Noob Gar Questions

[demasonisrule]

Ok so, I was looking at some videos of Gar on youtube, and I got interested in them.

What is the smallest species of them that I could get in the U.S.?

What is the minimum tank size for said gar?

What are the water parameters for said gar?

Any help appreciated!

 

[dave_oddballs]

the smallest species of gar i think would be the short nose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus), maxing at around 2.5 foot in the wild, more commonly reaching around 2 foot in aquariums. from what i know they are sub-tropical and shouldn't be kept in water above 18 Celsius. 200 gallons should be considered a minimum tank size for one of these fish but double that would be seen as more suitable. they will eat anything from other small fish to insects.
you would need a large amount of filtration as they are messy eaters and need really clean water.
so if you havent got a tank at least 6 foot long, at least 30" wide and at least 2 foot tall, well, i wouldn't even consider one.

Dave

 

[demasonisrule]

Oh...Well then I guess I should just go with mbuna .

 

[dave_oddballs]

lol, what size is your tank? gars are good fish, but without a big enough home they will be very unhappy and unlikely to live a full life.
mbuna set ups can be extremely eyecatching and very colourful, its a good choice. just make sure you have hard water, lots of coral sand and ocean rock will do!