weird catch

[HomaridNoob6]

I caught a small snakehead, i caught it in a local pond, someone must have released it there. I don't want to euthanize it, but i think that is my only option. I cannot legally release it back to where i caught it, i cannot legally keep it either, not that i have a big enough tank that i could keep it in anyway. I wouldn't feel too bad about killing it since it's an invasive species, but i don't really want to. I guess i'm gonna have no choice.

[Gemini]

Is there a zoo or aquarium that could take it? Otherwise yep euthanaise is the only option. It's hard but your doing the right thing by not releasing it or trying to keep it.

[Crispy]

trade it to a local fish store for supplies maybe ???

[Dave66]

They are highly illegal in the United States, including California, so he'd probably be reported to the police if he tried to trade it in at a pet store.
Lobsternoob, if you report your catch to your local game and fish commission plus the where and when, they will 'take care' of the fish for you.

Dave

[Crispy]

ohh.. I didn't know they were illegal there.. they couldn't survive our Canadian winters, although people do catch pacus and pirahna in the Detroit river every now and then...

[Dave66]

ohh.. I didn't know they were illegal there.. they couldn't survive our Canadian winters, although people do catch pacus and pirahna in the Detroit river every now and then...

LoL the list of fish and aquatic plants that are banned in the US is a mile long, and piranha are illegal in most all warmer states.

Dave

[Crispy]

LoL the list of fish and aquatic plants that are banned in the US is a mile long, and piranha are illegal in most all warmer states.

I guess it only makes sense... so no LFS sell snakeheads or piranha in most warmer states?? hmmm... they're everywhere here.. I think I heard the mississippi was invaded by snakeheads.

[HomaridNoob6]

I read a bit more about it and i felt it was my responsibility to euthanize the fish. I feel bad about it, but not as bad as i would feel if it took over my local waters, and destroyed the local ecosystem, which it would do given the chance. I also sent an email to my local fish and game warden and froze the corpse in case it is needed for positive ID. I really hope i do not have to do this again, but chances are if i caught a juvenile locally, there is not just one, and probably some adults also.

[Northernguy]

Yes Crispy It was the snakeheads but I am not sure where.It would not take long for them to do massive destruction.They kill for the fun of it and will not eat most of what they kill when they have a variety.
Its by far the worst and most unpredictable I have ever kept.
I listened to the kid at the lfs and I did not know any better.Even when I tried to bring them back they said no.I just left them there on the counter.
They did get put into their tanks.
There are a lot of fish out there that should not be sold.
Lobsternoob its the best thing you could have done.Tropical fish have no place in our waterways.

[KingFisher]

I read a bit more about it and i felt it was my responsibility to euthanize the fish. I feel bad about it, but not as bad as i would feel if it took over my local waters, and destroyed the local ecosystem, which it would do given the chance. I also sent an email to my local fish and game warden and froze the corpse in case it is needed for positive ID. I really hope i do not have to do this again, but chances are if i caught a juvenile locally, there is not just one, and probably some adults also.

You did the right thing. We hobbyists not only have a responsibility to our fish, but also to our environment. When aquarium fish are released into our waterways, they can reak havok to the system. Not only displacing and/or killing off our native species, but also potentially introducing diseases. I wish more people would act as responsible as you did in this situation. :thumb:

[Crispy]

Yes Crispy It was the snakeheads but I am not sure where.It would not take long for them to do massive destruction.They kill for the fun of it and will not eat most of what they kill when they have a variety.


In our Great Lakes we have a number of invasive species... zebra mussels, round goby, and now grass carp. A few years back, you couldn't even fish without catching goby after goby. Everyone kills them when they catch them, and the fish started eating them, so their population has dropped, but they're still there. They reproduce all year round!

[Northernguy]

I sure would like to see what exactly is living in the great lakes.
I'm sure there is all kinds of alien species down there!

[HomaridNoob6]

Just got back from fishing at the same spot again this morning, didn't catch a thing, but talked to a guy that fishes there all the time. Apparently he pulls all kinds of weird things out of that pond, well it's called a lake, but it's pretty dang small... I really don't understand how people think that they are doing a nice thing by releasing their fish, great, their pet survives only to destroy the fish that belong there.

[Crispy]

Just got back from fishing at the same spot again this morning, didn't catch a thing, but talked to a guy that fishes there all the time. Apparently he pulls all kinds of weird things out of that pond, well it's called a lake, but it's pretty dang small... I really don't understand how people think that they are doing a nice thing by releasing their fish, great, their pet survives only to destroy the fish that belong there.

Most of our invasive species came from the bilges of ocean liners. Zebra mussels and gobies both came from europe by boat, and get deposited in the Great Lakes. By the time they figure out that they've arrived, it's too late.

[HomaridNoob6]

Yes that's true, but in this case the only way these fish got there was by being released. There are a few boats in this lake, but since they are paddle boats for tourists to rent i don't think they are gonna be cruising the open seas, and bringing back hitchhikers :)

[Crispy]

Yes that's true, but in this case the only way these fish got there was by being released. There are a few boats in this lake, but since they are paddle boats for tourists to rent i don't think they are gonna be cruising the open seas, and bringing back hitchhikers :)

No doubt. Most tropical fish can't live here anyways, our winters are TOO COLD!
Even if you did release a school of snakeheads here, I don't think that they could adapt.

[Northernguy]

Those fish a remarkably tough!
They can live out of water for a long time.

[Nightside_Eclipse]

Are you sure it wasn't a bowfin?

Did you get a pic?

A lot of people freak out when they catch bowfin and post about it and since the eeeevvvviiilll snakehead terror got out everyone's always like "OMG ITZ TEH SNAKEHEAD!!!! KILLL ITTT!!!!" whenever they see a 'fin. haha

[Wild Turkey]

My two cents would be euthanize. If you call anyone about it you are just drawing an eye for no reason and they same end will come to the fish. Just, they probably wont be so nice about it. Take it out of the water, put it on the ground and cut off the head in one clean swipe with a cleaver, toss the carcass. Best place is outside lol

[Crispy]

Are you sure it wasn't a bowfin? A lot of people freak out when they catch bowfin and post about it and since the eeeevvvviiilll snakehead terror got out everyone's always like "OMG ITZ TEH SNAKEHEAD!!!! KILLL ITTT!!!!" whenever they see a 'fin. haha

Very true.. bowfin look almost exactly like a snakehead! Most people have never seen or heard of them and may mistake it for a snakehead. We have many bowfin in the shallow creeks and canals, and they get HUGE! Here's the Michigan record for largest bowfin.

[Northernguy]

Here is one of those stories about snakeheads in the States.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2002/0207/fish0729.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,332042,00.html&usg=__FEljYv31nzWT6BX__78zpXFUYdA=&h=215&w=300&sz=9&hl=en&start=13&um=1&tbnid=OAlzqT84T2A6-M:&tbnh=83&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsnakeheads%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3 Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address%26rlz%3D1I7SUNA%26sa%3DN

[HomaridNoob6]

well, even if it was a bowfin, Im pretty sure they aren't native here either. Everything I've read says they are found in the eastern us and canada, and im in california. I've been fishing around here since i was a little kid, and i've never seen a fish like this before. Typically all you ever catch is trout, sunfish of a few varietes, bass, sacramento suckers, and catfish. I got a bunch of different people at the lake had their own suggestions, one guy swore it was a pickerel. LOL I've caught billions of pickerel on the east coast and i sure as heck know it wasn't even close. Whatever it was i'm just gonna hope i don't run across any more of them.

[Northernguy]

California is down river from Canada.Whats stopping them?

[machineman]

I think that you should euthanize it then report it to the local fish and game station. It would be really bad if Snake heads got a foothold in California.

[HomaridNoob6]

Northernguy, I dont know what would be stopping them, fish are pretty amazing at getting around :) only thing i can say is i haven't heard of bowfin being around here. What i was able to find surfing the web a bit stated they were located more to the east, of both the US and Canada. I'm about as far west as you can go without heading to Hawaii. About 1/4 mile or less from the pacific ocean. No rivers or anything connect to the lake i caught it in (i guess that makes it not really a lake) so i just imagine it had to be released by someone. And non native fish don't seem to be a rarity in this, err body of water. Either way, i euthanized the poor fish and that's that. In all honesty i couldn't say for 100% sure what exactly it was, but my honest opinion is it did not belong there, cause it did not even resemble any of the species of fish that I know do belong.

[HomaridNoob6]

Machineman, can you, or have you posted any pics of your 240 gallon you mention in your signature? I would love to see it! If you have posted some, link em PLZ, If not please take a few next chance you get i'll be looking forward to it!

[machineman]

I have not posted them. It is an outside experiment. The 240 gallons is in an old deep freeze. I will try to post some photos soon.