steveangela1

I was wondering if these fish are illegal in the US how are people getting them in there tanks? I couldn't get over how easy the fish could escape the tanks, so it could be easy to say people would get agrovated easy and dump them in a local lake/pond/river, etc....

What really got me was reading a tropical fish book they were listed as a popular fish keeping species??

sirdarksol

Yes, these fish are illegal in many, many states. Because they can travel across land, there have been a couple of ponds that were infested with these fish that were entirely sterilized so that they didn't breed and spread to different bodies of water. I hate the idea of just killing off the life in a pond, but I've seen what invasive fish/invert/plant species can do to a lake's ecosystem, so I can't say that I totally disagree with the tactic.

As far as getting them, I'm sure it's the same way people get their hands on other illegal animals: holes in the import system.

Rbacchiega

certain species of snakeheads are illegal in certain states, as already mentioned, and all species USED to be illegal here in Canada, until a few months ago I believe. I've got a cobra snakehead in it's own 50 gallon tank until he gets bigger...Seems to me I've taken to the large beastly fish that require ponds LOL

steveangela1

I really think that more should be done to protect the natural habitats from the endemic fish like this one. Having a husband w/ a degree in enviromental science/wildlife management watching this show w/ me really helped me understand more about this.
He told me stories about the local lake and how there was alligator and pirahna in it where people would just "dump" their fish/pets in it when they couldn't handle them anymore...
Thats what should be illegal... not to mention certain species

sirdarksol

I agree, and it is. The problem is that making it illegal to dump the critters only affects the people who break the law after the fact, whereas making invasive creatures illegal to own (these laws usually can be bypassed by getting a permit, similar to owning a poisonous snake) makes it far more difficult to acquire the animals at all, therefore making it difficult to dump them.

Allie

Yeah really irks me that people get snake heads, Red tail sharks, Pacu and all those beasts that should stay in their natural environment. It's not fair to the fish at all. There was an 18" RTC passed around the oddball lovers in our city for a few years now. It finally died, probably from being moved so much. He was beautiful, but would eat whatever he could and not in a nice way. Those big guys live in the amazon river for a reason.
Personally I think there should be a stricter law with importing and exporting fish. Eventually I don't think that just anyone should be able to buy certain species. You should have some sort of license.
If people ever prove that fish have feelings, and can interact with us like cats and dogs...which we all know that most species of fish do. That they may get the same protection as the furry pets. Now that would be awesome.
Not that we'd have the option to get wild fish as easily was we can now. If at all.

sirdarksol

I agree. Of course, it would never work. Too bad the laws in this country operate by the letter, rather than the spirit.

Rbacchiega

Although I agree with allie, I think that in some cases people should be able to have these fish if they can provide sufficient space. I've started getting into monsters recently and have a 7 inch tiger shovel nose, a 6 in rtc and a 8 inch long barb cat, not to mention datnoides, gars, bichirs and most recently in the saltwater category, a shark.

But, I have two, yep two large ponds in the making, the smallest being just over 4,000 gallons.

steveangela1

There is a huge problem with that... a lot of aquarium owners are not responsible aquarium owners, and do not care for their fish like us. They get tired of their tanks, and eventually will do anything to get rid of the fish if it means dumping the fish into local lakes. I personally do not trust the common person w/ snakeheads, pacu, gars, etc...

We have gar in our local lake, it is a native to our lake not introduced. This fish is a real pain in the rear! If you are an avid fisherman this fish can ruin your day at the lake, they also snap anything that moves, and yes I have seen people who have lost toes to them by dragging their feet in the lake out of their boats where the gar were swimming... I have also swam next to gar though and never had one touch me, but they are more scared of a human than we are them when we are in the water. I sure wouldn't want to introduce this fish to a lake where they do not normally exist though, it could throw its natrual ecosystem completly off....

Just as I would not throw my cichlids out in my local lake. If I ever get rid of them (and I very much doubt will ever happen) they will go back to the fish store.

Rbacchiega

All in all it's up to the person. I agree with the fact that it is the responsibility of the fish keepers, but I still heart my guys LOL