A friend for my Spoted Gar

The Spotted Gar was originally native ONLY to the Great Lakes region, and specifically Lake Ontario. Used to be a great sporting fish and I remember my dad fishing for them.

Now it is found all over the US and Canada and is considered native. Gee, wonder how this happened?

People catching them, taking them home, and then releasing them locally cause they are too big to keep. Exactly like OrionGirl said. Unfortunately, it's too late and the Spotted Gar is all over the place.

They grow 3-4 feet and they are total predators and not tropical, as was stated. The Great Lakes get horribly cold during the summer and winter.

Blargh.
Roan
 
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Distribution Map

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There is no catch record for spotted gar, that I could find, in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachussetts, or Conneticut(sp?). That would indicate to me that they are not found here... and it's better it stays that way.


Ich is not the only aquarium disease, nor should it be compared to others. The carrier may be a specie that is not even affected by the disease, so you wouldn't even know.
 
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Regardless of its native state the fish is already in a tank and being cared for by it owner. No fish should just be abandoned unless absolutely nessisary. And because there are so many things that could go wrong a fish should be put back in the wild by anyone other than pro (fish management personal, experts, and researchers). Even professions can cause environmental havoc.
I wonder how large the fish is at the moment. It may take awhile before it needs to be moved to a larger tank.
 
Wyoming has no Spotted Gar. I can say this with great authority, as I am in charge of maintaining the databases for all fish population sampling, stocking, and management for the state. If they were here, it would be in my systems.
 
ok .. i yield to more knowledge than i have on this subject. it's just too bad such fish are sold in the first place.
 
According to your other post you have this little guy in a 15 gallon tank. I would suggest either a much much bigger tank ASAP, or selling it to a LFS for someone with a more accomidating tank to purchase it.
 
liv2padl said:
ok .. i yield to more knowledge than i have on this subject. it's just too bad such fish are sold in the first place.
Click to expand...

The true tragedy is that consumers are ill-informed or foolish enough to purchase such fish without an adequate understanding of their requirements. A healthy gar in a spacious and properly furnished setup, as many of these images evince, is quite the sight.
 
Follow up Post

OK, heres the specs:

a) It is in a 15 gallon tank (hence my user name)

b) I bought it from a reputable pet store, the gar was contained in a tank not much larger than mine. I live in saskatchewan, they are not native to our waters, and I don't plan on releasing this fish in our waters. I think you are under the impression that this was taken from its natural environent, that is not the case.

c) I am asking for advice if you have any on what kind of fish this may be compatible with. The gar is 5 inches long, and the pet store refered to it as a 'marbled gar'. Please do not reply with ethical advice on what to do with the fish or how large it may grow.

Thanks,

Jim
 
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