The armored catfish, (Pterysoplichthys muliradiatus), is native to Trinidad, was imported to Florida, for the aquarium pet trade market. This fish is used in aquariums to keep the bottoms of the tanks clean.
However, this exotic fish has escaped or been set free in the Florida, waterways.
This fish is causing severe erosion problems in the rivers and canals, and lakes all over the state. The banks become unstable and can collape without warning, making walking in that area very dangerous. The fish burrow into the dirt banks, from 2 to 4 feet, then lays it's eggs. It comes out at night to feed.
It has no natural predators in Florida, and it is said that raccoons and otters, refuse to eat them because of their aromor-like scales. Some game wardens have said that bears love to eat them.
They breed fast and in some areas are found in great numbers. They is no limit on the amount of them that can be killed and so many have been hunted by bow hunters.
Ram, if you read this could you add more knowledge about this fish, or a picture of it, since it is a aquarium fish? Anyone else with information or comments about this fish please share here.
I wanted to give you all a close up view of this stange Armored Catfish. This is one video of some fishermen who pulled one from the edge of a lake. This fish was orginally just intended for aquariums.
03-26-2013, 05:41 PM, (This post was last modified: 03-26-2013, 05:44 PM by Rube.)
It looks like a big beast to me, and a large aquarium would be needed to keep one of those. That is probably why they are being released when they start to grow too big for a fish keeper's aquarium.
It is wrong, and presumably against the law, to release an alien species into the local environment. I can believe these catfish are doing a lot of harm in Florida. If these catfish are being hunted, that should help to keep the population down, but education is also needed. When fish keepers are buying these catfish they should be informed how big it is likely to grow and must be clearly told not to release them into the wild.
Rube,
I think in a tank or aquarium the catfish would not have the added food sources provided to it in the wild and thus, would not grow as big as this catfish pictured here. Most of the pictures I have seen of the armored catfish, showed measurements up to 10 inches long. This one looks much bigger than that.
If the experts on site could tell us more about this aquarium fish it would be most welcomed, as my knowledge of it comes only from the wildside. Anyone is welcome to share their opinions here.
