randysr1

I have had our 50gal tank for about 2 months now and I bought it second hand. It came with one goldfish and 2 GARS that I can not find out what type of GARS they are. They are very picky eaters and only eat live feeder or minnows. They won't touch any worms or fish food that I put in the tank. I got tired of buying a dozen feeders at a time so I tried a small scoop of minnows, most of them died so after they were ate in 2 days, I bought another scoop from the bait shop again. To my amazement, all but 5 lived and now I have over 80 minnows running around. The GARS love it but I am checking the tank every other day now to make sure they don't choke out the 3 goldfish I now have.
What I would like to know is...how bad are the minnows for the tank and what kind of GARS these are. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks...

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TheEssigs

HI Randy... It looks like an alligator gar, IMO... from the picture... and if it is, OMG. They are one of the largest freshwater fish around, I think they get approx 10 feet in length. I read that most gars are slow growers, but I cant be positive. I know that gars in general, shouldnt mind water params that much and can tolerate a pretty wide spectrum of water conditions, but they are true moster fish. You really need to get an acurate identification. Maybe TOM or ChiefWaterchanger can help you, they are really great at fish ID.

Good Luck!!

JMatt1983

this link should help, its about alligator gar, they do grow quite large, if you can't find somewhere to house it, you could always have a fish fry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_gar

susitna-flower

Hi Randy, WELCOME to FISHLORE.

Looks like someone gave you their problem. A 50 gallon tank is WAY to small to consider keeping fish like a GAR. Much less two and a gold fish.....

I know someone here will have a good answer as to just what kind these are, but my suggestion if you are not ready, willing, and able to get a really big tank, you should start looking for a home for them.......Since they are white, and not the same coloration of the native Gar, I would think maybe they are bred for tanks, but just like so many fish we see, it may be intended for aquariums, but not practical for one. Good Luck

JMatt1983

[quote=susitna-flower;302168Since they are white, and not the same coloration of the native Gar, I would think maybe they are bred for tanks, but just like so many fish we see, it may be intended for aquariums, but not practical for one. Good Luck[/QUOTE]



many game fish take on the colouration of their environment, especially fish that stalk their prey like the gar, i could show you two bass, one caught in a rocky enviro, and the other from a weedy enviro, the one from the rocky enviro will be paler, the one from the weeds will be a dark green colour. you could be right in that it was bred to be white, but IMO its white to blend into its environment

steveangela1

That does look like an aligator gar, the same type we have here in TN in our lakes. I know for a fact they will heat shiner minnows because that is what we fish for bass w/ and I have caught gar before w/ the minnow. They are very aggressive towards their food! Its fun to watch them eat in their natural enviroment! (I have seen gar all my life at the lake! I have seen them as big as 5 foot long)

randysr1

Thank you all for the help.
I will be trying to learn more as I go as I haven't had a tank in over 30 years.
I have taken a good look at the fish again and they don't have the alligator looking head markings unless it is very light. One of them are silver in color and the other is a real light silver, almost white color. So I do believe that maybe they took on the color of their surroundings.
Someone called them a "Silver Gar".
I am willing to get a much larger tank if they start to grow much more. Right now they are about 8 inches long.
They are not very aggressive towards other fish unless they are hungry, which is about every 4 days.
They are fun to watch trying to get their prey. They move slow and then burst with speed to grab a minnow by the tail.

steveangela1

sorry to respond over a month later to this thread...
You should be out on a lake in tn and see the ones 5 feet long swimming going after fish.... its awesome! (annoying when you are bassfishing like we do) but on a 90 degree day waiting for it to cool in a cove... we sit and play around w/ minnows throwing them out to the gar...

randysr1

I would love to see gar that big in the wild. These I have a growing real slow but the goldfish are growing as fast as weeds.
I put in 100 feeder fish and the gar, one large goldfish and the perch ate them all in three days!
I think I have to start thinking about a fish fry?

haji4

Looks like you have a short nosed gar. Thay can get up to 5 feet. That size is not typical for a tank raised fish. They like guppys and guppy fry. Very cool fish. Enjoy it

randysr1

Thank you all for the information.
After paying out way too much on feeder fish for the gar, I was able to trade them in for other fish.
I was so excited about getting more fish, I forgot to pay attention to what kind they are.
I will check and find out what I now have, but I am very happy I found this site to help me out.
Until later,
Randy-

susitna-flower

Randy, just checked this old post as it was updated, and am glad to see you traded your gar.

What DID you end up with?

I'm with you, it gets expensive to feed some of those monster fish...

Today I moved some Java moss from my Cherry Red Shrimp tank over to my 125, and to my dismay 5 CRS were hitching a ride, swiftly to be gobbled up! $10 down the tubes.....It wasn't even the balas, but some sweet little, non assuming, rainbows, that did the dirty deed!

steveangela1

This summer I will post pics of gar on the lake eating.. they will chase shad accross the lake on top of the water.... I will try to download a video or two... from here in TN