# Alligator Gar @ BA Mississauga



## j0209 (Nov 27, 2010)

18" Alligator Gar was traded in today, no price yet.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

j0209 said:


> 18" Alligator Gar was traded in today, no price yet.


If it's more than $15 only a sucker would buy it.

Worst fish I've ever owned. The two went from a few inches to almost 2' in a years time and I had to give them away fir free because who really wants a fish that try's to eat anything that moves no one lol


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## TLe041 (Feb 9, 2010)

What the heck is anyone supposed to do with this thing long-term? Keep it in a swimming pool?


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## dynamite07 (Oct 16, 2010)

lol that's crazy! I never thought I'd ever see this in a LFS. I guess anything is possible...


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

TLe041 said:


> What the heck is anyone supposed to do with this thing long-term? Keep it in a swimming pool?


They can always give to to Outdoors World at Vaughan Mills.


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## j0209 (Nov 27, 2010)

lol I was going to feed it yesterday but they moved it to the big SA tank with other fish. I heard it doesn't eat fish, only pellets. :S


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## TLe041 (Feb 9, 2010)

They might have to move it to the shark tank next. 

Let's see who wins in that fight.


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Saw it this morning, priced for $99.99

looks small for 18"


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

bigfishy said:


> Saw it this morning, priced for $99.99
> 
> looks small for 18"


LOL

That's the worst price I've ever seen for one of these. I really hope no ones pays even half that for this fish.


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## TLe041 (Feb 9, 2010)

They're probably banking on the buyer bringing it back a in a few months so they can resell it again for another $100+.


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## Lee_D (Jun 11, 2010)

What do they look like when they are small? BA in Hamilton has three of them that are about 8 inches long for sale. Didn't notice the price.

Lee


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## mrobson (Mar 5, 2011)

if your talking about the siver ones they arent true gars i have one of those guys in my 55G its a member of the pike family people just call them gars.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

Lee_D said:


> What do they look like when they are small? BA in Hamilton has three of them that are about 8 inches long for sale. Didn't notice the price.
> 
> Lee


They usually have larger spots along their body and the tail has a greenish colour on it. They have a wide snout as well. Easy to tell them sort from Florida or spotted gars.


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## pharmaecopia (Mar 1, 2011)

So it's a true gator gar and not a florida. Anyone know if that big als is willing to negotiate a better price?


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## Naoko (Jan 22, 2011)

Hi,

Probably why it was traded in. Seems like a poor purchase decision by the original owner, even more so for the LFS that originally brought it in 

You would need your own lake to keep one of these.



TLe041 said:


> What the heck is anyone supposed to do with this thing long-term? Keep it in a swimming pool?


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## pharmaecopia (Mar 1, 2011)

You wouldn't need a lake, though a large pond is definitely something you would need. Another thing to keep in mind is the average size they reach. In an aquarium setting most keepers grow theirs to 3-4ft. Most mexican aquaculture facilities don't even raise their stock up to five feet. My main point from all this is that gars grow differently in captivity, their growth does not mirror that of their wild counterparts and they tend to be smaller on average.


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## pharmaecopia (Mar 1, 2011)

Picked up this gar today. A solid 22" and currently housed with my other gator gars.


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## ryno1974 (Dec 6, 2009)

pharmaecopia said:


> Picked up this gar today. A solid 22" and currently housed with my other gator gars.


HOLY CRAP! In what? A swimming pool???


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## pharmaecopia (Mar 1, 2011)

ryno1974 said:


> HOLY CRAP! In what? A swimming pool???


They are currently in a 10' x 4.5' indoor pond, of which a 8' section of length is theirs. Two foot section is a grow out. Getting moved to an outdoor pond as soon as the weather warms up allowing me to make them a bigger pond. Looking to go somewhere between 1500 and 2500 gallons.


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## okoolo (Nov 1, 2009)

I'm green with envy

ps.
any chance of some pics ?


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## pharmaecopia (Mar 1, 2011)

Here's a pic of the new gar, as well as a feeding video of them afterwards. Usually they have a larger appetite. At this point they had already eaten 1/2 a point of food collectively and were a little uninterested. The new gar is around the 50 second mark and is lighter than the others. The gars in the pond range from 18" to 36".


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## okoolo (Nov 1, 2009)

wow .. awsome ... 

I wouldn't put my hand in there, that's for sure


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## pharmaecopia (Mar 1, 2011)

okoolo said:


> wow .. awsome ...
> 
> I wouldn't put my hand in there, that's for sure


They aren't that bad for the most part. I actually hand feed them. The only one I have to watch out for is the fat 2 footer because that one will try to bite me.


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## okoolo (Nov 1, 2009)

hmm If you don't mind me asking what are your long term plans for them? .. they get pretty big


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Awesome! I hope he and the others have a nice and happy life!


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## pharmaecopia (Mar 1, 2011)

okoolo said:


> hmm If you don't mind me asking what are your long term plans for them? .. they get pretty big


One thing to keep in mind is that they do grow quite a bit differently in captivity than the wild, most only getting 3 to 4 feet in an aquarium setting. With that in mind my 3 footers are still growing about a 1/2 inch a month while putting on considerable mass. The smaller ones are growing about an inch a month. The plan is to just keep upgrading ponds as they grow. The next two years would be the most crucial as they are still growing very quickly and keeping up with that will be critical.


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## pharmaecopia (Mar 1, 2011)

bigfishy said:


> Awesome! I hope he and the others have a nice and happy life!


Thank you. Gator gars are my main focus right now and I will provide them with the care these beasts deserve.


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## TLe041 (Feb 9, 2010)

"They grow quite a bit differently in captivity than the wild"

ie. their growth is stunted in your undersized, overstocked enclosure?


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## pharmaecopia (Mar 1, 2011)

TLe041 said:


> "They grow quite a bit differently in captivity than the wild"
> 
> ie. their growth is stunted in your undersized, overstocked enclosure?


This is a temperate water fish not a tropical fish, in the wild. In their natural habitat they go through growth spurts as the weather warms up after the winter, something that is hard to replicate in an aquarium setting. This results in less growth during the early years and results in the fish reaching sexual maturity at an earlier rate. When sexual maturity is reached a fishes growth pattern changes as less energy is put towards growth and more energy is put towards reproductive growth.

This occurs with many fish species and if a species has a wide range those in warmer climates tend to display this as well. Smaller adult sizes in comparison to those from cooler climates.

As far as being overstocked I will agree with that. Though the 400 gallon weekly waterchanges keep water quality in good shape. Also none of these fish were purchased by me as babies. All were purchased at larger sizes when they had already outgrown their current setup. I would also hardly say they are stunted the bigger guys are at most 3 years old and 3 feet long. Perhaps a little smaller than they should be. Regular growth is 24" in the first year with an additional 12" the escond year. When you consider that their previous owner grew the two of them to 30" long in a standard 180 galon aquarium that would explain the relatively small size.


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## j0209 (Nov 27, 2010)

lol i was wondering who bought that today..glad it's gone..doesn't eat feeders


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## pharmaecopia (Mar 1, 2011)

j0209 said:


> lol i was wondering who bought that today..glad it's gone..doesn't eat feeders


That's good I don't feed feeders. You had said it eats pellets, do you know what kind. My other ones love algae wafers.


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## pharmaecopia (Mar 1, 2011)

TLe041 said:


> "They grow quite a bit differently in captivity than the wild"
> 
> ie. their growth is stunted in your undersized, overstocked enclosure?


Here is a quick source provides a little more info for what I was talking about. Essentially most hobbiests create an artificially warm climate for their gars much different than their natural habitat.
http://www.enviro-news.com/news/nature_affected_by_climate_change_update.html


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