Suitable scenario for a Florida Gar Pike

[MaXMaN]

Just came back from the petstore where I bought some substrate for my new 90 gallon that I am filling. While at the store I saw that they had gar pike for sale (about 10 inches long) for 35 bucks each. Now obviously putting on of those in the tank right now isn't going to happen, but I was wondering if anyone has owned one and what to expect, are they expensive to keep/feed, how often do they feed, what types of fish they get along with, how big they get, etc... Any advice from personal experience is appreciated, even if it's the same stuff I've already read about them on the net. =D

-Max

[MoreGPH]

This is the marine fish board, but here is my reply lol

I have never heard the Florida Gar refereed to as a Pike. I have kept a Spotted Gar, a nearly identical, slightly more northern species, one issue I noticed was, due to their long but slender build, they do outgrow tanks based on their shortest dimension much faster than other fish, for instance, an Oscar might be 6 or 8 inches tall by the time it reaches a foot long (if it does) but a 12" gar is barely 2 inches tall, much less mass, so it doesn't take as long to get there. I sold mine because his length was approaching my shortest tank dimension within a year.

[mikeyboy18]

I own a florida gar and a couple of spotted gar. I love owning them!!! They grow to about 12" in the first year and will require at least 300 gallons after like a few years when they are like 2 feet. They get along with any fish as long as it is not able to fit in its mouth. (do not put with plecos though because the plecos will suck on their slime when they are resting)They are really tough fish too, they can handle many temps from like 68-85ish and they can handle many phs. They love feeder fish but it is best to get them on tilapia, shrimp and floating pellets to keep them healthy because you never know if a feeder can have a disease or something. I must warn you that alot of gars are picky, so if you try to get them off of fish, do expect them to ignore your prepared food for a while. I got mine to eat shrimp and floating pellets after a week of starving it. Even though that sounds like a bit of a pain, you can hand feed them which I enjoy about my gars. So, to sum this up, if you can afford a big tank for them and have no trouble teaching them to eat prepped foods, then they are your kind of pet because they are entertaining and easy to care for because they are tough bastards.

[BigDaddyK]

I'm with Mikey... don't consider it if you don't have a big tank... I have not had any trouble getting Gar's onto pellets etc but I have read a lot of folks do have that issue