growth rate?

[Bsixxx]

whats the growth rate been like for your spotted and or florida gars?

because my little spotted gar has grown about only 2" in the 3 months ive had it and he used to be in a 55 for only about 2 months since I had him but then moved to my 210

but my 16" florida has gown about an 1" since I got him about 3 weeks ago!!

so my question is are these normal? and how long till my spotted gar gets to be 16"?

 

[Bsixxx]

anyone?

 

[santoury]

All I know is that they don't seem to grow fast. I have had several a long time ago, and that is when I was still using 55's as "big tanks" lol - But they did get fed A LOT - so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they are slow growers. They were FL / Spotted.

 

[Bsixxx]

hmm
well thank you

 

[demjor19]

mine averaged about an 1-1.5 inches a month up until he was 17 inches.
i would say a healthy florida/spotted should be growing pretty quickly.
what is his diet and tank temp?

 

[Miguel]

My Spotted's growth rate pales in comparison with the Gator's... Spotted hardly grow.....

 

[demjor19]

My Spotted's growth rate pales in comparison with the Gator's... Spotted hardly grow.....

yeah, but look at what you are comparing it to. thats kinda like comparing a grass pickerel to a northern pike. gators get to be giants...im sure you know they have been known to reach a wild max of 10+ feet and the florida/spotted gar at 3+ feet. thats a huge difference. surely the gators growth will overshadow the florida/spotted gar growth.

 

[E_americanus]

All I know is that they don't seem to grow fast. I have had several a long time ago, and that is when I was still using 55's as "big tanks" lol - But they did get fed A LOT - so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they are slow growers. They were FL / Spotted.

the starting point of growth is a major piece of information needed in order to judge whether your gar is growing relatively normally, or faster or slower.

that being said, gars, in general are fast growers, and definitely not slow. jordan's (demjor) comment would be correct, especially if viewed from the starting point of young of the year 2" individuals.

gars in general will grow pretty quickly from 1-2" to 10"...usually in just a matter of a couple months. from this point onward, their growth rates slow down a bit and differ from species to species.

the gator gar has by far the fastest growth rate of the family, and can often reach 3' in just the first year. spotted/Florida gars, on the other hand, generally stay around 14" in their first year, give or take a few inches. longnoses can quickly reach 12-14", and easily hit 16" in their first year.

so as you can see, these rates differ from one species to another, but as a family, gars have a very fast initial growth rate. where they slow down and what they grow out to in their first year (or years) of captivity then depends on species. hope that helps--
--solomon

 

[Bsixxx]

the starting point of growth is a major piece of information needed in order to judge whether your gar is growing relatively normally, or faster or slower.

that being said, gars, in general are fast growers, and definitely not slow. jordan's (demjor) comment would be correct, especially if viewed from the starting point of young of the year 2" individuals.

gars in general will grow pretty quickly from 1-2" to 10"...usually in just a matter of a couple months. from this point onward, their growth rates slow down a bit and differ from species to species.

the gator gar has by far the fastest growth rate of the family, and can often reach 3' in just the first year. spotted/Florida gars, on the other hand, generally stay around 14" in their first year, give or take a few inches. longnoses can quickly reach 12-14", and easily hit 16" in their first year.

so as you can see, these rates differ from one species to another, but as a family, gars have a very fast initial growth rate. where they slow down and what they grow out to in their first year (or years) of captivity then depends on species. hope that helps--
--solomon

yeah that helps kinda

just wondering if my little gar is growing slow or normal

I got him like around 6-7 inches and now he is like 9.5 -10 " and getting pretty chuncky

 

[demjor19]

yeah that helps kinda

just wondering if my little gar is growing slow or normal

I got him like around 6-7 inches and now he is like 9.5 -10 " and getting pretty chuncky

as long as his diet and tank parameters are ok then dont worry about it. you are doing all you can. that seems a little slow to me, but if all of the above are ok then that's fine. do you have any pics of the little guy?