Hello everyone,
I know similiar threads had been made in the past, however they never really lead up to anything and there might be new experience people could share.
I am currently planning a pond of about 120-150m² area and a depth of over 2m in the deeper parts. And since gar are some of my favourite fish I would love to add some once it starts to balance out ecologically. I do think that this is large enough to support Handful, since the density of life in ponds around here is pretty high and their metabolism isn't that high once the are no longer juvenile.
In terms of climate the water does go to around 6-8°C in the Winter with a few days to weeks of ice cover and 4°C, but the upper layers will warm up to 26°C and higher in the summer, so comparable to the north-eastern US.
I think that true spotted gar might do well in these conditions, however you can not buy them here since noone imports them.
The only 2 species that are readily available here are true alligator gars and alledged spotted gars.
While I really like the true spatula, they are just way to big and I am not sure how they would handle the winters, they might do fine with a few days of ice, but overall it is below 15°C for a few Months.
The alledged Spotted gars are Florida Gars that were bred in Asia. In some Forum someone claimed that they can handle Ice too, but I don't know how true that claim is. But I can say from experience that they are very hardy.
For some reason the shop I used to buy them also gets some Shortnose (Hybrids?) with each import. They have a longer body for the same head, different colour and pattern, grow faster and are more aggressive (at least the 2 times I kept them). Shortnose gar go farther north than Florida, but how will Hybrids do and can they breed ?
Sometimes Longnose gar are available too, but it is very inconsistant and the prices all over the place. As of now they would be my pick since they go quite far north aswell and feed on smaller fish, however they grow quite big and are usually in larger bodys of water.
Are there any thoughts or experiences you Guys might be able to add? Is it possible, doomed or do I need to try to find out ?
I know similiar threads had been made in the past, however they never really lead up to anything and there might be new experience people could share.
I am currently planning a pond of about 120-150m² area and a depth of over 2m in the deeper parts. And since gar are some of my favourite fish I would love to add some once it starts to balance out ecologically. I do think that this is large enough to support Handful, since the density of life in ponds around here is pretty high and their metabolism isn't that high once the are no longer juvenile.
In terms of climate the water does go to around 6-8°C in the Winter with a few days to weeks of ice cover and 4°C, but the upper layers will warm up to 26°C and higher in the summer, so comparable to the north-eastern US.
I think that true spotted gar might do well in these conditions, however you can not buy them here since noone imports them.
The only 2 species that are readily available here are true alligator gars and alledged spotted gars.
While I really like the true spatula, they are just way to big and I am not sure how they would handle the winters, they might do fine with a few days of ice, but overall it is below 15°C for a few Months.
The alledged Spotted gars are Florida Gars that were bred in Asia. In some Forum someone claimed that they can handle Ice too, but I don't know how true that claim is. But I can say from experience that they are very hardy.
For some reason the shop I used to buy them also gets some Shortnose (Hybrids?) with each import. They have a longer body for the same head, different colour and pattern, grow faster and are more aggressive (at least the 2 times I kept them). Shortnose gar go farther north than Florida, but how will Hybrids do and can they breed ?
Sometimes Longnose gar are available too, but it is very inconsistant and the prices all over the place. As of now they would be my pick since they go quite far north aswell and feed on smaller fish, however they grow quite big and are usually in larger bodys of water.
Are there any thoughts or experiences you Guys might be able to add? Is it possible, doomed or do I need to try to find out ?
The pond will now be ready for fish next spring/ summer. 
