I do have them, and funnily enough, I just wrote a piece over the weekend for Tropical Fish Finder that should go up any day now. In any event, there's a photo
here of one of my specimens the day after it was purchased from Wildwoods.
Rocket gar are neither rockets nor gar. The "rocket" part of their name refers to their tendency to throw themselves around the tank (or out of the tank) when alarmed. You have been warned!
They are lunge predators, but when kept with species they can't swallow whole, are very peaceful. They are sociable and work well in groups, probably better than singly. They like strong water currents and floating plants. Do not keep with aggressive or territorial tankmates. Oddly perhaps, my specimens are working remarkably well with South American puffers; apart from the odd nip, the two species ignore each other, though the SAPs are not beyond stealing food from the
Ctenolucius.
Contrary to popular belief, they are not obligate piscivores. They are easily maintained on frozen foods. My specimens were being *hand fed* seafood and lancefish within 24 hours of purchase. Use long-nose forceps though, since they're a bit leery about getting too close to your hands. As with any predator, vary the diet as much as possible, and take care to avoid offering too many thiaminase-rich foods. Similarly, don't use live feeder fish other than ones you've bred yourself, and never use minnows or goldfish, just thiaminase-free fish species such as livebearers, killis, or cichlid fry.
Mine are maintained in moderately hard, slightly basic water (a 50/50 mix of tap water and rainwater).
Once settled, they are hardy and grow rapidly. They've been in the trade for ages. I first kept one (sold as a brackish water fish!) around 1990, and according to Baensch, they were first imported in 1905.
Ctenolucius hujeta is the "easy" species in the family, the
Boulengerella spp. you see from time to time are bigger (sometimes MUCH bigger) and a little more delicate.
Cheers, Neale
