My little "Gator"

[grumpa]

He's a Florida Alligator Gar, about 20 inches or so, in a 100 gallon tank.
Have had him 15 years or so since he was a small fry, love him to death, he follows my movements about the room like a dog.

Our garden ponds provide him with plenty of minnows, tadpoles and frogs, he will out live me I'm sure as no one really knows exactly how long they could live depending on environment and so forth.
His particular species can getup to 4ft in the wild but I think this is about how big he will get in this particular aquarium.

Cheers, Jim

[JR]

I could suggest some people you could feed it with !

[Guest]

That is s beautiful fish Jim :smiling3:.

[Jim R]

Hi Jim
After 15 years he really is part of the family :thumb2:
Jim

[grumpa]

I could suggest some people you could feed it with !

Now, now John, no politics, remember?

[grumpa]

That is s beautiful fish Jim :smiling3:.

Thanks Ralph, he's not a very good tank mate for other fish though, even those much too big for him to eat.
He has a ravenous appetite and gets mighty mean when hungry and will slash at anything that moves.
With a mouth full of needle sharp teeth he can inflict some real damage.

Over the years I learned the hard way (not to mention the other poor fish) that he is best kept alone.


[ATTACH]353396[/ATTACH]

There are several species of gar, all from Southern US, the Alligator Gar is the biggest and are one of the worlds hardest fighting fish on rod and reel, though many bow hunt
them... they can be quite dangerous once landed for obvious reasons.
[ATTACH]353397[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]353398[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]353399[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]353400[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]353401[/ATTACH]

EVRYTHING'S BIGGER IN TEXAS !!!!!

[bilbo]

So thats another area of the world eliminated from the skinny dipping world championships...

Do they attack humans in the wild? They look like they would inflict some serious damage if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time?

[Si Benson]

Beautiful creature you have Jim, he looks healthy in his tank:thumb2:

I used to have tropical fish myself and brought two pangasius catfish.


Stupidly, I didn’t research them (the days before the internet) but the guy at the shop told me they would only get to maybe two inches long.

Once they got to 9 inches and the other aquarium fish had all strangely disappeared I realised they needed bigger accommodation :smiling5:

[spanner570]

Serious question Jim. although it might come across as a bit 'Silly'.
Is the flesh edible?

[stillp]

Once they got to 9 inches and the other aquarium fish had all strangely disappeared I realised they needed bigger accommodation :smiling5:

I learnt the rules for keeping fish together: 1.If a fish can fit another in its mouth, it will eat it, and 2. If a fish can't fit another in its mouth, it will try to eat it. I was always impressed by the parental dedication of chichlids, which would lay eggs on a rock, thne for several days take turns fanning water over them while the other kept other fish away, but as the eggs hatched the parents would chase and eat the fry!
Pete

[minitnkr]

Yours seems to have more effective camo than those others pictured. I wonder how old they were. PaulE

[grumpa]

So thats another area of the world eliminated from the skinny dipping world championships...

Do they attack humans in the wild? They look like they would inflict some serious damage if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time?

There really isn't a rash of such attacks but some folks have gotten some nasty gashes.
Locals know not to get too foolish in and around certain gar infested waters, by the way we have some turtles
that can leave one with less parts leaving the water than one came in with.

[ATTACH]353505[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]353506[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]353507[/ATTACH]

[grumpa]

Yours seems to have more effective camo than those others pictured. I wonder how old they were. PaulE

As they get older their colors tend to fade as once they attain a certain size they have no natural predators, not even real alligators, hence no need to hide.
They are ambush hunters and slowly glide around like submarines and once in a desired position will wait for suitable prey.
Their strikes are lightning fast and powerful, a real wonder to behold.

[grumpa]

Serious question Jim. although it might come across as a bit 'Silly'.
Is the flesh edible?

Yes Ron, gars are very good eating, the flesh is white, firm and buttery sweet, the bigger the fish the better!


[ATTACH]353508[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]353509[/ATTACH]

[grumpa]

Beautiful creature you have Jim, he looks healthy in his tank:thumb2:

I used to have tropical fish myself and brought two pangasius catfish.
[ATTACH]353412[/ATTACH]

Stupidly, I didn’t research them (the days before the internet) but the guy at the shop told me they would only get to maybe two inches long.

Once they got to 9 inches and the other aquarium fish had all strangely disappeared I realised they needed bigger accommodation :smiling5:

I know that feeling Si, many years ago I purchased a red tailed catfish (from the Amazon river)
Not knowing he would grow into a monster in a couple of years, I had to relinquish him to a hobbyist who had a custom built aquarium in his basement.
He went from this

[ATTACH]353510[/ATTACH]

to this!
[ATTACH]353511[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]353512[/ATTACH]