Share your gar set-ups

[xander]

i wanted to get a collective "what everyone else's doing" thread, so that gar enthusiests can get an insight into how others keep their gar, and what has, and has not worked out so far.

i think there are numerous threads like this on the forum, but i wanted to this one done up and upkept properly this time. i'll put in what you need to post later on, but first, what you shouldn't post on this thread.

Should not's
pointless chatter
more than 1 picture(full tank shot) of your current set up at the time
identification questions
repeated questions or topics
(if i, or anyone else for that matter think of anymore i'll get a mod to add it on later.)

you should post...(just copy n paste the 'template', then change the content to fit your tank)

tank
-tank specs
-filtration
-pH value
-waterchange regime
-feeding regime/ diet
-*extra notes you think are important

fish: do add duration of the co-hab followed by any incidences (constant aggression, food stealing, sudden movements causing gar to speed off & potentially causing injury-solomon i remember there being a term for this is it possible to help refresh my memory-, boisterous behaviour, slime sucking or outright predation to gars in your tank)
-gar: number, species, sizes
-successful tankmates(past or present): co-hab for extended periods of time with few to no incidences
-risky tankmates: co-hab successfully, but with occasional to frequent incidences.
-poor tankmates: from your own experience (please state), or through reading. this point can never be over stated imo.
-incidences: stress, injury or death caused to gars.

i'll be getting a mod to constantly clean up this thread of useless posts, hopefully one day we'll get enough info to make this a sticky.
*please, please take the time to think of a complete, comprehensive and valid post before making one. i'm hoping to be able to use this as a guide for prospective gar keepers, so what you post will matter. posts of poor value or taste will be reported & deleted*

finally, feel free to continue updating your tanks on this thread.

reGARds, xander

-p.s: solomon sorry for borrowing your little joke, couldn't think of another way to sign off

-p.p.s: do let me know if you have a way of improving this or if i've left anything out!

 

[xander]

i'll go first

tank
-5x3(w)x2 12mm glass tank(225gals)
-75gal sump, powered by rio26HF, 1600GPH; 20kg ceremic rings, 20kg crushed coral chips
-7.5 constant
-100 to 150gals out of 300gals(including sump) once or twice a week
-i feed a total of 1-2kg of shrimp & whole smelt throughout the week. i feed between 2 and 5 times a week, the average usually being 2 or 3.
-*i use crushed coral sand as substrate to mantain the stable pH that my cubans need.
-** i keep my tank decor to a minimum and at the lower levels of the tank to allow my gars maximum swimming area. as they are quite large i don't feel such a great need for cover. however, with younger specimens adequate cover is essential for them to feel secure.

fish:
-gar:
:3 22-25inch cuban gars- 2 for a year in the current tank and , 1 for 3 months thus far-no incidences.
:2 16inch florida gars- had them for 2 weeks now, no incidences.

-successful tankmates:
:18" alligator gar- <6 months, no incidences
:10-18" florida gar- <6 months, no incidences
:african arowana(from 10" to 12")- <6 months, no incidences
:10-18", various polypterus species- <6 months, no incidences

-risky tankmates:
:12" barramundi- <3months, repeatedly stole food out of gars mouths, causing them to dart off
:14" indonesian dat- <2months, repeatedly stole food out of gars mouths, causing them to dart off
:12" oscar- 1 day, outright aggression displayed to my cubans.
:12-15" orino bass- <5months, sudden dashes causing gars to follow suit, boisterous feedings occasionally caused gars to dart off

-poor tankmates:
: plecos, flag tails and generally slime sucking fish- it might go fine for periods of time but one attack is all you need to prove fatal for gar
:shiny fish attract unwanted attented, and are usually attacked and shredded by gar

incidences:
deaths:
:12" gator gar- broken back, probably smashed into tank walls. stayed in the tank for 2 to 3 weeks before this happened, tankmates were 3 cuban gars(22-25"), 2 florida gars(16"), lapradei bichir(11"). it's noted (and not just by myself) that this often happens early on when the gar is just added into the tank, and especially with smaller fish. so perhaps with any new addition, keep stress levels low for the time being. you can do this by not switching the lights in the room or tank on or off to suddenly(wait for sun rise or gradually allow smaller sources of lighting first. avoid sudden movements in front of the tank, reduce feedings or water changes (for severly stressed gars)-take note not to let this affect water quality though-, adding additional cover for the time being.) also keep the tank size appropriate, in my case the tank was probably oversized for such a small gar. just goes to show that just because it's worked out before doesn't mean it will again, or that we should neglect taking the appropriate steps to prevent accidents such as this.

 

[poly-nomial]

Wow very nice gars! dont have any gars though...

 

[xander]

c

 

[Spatula]

I would love to write about my tanks and my Gars, but I'm scared to post anything as it might not meet your stringent requirements for an adequate thesis.

