Gars?
 

I'm thinking about getting a 75 gallon. I want gars though, I've been doing some research and I like florida gars but I'm pretty sure my lfs only sells needle nose. Is a 75 gallon big enough for 2 of these? And if so, and I will have room for more fish what else could I add? At first I thought I wouldn't have enough experience to own these but my buddy had two florida gars and they did very well. I figure if he can do it than I could too, but I don't want to get these fish and not be able to care for them. I really like motoro stingrays and I have read they are fairly easy to care for and are recommended for beginners. Somehow I don't see gars and stingrays mixing well together. So if anyone has any input it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Motoro rays are a big commitment tank wise, females can and will reach 24 inches in diameter so you are looking at a tank that is 6 feet long and at least 32 inches wide, couple that with a third dimension of say 2 feet at least and thats a 900 litre (240 gallon tank)

It is true that they are hardy when compared to other sp. of ray.

Do you mean Lepisosteus osseus when talking about needlenose gars?

they can reach 40 inches, so no to your tank question.

Floridas as a side note will reach 30 inches as well.

even the smaller options like Ctenolucius hujeta (hujeta gars) can reach in excess of 20 inches.

Whattttt? Ok I'm so confused now. The florida gars get wayyy huger then the needles nose. From what I've read the needle nose (Xenentodon cancila) don't get much bigger then a foot. And I'm talking to my friend who owned the florida gars and he kept them in a pretty small tank until they were like a foot and then upgraded. I had a feeling the stingray might be to big for a 75 gallon, although I have read reports of a 90 gallon working well.

I just looked up a picture of this gar, it is a really cool gar but not the one I am talking about, this is a long nose gar and my lfs sells needle nose or Xenentodon cancila

OK, First off, you should keep at least 3 of these together. Second, 75 gallons is a minimum. While it should be sufficient for a long time, once they get over 8" they should really have a 6' tank. The long nose is delicate and can be seriously injured is this speedy and skittish fish rams the tank wall or lid. You can cut down on this risk a bit by heavily planting the back and sides of the tank. They do jump, and they will escape an aquarium that isn't covered. Further, if there isn't some significant head space (6" or so) between the water surface and the lid, they can do themselves serious injury jumping.

So yes, 75 is good for a while. Get 3 if you're getting more than one.

Disclaimer: This is all from a cursory googling. I have no personal experience.

Thanks :D These are the answers I was looking for, although I have now changed my mind because I now require a larger tank for my other fish, I am still interested in the gars and will be getting them as soon as funds will allow it.