Japanese weather loaches restricted in michigan?

[skullduggery1]

Restricted species act 2005 acts 70-74 state it is unlawful to have the eggs or own the species.

[dbosman]

Yep. They can survive in outdoor ponds in Canada, and have become pest species in some areas.

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
is the complete current list. Most of it is too little too late though.

[Brhino]

hmmm... I wonder what species of elodea in my tank I have.

[Low]

strange i live in ohio and they sell them here im accualy about to get 6 of them to breed. but why are they considered pest? there no like the snake head and they wont eat oter fish. if you want them really bad just drive to ohio and pick up a few but beprepaird to spend 7-10$ a pieace on them
~^~Low~^~

[skullduggery1]

I would "assume "because they are from temperate waters and michigan is full of trout/salmon rivers.Being that weatherfish burrow and would be another threat to the salmonoids eggs.Michigan economy is dependant on the outdoors activities,snowmobiling,sking,fishing,hunting,and so on.

[Lady Hobbs]

strange i live in ohio and they sell them here im accualy about to get 6 of them to breed. but why are they considered pest? there no like the snake head and they wont eat oter fish. if you want them really bad just drive to ohio and pick up a few but beprepaird to spend 7-10$ a pieace on them
~^~Low~^~

If they are unlawful in this state, then they should not be imported to this state. That's the reason they have restrictions in the first place. Poor advice to advise people to transport restricted fish to states they are forbidden.

[UncleWillie]

Low, Just because a fish doesn't reach large size and doesn't eat other fish does not mean it cannot cause serious ecological disturbance. Competition, egg predation, reproductive rates, alteration of web web structure, etc. can all be a potential threat if non-native species are released. Poor advise indeed, especially on a public forum where everyone can see that you have openly suggested breaking the law that you are already aware of.

[Trillianne]

The post from dbosman above is excellent in helping you find out why a species is prohibited. Each plant or animal specie it lists, has a link pointing to the national list which explains why they are considered invasive and how they believe the plant or animal was introduced.

In the case of the weatherloach while they may not eat other fish, apparently they have a voracious appetite for the water bugs that native fish rely on. So their abundance is starving the native fish of the same waters.

What is most sad in my opinion is that 2/3rds of that states that have established colonies are believed to be a result of individual owners releasing those fish into the wild. :scry: