Gar in outdoor pond

adamfs12

adamfs12

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Apr 17, 2005
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Thinking of expanding my pond (currently 150 gallons) to about 5x10 feet and 2 feet deep. I want to put a couple of spotted gar in there or would it be better to just go with shortnosed gar? I'm also thinking of having a bowfin or two in there or maybe some local fish. Also, what type of catfish do you think could survive in cold water that would do well in this size pond? I'm probably only going to go with a few of the listed fish because I don't want to overstock and then have to find a new home for giant gar.

Also, what would be some good pond plants that are hardy and will help keep the water clean?
 
make it three feet deep. i don't know where you live but all the catfish that live in my area could survive in a pond like that, but it doesn't freeze that often here and we never have a hard freeze for a very long period of time. Your biggest problem with this tank will be aggression. You need all of your fish to be about the same size. Some albino channel cats would be good because they would showup really well but if they are not big they will get eaten by the gars or bowfin. I take it you realize you will be purchasing a lot of goldfish or shiners. Where do you live and how cold does it get there?
 
Those are some cool fish esp the gars I remember seeing them when i was over in the states years ago they look like they belong in a different age.

Im not sure if these will grow year-round in your area and you may need to bring them inside over winter- water hyacinth would be top of the list of water purifiers, but its an invasive weed in places. Water lettuce is also good and to a lesser extent duckweed. you should allow these plants to cover 1/3 or more of the surface. You'll need to remove masses of plant matter each week in the summer but they makes great compost.

another way to go is make a vegetable filter, I find upflow systems work the best. You can grow all kinds of marginal plants in these depending on the climate and the size of the filter. for best results make it about 1/4 the size of the surface of the pond.
heres a link to some diy vege filters /www.iheartmypond.com/Design/DIY/Filters/VegetableFilters/
good luck with your new pond
 
Be carefull with Gar. They are nasty fish that will tear stuff up pretty easily.
 
You could probably do a mix of both shortnose and spotted gars. I also really like Florida gars, you could put one (or more) of those in your Outdoor Gar-den :rolleyes:

Also, gars are very skittish and could easily injure themselves by smashing into the glass.

If you need info on gars, you could looks at www.aquaticpredators.com ; they have a whole forum on them.
 
I live in Central Texas so freezing will rarely be a problem. And I'm thinking of expanding upon my original design so that I could keep longnosed gar, how big should I make the pond so that longnosed gar can healthily live in it? And, what is the coolest coldwater catfish that you would recommend for this size pond?
 
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I was just looking at a thread in the freshwater section about an 8ft gar- with pictures! I cannot believe they get that big, some over 10ft.
 
Only alligator gars get that big, the next largest is the longnose gars which max out at around 69".
 
I would think at least 3 ft. deep, just to keep some cooler water. Are there any state regulations about keeping such fish outdoors where you live? I wouldn't be tellin' my neighbors or anything, just in case!!!
 
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