Super RARE !! CUBAN GAR

[flamenco-t]

My cuban gar...he's about 15" or so.

There are only 7 in the country to this day and I am glad one of them is in texas and in my tank :)

He's currently in QT...enjoy..

http://i330.photobucket.com/albums/l427/flamenco-t/DSC_1851.jpg

http://i330.photobucket.com/albums/l427/flamenco-t/Picture003.jpg

[poel_19]

you lucky SOB!!!!!

poel_19 added 2 Minutes and 10 Seconds later...

where did you get him from??

[Dr. Awkward]

Wow! You are so lucky. Thanks for sharing.

[flamenco-t]

you lucky SOB!!!!!

poel_19 added 2 Minutes and 10 Seconds later...

where did you get him from??

A buddy of mine in New Jersey. I have a lead on 2 more...I am working on them :) If so, I'd have 3 out of 7 :)

[alta678]

Very, very cool! I like the looks of him! :hehe:

[fischlein]

Very pretty .Very golden . Beautiful fish .
How big do they get ?

[flamenco-t]

They get about 2-2.5 feet at the very most..

stan

[fischlein]

Thank you

[poel_19]

you get that big tank up yet for these guys?? you are a lucky guy my friend

[EAST_TX_RN]

Ohh, he is cool looking! You lucky man!

[Typical Tony]

he looks pretty cool.

[flamenco-t]

you get that big tank up yet for these guys?? you are a lucky guy my friend

I am working on "bigger tank" ahah LOL

[guppyfreak2]

looks very cool:D

[ElijahTurtle]

Wow! I love the coloration on his fins.

[poel_19]

how big we talking?

[fidel]

Hes nice where did you get him from

[flamenco-t]

Hes nice where did you get him from

From a friend in new jersey. This species are not available in trading.

flamenco-t added 1 Minutes and 21 Seconds later...

how big we talking?

12 feet x 3 feet x32"

[tsunderl]

Nice!!!

[Haiven]

I've heard of those. Aren't they the famous Cuban "C" gars? I thought they were illegal.

Okay, I'm shameless - laughing at my own jokes.roflmao

[greeneyed]

roflmaoroflmaoroflmao

[dhawk52]

Very nice Stan!

[flamenco-t]

I've heard of those. Aren't they the famous Cuban "C" gars? I thought they were illegal.

Okay, I'm shameless - laughing at my own jokes.roflmao

They are not illegal here, they are illegal to be exported out of cuba which makes them very rare. Unless Fidel Castros is knocking on my door, i can give a crap LOL..

Ironically, I named him Fidel..;)

[fidel]

Very good find

[bra8ndy8]

LOL @ Haiven!!!

Beautiful fish!!! You are a lucky guy! And How much did you pay for that beauty?!?! I have to ask!

[flamenco-t]

LOL @ Haiven!!!

Beautiful fish!!! You are a lucky guy! And How much did you pay for that beauty?!?! I have to ask!

Too much :) about a month of mortgage payment LOL :D

[bra8ndy8]

Ohhh GOSH!!!!!!! I bet you don't have that fish in your trailer house.......:) hehehe
Man I guess I spent that much on my dogs......

[ma71556]

Ironically, I named him Fidel..;)

NOw thats funny!:hehe:

[lellison]

very nice!

[Holey_Rock_of_Texas]

wow great looking fish!!!!

[Austin]

i need to come see him and you need to sell my that congi :)

[EVoL]

My cuban gar...he's about 15" or so.

He's currently in QT...enjoy..


Nice fish.....

I think your QT tank it prolly bigger than most peoples actual tanks :hehe:



12 feet x 3 feet x32"


Holy mother of God..... This time next year your habbit is going to make you start your own aquarium you can call it "Stan's monster madness aquarium!" roflmao

[northtexasfossilguy]

I've heard of those. Aren't they the famous Cuban "C" gars? I thought they were illegal.