 

[xander]

alright, guess im going about the wrong way. comments are fine really, as long as they don't get excessive and foolish. spatula, as i said in the pm, i'm more interested in collaborating the valuable information that's floating around than anything, so in future people won't always have to post "will my oscar be okay with my gar threads." hopefully, they can read from here and gather the info themselves. in other words...post what you got

 

[whiskerlover]

i'll go first

tank
-5x3(w)x2 12mm glass tank(225gals)
-75gal sump, powered by rio26HF, 1600GPH; 20kg ceremic rings, 20kg crushed coral chips
-7.5 constant
-100 to 150gals out of 300gals(including sump) once or twice a week
-i feed a total of 1-2kg of shrimp & whole smelt throughout the week. i feed between 2 and 5 times a week, the average usually being 2 or 3.
-*i use crushed coral sand as substrate to mantain the stable pH that my cubans need.
-** i keep my tank decor to a minimum and at the lower levels of the tank to allow my gars maximum swimming area. as they are quite large i don't feel such a great need for cover. however, with younger specimens adequate cover is essential for them to feel secure.

fish:
-gar:
:3 22-25inch cuban gars- 2 for a year in the current tank and , 1 for 3 months thus far-no incidences.
:2 16inch florida gars- had them for 2 weeks now, no incidences.

-successful tankmates:
:18" alligator gar- <6 months, no incidences
:10-18" florida gar- <6 months, no incidences
:african arowana(from 10" to 12")- <6 months, no incidences
:10-18", various polypterus species- <6 months, no incidences

-risky tankmates:
:12" barramundi- <3months, repeatedly stole food out of gars mouths, causing them to dart off
:14" indonesian dat- <2months, repeatedly stole food out of gars mouths, causing them to dart off
:12" oscar- 1 day, outright aggression displayed to my cubans.
:12-15" orino bass- <5months, sudden dashes causing gars to follow suit, boisterous feedings occasionally caused gars to dart off

-poor tankmates:
: plecos, flag tails and generally slime sucking fish- it might go fine for periods of time but one attack is all you need to prove fatal for gar
:shiny fish attract unwanted attented, and are usually attacked and shredded by gar

incidences:
deaths:
:12" gator gar- broken back, probably smashed into tank walls. stayed in the tank for 2 to 3 weeks before this happened, tankmates were 3 cuban gars(22-25"), 2 florida gars(16"), lapradei bichir(11"). it's noted (and not just by myself) that this often happens early on when the gar is just added into the tank, and especially with smaller fish. so perhaps with any new addition, keep stress levels low for the time being. you can do this by not switching the lights in the room or tank on or off to suddenly(wait for sun rise or gradually allow smaller sources of lighting first. avoid sudden movements in front of the tank, reduce feedings or water changes (for severly stressed gars)-take note not to let this affect water quality though-, adding additional cover for the time being.) also keep the tank size appropriate, in my case the tank was probably oversized for such a small gar. just goes to show that just because it's worked out before doesn't mean it will again, or that we should neglect taking the appropriate steps to prevent accidents such as this.

your gars are beautiful. i had on florida a couple years ago. interested in getting a couple blue ones soon. thanx 4 sharing your pics

 

[Polypterus]

Future fail thread...

No offense Alex but this format (Internet forum) just is not very conductive to information gathering and databasing like this. Tried this many times and it would almost always fall flat. Best to recognize when your beat and just give up trying to make something do what it is not designed or expected to do. Other avenues work better for this type of data collection and databasing.

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

here is mine.....

tank
-72" by 18" by 23" 125gallon
- FX5, filled with biomax
-6.6
-30 to 50% monthly
- Tilapia and shrimp every 2 to 3 days, 12 to 36 feeders monthly
-insects are feed too during summer months when collection is possible
-Favorite treat is large amount of ghost shrimp
-Had floating plants but the gar ate them
-Tank only has a few fake plants to add to the tank and not look too bare
-Sand is light to produce a lighter gar, pattern becomes very light but does produce some very striking and unique markings

fish
-1 florida gar (Gary) 17" at 19 months
-2 florida gar (Vader and Houdini) 13.5" at ~16 months
-1 Shortnose gar (Flash) 14.5" unknow approx age

Successful tankmates
-Just them, they kill anything else. Will try to add bichir here soon

risky tankmates
-Fresh water clam (Gary constantly bit sand when it moved)

Poor tankmates
-Pleco(Gary murderd that thing)
-Large goldfish (even if too large to be eatten the gar will destroy them, I.E. skin them alive, no joke)
-
Problems
- Largest shortnose jumped through a 3" by 2" opening at the filter inlet
-Had a wierd infection of the slime coat on the gar upon comming home from vacation. Not 100% sure on cause. Huge WC and salt cured problem
-Plants are an absolute no-no in my tank. For some reason my 2 younger florida gar eat all plants.

 

[sbuse]

tank
-72"x24"x24"
-a fx5 and a hob pushin 350gph
-7.5
-75% once a week
-every 2 days, mix feeding of shrimp, tillapia, pellets, live wc minnows(once a month)

had a 13" common pleco that was fine for the longest time, then it started to attack my gar...my pacu some times goes crashing into the sides of the tank, if the gar is in the path of the pacu it will dart off...

-gar: 1-15" fl gar
-successful tankmates(past or present): bala sharks, tinfoil barbs, silver aro, jd, tsn, ck
-risky tankmates: silver aro, small catfish or bullheads mine loves to eat them
-poor tankmates: common pleco...over time it will start to atack your gar..
-incidences: moving a gar tank to tank, they are slithery and jumpy can easily jump or slip out onto the floor...pet store did this to mine...hit the center brace in the tank, i filled the tank to high and when it came up for air smaked its nose on the brace...did this a few times...