Gar With Sores On His Head  - 09/07/06
I have a spotted gar that has developed some type of disease. It has white film and ulcers, deterioration, on it's head. I have been treating it with Maracyn-two. Following the directions for the 6 day treatment. Not much improvement. Since their skin is not the typical fish type, would this be the correct treatment? Also, by putting aquarium salt for freshwater fish in the tank harmful to him? Could this cause a problem. Thanks.
< Gars are actually pretty tough critters. There could have been some damage to his head as he tried to jump out and now they got infected. I would try Nitrofuranace. It treats a wider range of parasites and it also has some antifungal properties. Salt wouldn't harm him unless it was an unusual amount. Do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. This medication may harm the good nitrifying bacteria so watch for ammonia spikes.-Chuck>

FW/BW Mis-mixes  - 03/26/2006
First off, I just wanted to say that I love your site and you all do a great job.  I was just wondering what you thought about the mixture of fish I have in my 90 gal tank.  I currently have 2 red devils, 1 Florida gar,
<Neat fish... illegal in many States... get way big>
1 green terror, 1 tiger Oscar, a small Pleco, 1 figure eight puffer, and 1 dragon goby.
<These last two... are increasingly brackish with age, size... should they live...>
  The biggest so far is the red devil at about 7 in.
<I'll bet! Some of these are really devils!>
So far I have had the tank for about 4 months with no casualties. Everyone seems to be getting along swimmingly.  I am worried though that with this size tank there will not be enough room for all species when they reach their full potential.
<To put this mildly>
I have gotten so attached to them all I can't bare to let one go. (Unless it's for their own good.)  
<You need at least two more tanks... and a lake if you're going to try raising the lepisosteid>
I do weekly water changes, vary their diet, etc.... and treat them all with the care they deserve.  What do ya think? Thanks - Steve, MI
<A brackish tank, an easier going cichlid tank.... See WWM re these species systems, compatibility... Bob Fenner>

Gar fish
I thought about what you said from the last e-mail and I just want to go with one gar fish. I just need some basic knowledge about them first.
<Unfortunately I wasn't the person who had answered your previous email.  So, I'm not sure which Gar you are referring to.  There are many different species.  Just to be on the safe side I'll give you a run down on the typical ones found in the aquarium hobby. Gars appreciate the following water conditions: a pH between 7.0 to 8.0, slightly hard water, and temperatures between 70 to 80 ºF (23 ºC).>
What size tank would I need? What should I feed it? What diseases should I look out for?
<Short Nose Gar (Xenocara dolichopterus) grows to about 2 feet long in the aquarium, I've read that they are found as long as 4.5 feet in the wild.  so they need a tank that can accommodate a long fish.  They like the temperature of the tank to be 75-80 degrees.  They do fine in small schools and are not to difficult to care for. These are surface dwellers, and will only eat tankmates it can fit in it's mouth.  Other fish are said to be okay with it.  These are hard to get to eat anything but live foods.
Alligator Gar (Lepisosteus sp.) These get to be very large (±8 feet).  I have seen these be as long as 15 inches in the home aquarium, and were still growing.  If you should go to any fishing website you will be amazed to see some of the monsters that people catch while fishing.  These need massive tanks when they are adults.  These will snack on fish in the tank unless they are as large as it is.  I have seen them with Large Oscars and Snake heads.  They seem to leave Plecos alone.  Alligator Gar are much more likely to eat frozen and prepared foods than others.  These are much easier to care for, the only problem is you need a large tank with nice filtration.
Needle Nose Gar (Xenocara dolichopterus) These fish are the smaller Gars, and are readily found in the aquarium hobby.  These get 12 inches long when full grown so they need a smaller tank than their cousins.  These are surface dwellers and will feed on live foods such as guppies, They are harder to get to eat the dry foods but with persistence they are said to take krill.  They do well in groups and can be kept with fish of similar size.  They also like the warmer water conditions.>
Anything else that you can throw in will be helpful too. Thanks
<They are interesting fish, but not very active.  They often times are just floating near the surface waiting for food.  Good luck. -Magnus>