No Pleco's in USA

sodapopdima · Post by **sodapopdima** » 24 Jun 2004, 05:19

I live in New York, Brooklyn borough to be more specific, and from all the research and internet based readings I have done, (I am actaully a very long time guest at looking at the boards here at planet catfish), I noticed that 80-90% of it is all in brazil and the 3 major rivers there. I find it so dissappointing that no lakes, rivers, or ponds around here have pleco's. I really wish we did.

BTW, anyone know how they are caught, I assume a netting procedure or some kind of traps. I am very interested in the trapping procedure, to read for self knowledge, so if anyone has further advice or links I would very much appreciate it.

grihan · Post by **grihan** » 24 Jun 2004, 08:32

???

and in USA there are no lions, elephants, hehe. ..why did you look for pleco's in your rivers? I think the temperature of the water would be only one of the problems the pleco's would find in north america rivers (pH, gH, etc...)
I know a man who put a G. gibbiceps in a garden pond in Spain, and the fish only survived for 1 week..

Mike_Noren · Post by **Mike_Noren** » 24 Jun 2004, 10:10

Not entirely true:
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/SpFactSh ... ciesID=767
http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet.php?toc_id=191

And, if you read nothing else, read this:
http://www.wes.army.mil/el/ansrp/pdfs/ansrp-v04-1.pdf

As an aside I'd expect several common aquarium species to be capable of survival outdoors in southern Spain, if given suitable habitat.

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 24 Jun 2004, 11:34

Hi!

Mike is right...
Alien species introduction has made major damages to the indigenous fauna, there many many exemple that demonstrate it: Lake Victoria, Madagascar, Florida, Spain,... these introduced species have taken over the biotop of national species and threatning them on danger of exctinction...
Sincerely, I prefer to have them in my tanks than in "my" Swiss lakes and rivers... if I want to have Loricariidae in "my" rivers, I ll move house to Brazil...

Cheers
Yann

ClayT101 · Post by **ClayT101** » 24 Jun 2004, 14:53

Several years ago there was an article in Tropical Fish Hobbyiest about catching plecos in a small lake in Florida. The guy who kept them said that they were very skiddish in the aquarium.

S. Allen · Post by **S. Allen** » 25 Jun 2004, 01:18

perhaps florida has more birds and mammals that take advantage of the fish population than south america? who knows. all sorts of weird alien species out there... http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/SpFactSh ... ciesID=478 is a good example of one of the more bizarre location/species pairings.

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 25 Jun 2004, 03:02

Not fish but somehow a funny story...

On a nice summer day i was standing on the baseballfield snatching flyballs when a calling group of about 5 parakeets (like a small parrot) flew over me...when i pointed and announced that sight everybody called me crazy! Remember in Germany wild parrots arent that common...

Later i learned there was a colony on the other side of the river of a group of these asian birds that once escaped a bird zoo several years ago....

S. Allen · Post by **S. Allen** » 25 Jun 2004, 04:01

Many species in southern Spain that are normally associated with the tropics, from my knowledge, monkeys and geckos. I just remembered those.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 25 Jun 2004, 12:22

my common plec used to spend every summer in the water butt at the end of the garden!! he would be about 2 inches longer every time i caught him at the end of the summer.

Mike_Noren · Post by **Mike_Noren** » 25 Jun 2004, 13:45

S. Allen wrote: http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/SpFactSh ... ciesID=478 is a good example of one of the more bizarre location/species pairings.

LOL!
Sounds like that swine farmer could make a nice penny on the side selling wild-caught discus!

S. Allen · Post by **S. Allen** » 26 Jun 2004, 01:24

yes, actually I've tried to contact the family... but they're not listed... was hoping to get a trip in around this time of year and then work out something with some friends I have coming in for ACA, for a day trip or something.

Felix · Post by **Felix** » 27 Jun 2004, 03:44

There are well established colonies of all sorts of alien fish and other wildlife in Florida. However, plecos are fairly easy to buy just about anywhere. It would be cool to have lots of different animals living here, but not necessarily a great idea. There's a colony of Monk Parrots in Brooklyn, but I don't think anyone would be thrilled to have a colony of tigers in Prospect Park. Hmm, now that I think about it...

sodapopdima · Post by **sodapopdima** » 27 Jun 2004, 05:42

Yes I seen the Parrots too by my area as well as my old College. Nice to see something other than Pigeons for a change.

So what about info on how Pleco's are caught, nobody touched that area. or is it very secretive...

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 27 Jun 2004, 07:16

Hi!

Well it really depends on what biotop they are living in...

On sandy bottomed rivers, a "simple" net used world wide by fishermen can be use.

In rivers filled with sunken wood and stuff, you either go with a small hand net and try to catch the fish or at least to follow him inside...or you put a long net around the wood, take all the wood out of the zone...

In rocky bottomed rivers such as the Rio Xingu, divers go catching fish, they usually catch the ones that are hidding in caves and try to take them out and direct them inside a small net.

that are for the methods I know, there might be others...

Cheers
Yann

ClayT101 · Post by **ClayT101** » 27 Jun 2004, 22:02

Felix wrote: There's a colony of Monk Parrots in Brooklyn,

We have the same thing in New Orleans. I believe what you call Monk Parrots are what I call Quaker Parakeets. Solid green, with a little bit of gray on the feathers, and very loud. They are about the size of a pigeon. Here they love palm trees. Its really nice to hear them squak about, even though they are foreign.

Mike_Noren · Post by **Mike_Noren** » 28 Jun 2004, 00:15

ClayT101 wrote:
Felix wrote: Its really nice to hear them squak about, even though they are foreign.

Well, that particular species is alien, but there was once a vaguely similar parakeet in that neck of the woods, the carolina parakeet, hunted to extinction in the early 1900's:
http://www.georgehoward.net/parakeet.htm