csr mel]

this is interesting, i live in florida. there are probably millions of these gar around. i have cought quite a few on accident while fishing for other species.

in alot of florida gar are considered "trash" because they are not easy to eat, (although easy to catch) and they consume the prey of other more noble fish like the largemouth bass which is prized by alot of fishermen. becuase of this, people who catch gar often throw them up on the bank and leave them to die and dry out in the sun. there are places in the glades where i have seen thousands upon thousands of gar skeletons on the banks of canals. you can drive down the canalside and see gar skeleton faster than you can count them. inspite of this, gar are everywhere. i dont think they could be overfished.

i actually had a gar skeleton at one point mounted on a piece of wood in my house although ive never killed any.

to catch a gar is quite easy, all one needs to do is dangle a shiny unbaited hook in the water. seems they are facinated with shiny things.

 

[cane76]

i should start trying to rehome it now i suppose before it grows to big but who the hell wants a 10 foot fish?i wouldnt want to give it to someone else who cant look after it properly but what choice is there?its sad but this great predetory fish is bound to end up in a tank way to small

 

[fisherizer]

They have 2 in petsmart and 2 in Cape Maid Farms where i live.... they cant sell them...they look awesome though. They also had a HUGE clown knife at Cape Maid a while ago...and a pirhana

 

[kubora666]

i recently sold my 2ft florida gar. he was a lovely fish, but he was so predatory and impulsive. i could no longer get hold of his faverite lives and he declined to eat aas often, then he killed anotehr fish so i sold him, hes doing great in his new home, but it was such a brilliant fish to own.
now all i have is the Hujeta gar, anyone got any info on them?
they are infact a type of characin.

 

[jamie2010]

i sawe a fishing magazine article on the gar your talking about.MASSIVE.they fish for them in the states,dont think they are native tho.they kill them as vermin.

 

[cane76]

yeah i think bowfishing is popular with gars they may aswell just use a gun

 

[T1KARMANN]

Cane now you have a big tank you have a new problem

when fish out grow the tank you use to have they were still fairly easy to rehome as most of them would be fine in a 6x2x2ft tank which is the largest tank most people have

but now when you fish out grow your new tank they will be a lot harder to rehome as the new tank is bigger than the average 6x2x2ft so when the fish are to big for you they will be to big for others to find a tank for

 

[cane76]

your right thats why i never wanted any fish thats gonna outgrow my new tank

 

[T1KARMANN]

your right thats why i never wanted any fish thats gonna outgrow my new tank

i cant wait to see that new tank set up

the problem with gars is they are a lot less bendy as an a aro and they need a lot more space to turn around than you think

a 2ft aro can easy turn around in a 2ft wide tank a 2ft gar cant