Longnose Gar

Lepisosteus osseus is the most widespread of the North American gars, found throughout the eastern half of the continent from the Great Lakes south to Florida and west to the Rio Grande. Its extraordinarily elongated, tooth-studded snout — proportionally longer than in any other gar — is used to make rapid lateral strikes at small fish. The body is encased in hard interlocking ganoid scales that provide a natural armour. Like all gars, it is a facultative air breather that periodically gulps air from the surface.

In the aquarium, Longnose Gar are striking display animals with genuinely prehistoric appeal. However, they grow to over 120 cm and require enormous aquaria or indoor ponds as adults. Juveniles can be maintained in very large home aquaria for several years before outgrowing even the most ambitious setups. They accept live fish initially and must be trained to dead or fresh prey.

They are generally peaceful toward tankmates too large to fit in the snout, making them compatible with other very large robust species. Their calm, hovering, near-motionless behaviour punctuated by explosive feeding strikes is endlessly fascinating to observe.

Water: 15–28 °C, pH 6.5–8.0, moderate hardness; must have surface access for air breathing. Tank: 2000 L minimum for adults; open, uncluttered long tank; strong filtration for large bioload. Feeding: Live fish initially; train to fresh dead fish and then thawed frozen fish or large prawns. Breeding: Broadcasts toxic adhesive eggs over vegetation in spring — not achievable in home aquaria. Compatibility: Peaceful toward fish too large to swallow; will eat anything that fits in its snout.