Possible new gar!!!

[Demjor19]

i was on craigs list a few days ago and found an ad for a 75 gallon fish tank...in the tank was a pair of gar. one is definitely a Florida/Spotted gar, but the other appears to be a Shortnose gar (the pics were kind of crappy). i have wanted a shortnose gar for a quite some time now and this one would be big enough to keep up with the rest of my gar. anyway i am going tonight to look at the fish and if it turns out to be a shorty i will indeed be adding him to my gar community tank!!! i'm very excited and just wanted to share...if i get the fish i will be sure to share some pics to you guys and girls.

[angelcakes]

will look forward to the pics if you get the gar............:19:

[Adrian]

short nose gar? I caught one of them the other day. It was in the 2 and a half foot range. There is a pond not far from here, where I love to fish, and it has gar in it. The buddy I fish with, told me that they get big. Like monster sized. I do not think a gar can live in a 75 gallon tank. As I said, the one I caught was 2 and a half feet long, and it was a juvie.

They are neat looking, but watch out for the teeth. I got shredded when trying to take the lure out of its mouth. YIKES!!!

[Demjor19]

short nose gar? I caught one of them the other day. It was in the 2 and a half foot range. There is a pond not far from here, where I love to fish, and it has gar in it. The buddy I fish with, told me that they get big. Like monster sized. I do not think a gar can live in a 75 gallon tank. As I said, the one I caught was 2 and a half feet long, and it was a juvie.

They are neat looking, but watch out for the teeth. I got shredded when trying to take the lure out of its mouth. YIKES!!!

ive been keeping gar for quite a few years now and consider myself well educated on their behavior and care requirements. it's important to mention that these fish RARELY even reach 20" in captivity. also i would be "rescuing" this fish from the 75 gallon and placing it in my 180 gallon tank.

[Lady Hobbs]

Looking forward to those pictures.

[Demjor19]

Looking forward to those pictures.

well...i got the gar and more than i bargained for!!!! i ended up buying the entire 75 gallon setup with all the fish that were in it!!! all the fish were so under fed and on a very poor diet that i ended up feeling bad for them, so i picked all of them up. the list includes a 15" Lima Shovelnose catfish (Amazing), 15" Florida/Spotted gar, 10" Common Pleco, and of course the 16" Shortnose gar. im tired after moving the tank and all the fish, so the pics should be up tomorrow. i just thought i would tease you all for a night!

[Lady Hobbs]

WOW! Those have got to be some kind of fish. I can't wait to see the pictures. Glad you rescued them and will be getting a humungous tank before long!

[cocoa_pleco]

wow, that guy had all of those fish in a 75g? poor shovelnose!

[Demjor19]

these fish all need some tlc, but i'll start working with them tomorrow. the previous owner didnt even know how to do a water change or how to operate his filtration system. i can only imagine what the water parameters were like. the shortnose gar is by far in the worst shape of them all...its soooo skinny.

also while i was moving the fish, i got stuck by the catfish's pointed fin. it stabbed me right between my knuckles and went in about 1/4"...OUCH! i couldnt open or close my hand for a few hours!

anyway i will try to post some pics tomorrow after the new fish have settled in.

[Demjor19]

here are a few quick crappy pics i took saturday night. i have been too busy moving tanks around to really get some good photos.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN7256.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN7254.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN7252.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN7248.jpg

please excuse the algae on the backwall of the tank...i leave it there for the trumpet snails and pleco to snack on. lol!

[MandyL]

Man they are funny creatures! That second pic is great, nice pig-nose there!

[Demjor19]

update on the gar...i finally got the new gar to start eating last night. shortnose gar tend to be the most skittish and most difficult gar to work with, so i feel pretty good about getting him to eat shrimp in less than a week. once i get the fish a little more healthy i'll be sure to post some more pics of the progress.