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Shortnosed Gar (lepisosteus platostomus)


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#1 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 16 June 2007 - 06:20 PM

Shortnosed gars (Lepisosteus platostomus) are North America's smallest lepisosteid species and the perfect fish for the more advanced aquarist. Care upon acquisition is very much like that of the Longnosed gar (L. osseus)
(See Longnosed gar profile here: http://forum.nanfa.o...p?showtopic=416 ) Again it is advised to use a "step up" method in housing these fish and to be wary of their tendency to break their backbone when startled. Shortnosed gar are particularly prone to this and great care should be taken to not startle them or force them into a quick start.

Adult size of the Shortnosed gar is considerably smaller than most in the family. Average adult size is 20 to 25 inches.
A tank of 72 inches long x 30 inches wide is a desirable minimum size for an adult fish. Juvenile and Young of the year fish can be kept in considerably smaller quarters but should never be cramped.

Like all gars these fish are hardy but not indestructible. Very good filtration and regular water changes are needed. Again as with all gar great care needs to be taken in regards to ammonia. Ammonia is very toxic to these fish and must always be kept very low. Shortnosed gar like the Longnosed will tolerate more flow than most other Lepisosteids. Young fish under 6 inches however should not be kept in a high flow environment as they do not do well in such circumstances.

Shortnosed Gars like all gar "breath" air. How frequently they do this depends on the temperature of the water and associated Dissolved oxygen content. Gars should always be allowed surface area to "breach" or "breath" air.

Shortnosed gar are a bit more general in their diet than most other gar species. In the wild they readily take a variety of food items. This diversity in diet easily carries over to captive husbandry. These fish are very easy to feed and will take a variety of Live, frozen, and prepared foods. It may take some patience at first but these fish quickly adapt to a captive varied diet of primarily prepared foods.

This is but a brief look at Shortnosed Gar husbandry.
Questions comments and additions are welcome.

Here are a few ID pics of juvenile and adult Lepisosteus platostomus:

Juvenile fish where obtained from Iturnrocks and details about them with much younger pics can be found here http://forum.nanfa.o...?showtopic=1893
As a note a key characteristic of juvenile L. platostomus is a much deeper caudal peduncle, 'Medium length snout' in fish above 9 cm, a faint dorsal stripe with no white on top of snout and a goldish yellow band above the dark brown lateral stripe.
Shortnose12cm.jpg
shortnose9cm.jpg

These adult fish where caught in the Famed garvana as part of a yearly fishy get together put on by the staff here and at Aquaticpredators just to play with these guys. Look under local edition Midwest for this years Garvana trip.
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#2 Guest_iturnrocks_*

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Posted 18 June 2007 - 03:47 PM

Ok, so now I know they can eat just about anything, what SHOULD I be feeding my babies. Some of the gars I netted on June 11 were only 3 inches long, and some were over 8 inches. They most likely hatched at the same time, so I know there is much difference between what they need and what they can handle. How often should my 3 inch gar be eating a 1.5 inch rosie? Id like to grow this fish slow, but I dont want to do anything "unhealthy." His current feeding schedule is 1 rosie on Monday, and 1 on Friday. Is this too much, too little, or just right?

#3 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 18 June 2007 - 05:49 PM

Ok, so now I know they can eat just about anything, what SHOULD I be feeding my babies. Some of the gars I netted on June 11 were only 3 inches long, and some were over 8 inches. They most likely hatched at the same time, so I know there is much difference between what they need and what they can handle. How often should my 3 inch gar be eating a 1.5 inch rosie? Id like to grow this fish slow, but I dont want to do anything "unhealthy." His current feeding schedule is 1 rosie on Monday, and 1 on Friday. Is this too much, too little, or just right?


The thing about Juvenile gar is you have to grow them quickly for their well being. I would step up the feeding to a more every other day rotation until they get around 9 to 10 inches and then slow feeding a little. Right now you can feed them Rosies (of coarse), small crickets, Frozen silversides and maybe some other stuff such as smaller sized pellets. I have to say that the ones you sent me I have feeding only on live foods right now as I do not have much time to play with them just now. All of my other gar feed almost exclusively on frozen and prepared foods and they really are not difficult to covert over to this. Start playing around with them and I'm sure you can diversify the diet a bit.

#4 Guest_edbihary_*

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Posted 19 June 2007 - 12:20 PM

A tank of 72 inches long x 30 inches wide is a desirable minimum size for an adult fish.


Is such a tank made? Or are you talking custom-made tank? Here is a list of tank sizes from my LFS:
http://www.elmersaqu...00tankchart.htm

There is no tank of such dimensions on that list. That doesn't mean they have all possible tanks, but I suspect they are pretty comprehensive.

#5 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 19 June 2007 - 12:34 PM

Is such a tank made? Or are you talking custom-made tank? Here is a list of tank sizes from my LFS:
http://www.elmersaqu...00tankchart.htm

There is no tank of such dimensions on that list. That doesn't mean they have all possible tanks, but I suspect they are pretty comprehensive.


Custom is the norm for the longterm care of any gar species. Most of these fish do not fit the standard mold that aquariums are made commercially.

