SNAKEHEAD FISH

Being old and retired gives me some time to watch interesting programs on TV, and I recently watched a show about the so called snakehead fish. They are from China and were apparently introduced to US waters by aquarists, although hobbyists are not the only culprits. Some exotic food importers actually sell live ones, which is against the law. It seems the fish get very large, have sharp teeth and huge appetites, a fast reproduction rate, and no natural predators in US waters. Since they can breath air, they are able to survive long periods out of water and can even travel short distances over land. On top of that, they're kind of ugly too.

One of the Discovery channels aired the program.

yeah we have one in our zoo and its HUGE!!!!

According to the show I watched, there are several different types of snakehead, and they're all pretty dangerous. Does the zoo keep them separated from other fish?

yeah, but i think theres something else in there like a giant crab or something....

Those guys are also predators, and they even had a poem naned after them.

Here in Illinois we have an invasion of Asian Carp. They grow HUGE! These are just about as nasty as the Snake heads..as they out compete the native fish for food..and basically will kill anything they can. PLUS..they are " jumpers"..so people out in their boats have these things jumping at them & so forth. It is pretty much a big concern/issue for the eco-system of Lake Michigan. Volunteers ( along w/ Officials) have went out and tried to capture as many of these as they can..but it is like the snakeheads..a never-ending chore to rid our lakes & habitat of them. Here is a video of them..from on the Illinois river a few yrs. back..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb8OmEr7VqI
As of now..they have not made their way to the lake..so that is good news.
Read here if interested...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi- carp_20jun20,0,7421825.story

johnarthur wrote:

According to the show I watched, there are several different types of snakehead, and they're all pretty dangerous. Does the zoo keep them separated from other fish?

Oh..and John.. When I worked at the LPS...some guy came in asking if we had any Snakeheads for sale$$??
Yeah..he said he wanted to put one in his tank!!!
I just looked at him and said..
" You're kiddin', right??"
...Yep..there really are some people like that out there..

Some people actually do keep snakeheads in aquariums. Then when they get too big for the fish tank, they release them into local lakes and rivers. I understand that introduced species are even a problem in the tropics. Here in Phoenix, people sometimes release aquarium fish into the canal system. Since the canals get drained once a year, it doesn't create much of a problem. Yuma area canals also have Tilapia, which were introduced to control algae growth. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think Tilapia were called Egyptian Mouth Brooders when they were popular aquarium fish. Of course it could have been some other species of African Cichlid.

LOL.. I actually " love" fried Tilapia..one of my favorites.
I am sure that many things happen that we are not aware of until a problem arises. Remember many years ago when they would sell baby alligators? My hubby had one as a pet..but it sadly died. No one told him how to care for it. I mean who buys that for a kid anyway??...ok..won't go there..hehehe.
But I am sure not thinking..they would of just put him in the river once he got too big.
Used to go into Dime stores and could buy baby turtles too. Sad how many of those also perished within a few days.
Thankfully..many have WOKE UP to this going on..and we now have LAWS against such action.
Ya know..I just wonder just how many different species of tropical fish a person could find in some of our rivers?
LOL... " Hey..Look at this Bob..caught me a HUGE Angelfish!!"

One of the aquarium clubs in Phoenix used to have an annual fish gathering when the canal draining started. That was back in the 1960s when I moved here. Last year, the local newspaper and TV stations ran a story about a huge alligator that was living in a small pond in northern Arizona. He probably survived on animals that came for a drink.

Snakeheads are actually a food fish in most Asian countries including the Philippines, where I'm originally from. I had those as a food when I was little. They taste just like catfish.

Making me hungry ....maybe we should be catching them & frying some of those big guys up!!
Geesh.. I bet ONE of those things would feed a TON of people!!...LOL...

The TV show I watched mentioned their use as food. In their native waters, their population is controlled by the environment or predators, but in North America there are no natural controls.

I've often thought that invasive species could be harvested and used as a food source, but that's probably too complicated.

What a coincidence. The September issue of Aquarium Fish International has a picture and short article about one species of snakehead. It's really colorful. The article notes that it will eat out of your hand, but as it reaches maximum size (about 18 inches for this variety of snakehead) it will also eat a piece of your hand.

As mentioned above, it is not legal to import them into the USA.

I just received that issue and read that article. It is a very pretty fish. I didn't even know it was a snakehead until I started reading. By the way, this was my first issue of the magazine and I highly recommend it if anyone is interested in starting a fish magazine subscription. There are many articles covering many topics in regards to fishkeeping.