Okay, I'm shameless - laughing at my own jokes.roflmao

We were all thinking it. I hope you have success with some babies, that would be wonderful. What a beautiful fish!

[chief]

Very cool. I have never seen one.

[BODYDUB]

That must have cost a pretty penny...........

[gacericardo]

awesome fish

[ilicurtisili]

any updated pictures?

[jello]

very cool. i just sold my florida gar:(, but never seen one of these, very cool

[TangTango]

Very nice Cuban Gar.
1 of 7,
I'd have me a Cuban cig-Gar to celebrate!

[Venom SS]

Sweet gar Stan! I finally made it over here from the "other" site :)

[flamenco-t]

Sweet gar Stan! I finally made it over here from the "other" site :)

Hey what's up Nick..good to have you here..

stan

[TheCanuck]

I dont mean to be a downer .. They are rare and a good fish to toss a WooT around. Though i think 7 in the coutry is crazy. MFK always has the random one for sale , if your ever looking for more.

[flamenco-t]

I dont mean to be a downer .. They are rare and a good fish to toss a WooT around. Though i think 7 in the coutry is crazy. MFK always has the random one for sale , if your ever looking for more.

And we all know each other :) This one in particular has been bought and sold 2 times on MFK before I get my hands on it.

Those gars in the picture belong to Xander in Singapore.

[TheCanuck]

And we all know each other :) This one in particular has been bought and sold 2 times on MFK before I get my hands on it.

Those gars in the picture belong to Xander in Singapore.

Ah i see. You should check with the vendors, get a nice pack of them. That would be :wha:

And very nice fish. You are a very lucky person.

[flamenco-t]

Ah i see. You should check with the vendors, get a nice pack of them. That would be :wha:

And very nice fish. You are a very lucky person.

If ANY vendor can get them, they'll be sold before it even made it into the US.

Noone have been able to get them. Getting things out of cuba is an impossible challenge to begin with. It's easier to smuggle people out of cuba than it is to smuggle these gars. The price kinda dictates it LOL

[mrsadler]

nice man congrats

[TheCanuck]

I have some friends in dominican republic... ill see if i can keep an eye for a cuban if your interested.

[flamenco-t]

I have some friends in dominican republic... ill see if i can keep an eye for a cuban if your interested.

I can guarantee you that if there's one or two available, I'd know before you or your friends do ;) hahaha

I know you're very optimistic, but keep in the mind the relationship between the US and its allies to Cuba. That's why I said it's easier to smuggle a person out of cuba thazn a fish. It's not like you can "place an order for some cuban gars" :)

They are considered an endangered species, although not yet made it to CITES. It's hard to find them in the native land (95% are in cuba, but some have been spotted in the central american swamps and lakes 20-30 years ago). The US wildlife will not prohibit them coming here, but they also don't encourage it.

Half of cuban gars that's in captivity came through Singapore, the rest are taken out of cuba in a "more creative sometime illegal way"

I have yet to see any species of cuban gar in public aquarium displays and I have been to most of them all over the country.

They are the same family to the Alligator and Tropical gars species. Your friends in the dominican may find a lot of tropical gars (tropicus). They're not as rare but hard to find in the US other than from private collector.

Stan

[northtexasfossilguy]

How big do you think they get? Its funny that they aren't even listed on any of the US reports. Dude, I will so buy one from you if you breed them, depending on the adult size that is, I am hooked on Gar. I'll put some convicts in with it, it'll feel right at home.

So you mean to tell me you aren't friends with Castro? Try being buddies, send him a fruit basket or something, he'll send you a fish back for sure. :hehe:

[flamenco-t]

As far as size, I'd imagine 2.5 ft will the be the max. I have yet to see anything over 24" in homa aquaria.

I don't think they've ever been bred in captivity. I am almost 99% sure of it. It's really difficult to replicate the natural environment to promote breeding. Besides, noone have been able to determine sex and they're just not enough of these guys to start a breeding colony. Last time I check there are only 6-7 of these guys in the US.

[ronr.]

congrats!!!

[biggin]

There are a couple programs outside the US trying to come up with adults to breed and are having no luck.

Too many have been turned into tamales...

As far as size, I'd imagine 2.5 ft will the be the max. I have yet to see anything over 24" in homa aquaria.

I don't think they've ever been bred in captivity. I am almost 99% sure of it. It's really difficult to replicate the natural environment to promote breeding. Besides, noone have been able to determine sex and they're just not enough of these guys to start a breeding colony. Last time I check there are only 6-7 of these guys in the US.

[cmurphy19]

Great looking fish

[quoc2006]

I want one :)

[biggin]

I want one :)

It only takes money.... and someone willing to sell one... a couple people claim to sell them but never pony up... I have 2 in my house good luck finding someone willing to sell.

[flamenco-t]

I only paid $ 1K for him :) considering the rarity and the availability, it was a STEAL

[hungdang]

I don't think there are 7 in the U.S anymore, maybe 7 in Texas! I believe there is some member of MFK are trying to captive breed them!
anyway, nice!

[biggin]

I don't think there are 7 in the U.S anymore, maybe 7 in Texas! I believe there is some member of MFK are trying to captive breed them!
anyway, nice!

I doubt there are 7 in TX... Solomon in MI is working to breed them through the University of Michigan.... there are not many in the US...there are a few people who have claimed to have them, some in TX but they never seemed to show up.

[angel510]

are they really that rare? there is a guy selling them on craigslist. thats a lot of bread for some fish!

[Sigmar]

are they really that rare? there is a guy selling them on craigslist. thats a lot of bread for some fish!


Its all in availability and rarity, I paid 1900 for 12 plecos

[flamenco-t]

I doubt there are 7 in TX... Solomon in MI is working to breed them through the University of Michigan.... there are not many in the US...there are a few people who have claimed to have them, some in TX but they never seemed to show up.

I agree with Blake, the last count before Solomon is trying to breed them was 7. There were 2 in cali that someone had claimed. A really good friend of mine happened to know him and they were alligator gars, not cuban.

The LAST and known batch of smuggled fish that were brought to the US was 10 fish..

A true cuban is hard to find, most are in asia as asian buyer are willing to pay top dollar for them.

Stan

flamenco-t added 0 Minutes and 59 Seconds later...

Its all in availability and rarity, I paid 1900 for 12 plecos

It's all in rarity and how much you're willing to pay :) LOL

[biggin]

There are a couple parts to it...

1. They are not easy to breed, it is a long life cycle, slow growing fish.

2. There is a limited market, it is not a fish for everyone, and fewer who are willing to pay the price.

3. It is a food source the Cuban and Tropical gar are both used for food, when it comes to someone catching the fish and selling it for a weeks pay or a weeks food most will opt for the food.

Not to mention the Cuban embargo...

Its all in availability and rarity, I paid 1900 for 12 plecos

biggin added 1 Minutes and 54 Seconds later...

Next to last batch, the last batch there were a few fish... Solomon had 30 I think.... he sold 10ish and the rest stayed with the U of M program I believe.

There are very few, there are a number of them in Canada but not that many, not as many as they make it sound....

I agree with Blake, the last count before Solomon is trying to breed them was 7. There were 2 in cali that someone had claimed. A really good friend of mine happened to know him and they were alligator gars, not cuban.

The LAST and known batch of smuggled fish that were brought to the US was 10 fish..

A true cuban is hard to find, most are in asia as asian buyer are willing to pay top dollar for them.

Stan

flamenco-t added 0 Minutes and 59 Seconds later...



It's all in rarity and how much you're willing to pay :) LOL

[satyra]

wow he sure has grown since you posted these pics :D

[kels]

never knew how rare these guys were great looking fish