Glass cages is a source for many of the larger wider tanks for species such as these.
http://www.glasscage...iewCat&lCatID=2

#6 Guest_iturnrocks_*

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Posted 09 September 2007 - 12:20 AM

I finally have one of my gar eating Reptomin pellets every time I offer them. Also I noticed the gar I had kept outside was much more colorful than the one I kept inside. I wonder if that was caused by age, temperature, or perhaps even water clarity (just trying to list the things that have changed). Now that both are in a divided 10 gallon tank, the colorful one is starting to bland like the other.

#7 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 09 September 2007 - 11:44 AM

I finally have one of my gar eating Reptomin pellets every time I offer them. Also I noticed the gar I had kept outside was much more colorful than the one I kept inside. I wonder if that was caused by age, temperature, or perhaps even water clarity (just trying to list the things that have changed). Now that both are in a divided 10 gallon tank, the colorful one is starting to bland like the other.


Very cool you have at least one munching on pellets. The other one should come around to them with repeated offering.

On coloration: I have observed this also, The ones I have kept in brighter direct lighting are much more colorful and tend to have more of a pattern to them. One fish I have you would sware was Hypomelanistic / Leucistic if one did not know better as it really does appear to lack all Black and brown coloration except on the fins. This fish is kept in a tank with just room lighting. The others kept under brighter 'natural' light and sunlight are a bit brighter with the typical YoY Shortnosed tan / yellow, dark brown black spots and flecks upper and 'ivory' sides and lower with scattered flecking and spots toward the rear of the fish.

If you have any new photos of the I'd like to see them..I'll post up a few in a bit also..

#8 Guest_iturnrocks_*

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Posted 09 September 2007 - 12:29 PM

If you have any new photos of the I'd like to see them..I'll post up a few in a bit also..


Here are pics from about a week ago of the gar that originally lived outside for 2 months.

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Although I dont have any pics of him currently, now he pretty much looks like this one who has been inside for most of his life.

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In case you think the fish or grasshopper looks a little big, both were eventually rejected. One of my shiners had died, so I tried offering it to the gars. He was too large so I put him in the freezer, then yesterday I thawed him out and cut him in half, and each gar successfully swallowed a piece.

#9 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 09 September 2007 - 12:56 PM

Yours are looking a lot like the one I described as almost 'hypo'..
This one is at my work so I have no pics of it just now. Here however are a few recent pics of the ones you sent and I have here.
shorty.jpg
shorty2.jpg
LPO_001_MO_1.jpg
LPO_002_MO_1.jpg

#10 Guest_iturnrocks_*

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Posted 09 September 2007 - 07:14 PM

Nice pellet shot.

Heres the more colorful one now, with some Reptomin pellets. As you can see, hes far less colorful now.

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The priority mail envelope separates him from seeing the rosies in the next tank. I dont want to distract him from eating pellets.

#11 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 09 September 2007 - 07:21 PM

Great pics!!
I love the third one down that shows the fish right in the beginning of a turn..It shows very well just how flexible these fish truly are. Many do not really realize that those heavy scales really do not restrict movement in these fish.

#12 Guest_iturnrocks_*

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Posted 14 September 2007 - 01:23 PM

I moved my pellet eating gar to a 20 gal tank and within a week hes almost back to full color.

Heres a before and after from last week and today.
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The old tank had a compact fluorescent, the new tank has the regular fluorescent tube that came with the hood. Also the last tank had lfs white gravel the new tank I just put some big rocks in the bottom. The gar spends most of his time sitting on the rocks at the bottom. Ive also found him underneath the rocks. This is completely different from the bare tank in which he sat at the surface the whole time like the other gar.

Perhaps Ill swap hoods with these 2 and see if the light causes a color change.

#13 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 14 September 2007 - 01:35 PM

Changes in lighting and light intensity as well as environmental changes in background and substrate will all alter a gars appearance. It is actually interesting just how Chameleon-like gars are in how they express various things through color.

#14 Guest_iturnrocks_*

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Posted 17 September 2007 - 10:23 PM

Heres a new pic of the colorful one, he's getting spots all over.

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#15 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 22 October 2007 - 07:37 PM

This is a great thread, Richard. I'd like to add some pictures I have taken of adult Shortnose Gar.

This fish was from Sandy Creek (a tributary to Salt Creek, which eventually runs into the Sangamon River) around central Illinois.
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Here's a head shot
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I think this one shows off the width of the snout on a Shortnose
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and the last one
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#16 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 22 October 2007 - 09:15 PM

That is a nice fish Nate..
I take it from the coloration of the fish the water was rather clear or was in spawning condition.(Was it?)

#17 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 23 October 2007 - 07:56 AM

That is a nice fish Nate..
I take it from the coloration of the fish the water was rather clear or was in spawning condition.(Was it?)


Clear water. This fish was collected on October 3, 2007, so I believe it was well past spawning time.

#18 Guest_DanRad_*

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Posted 20 June 2009 - 12:35 PM

I picked this one up a few years ago. Would you say it's a shortnose? Have gotten a few different opinions.

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#19 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 20 June 2009 - 02:59 PM

I picked this one up a few years ago. Would you say it's a shortnose? Have gotten a few different opinions.

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Do you have a full side photo of it not at an angle?

Your fish is not at all typical to a Short but it is not all that typical to other Lepisosteus either in that photo. It is hard to tell with the camera angle.
If I was to go out on a limb I'd think that would be a Spotted gar.

#20 Guest_DanRad_*

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Posted 20 June 2009 - 04:24 PM

How's this? A few years old, but the same fish.

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