Fish tank addition!

[magicmed]

Just picked up two young (2.5") silver gar (Ctenolucius hujeta) to my 65 gallon planted tank! Very excited as everything I read about these guys is perfect for my tank. The one thing I'm concerned about is they say wild specimen reach 12-28" but aquarium species max at about 8-10", I'm hoping that's not stunting in action, they claim up to a 10 year life. Theyre supposedly actually rather peaceful, but if they do grow too big for my 65 or become aggressive to I will certainly rehouse them. Pics after acclimation process!

 

[schmiggle]

These guys:

http://www.fishbase.org/summary/12407

And these guys:

http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/ctenolucius-hujeta/

Basically say that they really do max out around 8-10", even in the wild, as far as I can tell. So no stunting! However, sounds like you may want a bigger tank anyway...Also no personal experience

Very excited to see pictures!

 

[viper69]

Just picked up two young (2.5") silver gar (Ctenolucius hujeta) to my 65 gallon planted tank! Very excited as everything I read about these guys is perfect for my tank. The one thing I'm concerned about is they say wild specimen reach 12-28" but aquarium species max at about 8-10", I'm hoping that's not stunting in action, they claim up to a 10 year life. Theyre supposedly actually rather peaceful, but if they do grow too big for my 65 or become aggressive to I will certainly rehouse them. Pics after acclimation process!

It was my impression of fish, at least when I kept them, that fish don't get stunted in captivity due to tank size. That idea always sounded ridiculous to me.

 

[schmiggle]

It was my impression of fish, at least when I kept them, that fish don't get stunted in captivity due to tank size. That idea always sounded ridiculous to me.

The following article claims that stress chemicals fish release when confined do lead to smaller body size, and that a tank size that is too small can lead to muscle deformity:

http://www.seriouslyfish.com/stunted-growth-means-stunted-lives/

 

[viper69]

The following article claims that stress chemicals fish release when confined do lead to smaller body size, and that a tank size that is too small can lead to muscle deformity:

http://www.seriouslyfish.com/stunted-growth-means-stunted-lives/

Nice article, I was referring to this portion for which the article confirmed my thought "A classic misconception is that the growth rate and eventual size of a fish will somehow be regulated by the size of the aquarium it inhabits, and to a new fishkeeper this may appear to be the case."

 

[_scorpio_]

The "fish only grow to the tank size" myth probably arose from goldfish in bowls, because they all die within a year and never get old enough to get big.
Gars are awesome. They have been on my wish list for ages but i dont have enough space to have another tank lol! Will be interested to see how these are with other fish though. Im assuming they wont bother anything bigger than they can eat but i would still keep a close eye in case they take chunks out of something.
What else is in the 65?

 

[Ranitomeya]

Fish will continue to outgrow their tanks, but their growth will be severely stunted as they get to sizes that cause water quality to drastically decrease in proportion to the amount of food they eat and the waste they produce. Any organism living in poor conditions that's fighting off disease and toxins will obviously grow slower and never manage to reach their greatest size before dying.

 

[KevinsWither]

As long as you are taking care of the fish pretty well you should be fine. Those gars do seem cool.