URGENT ID - Auction and need decision on purchase

[henward]

ok, im from NZ, and everythign is rare here:D well not everything but really, oukr selection is very limited.
so please ignore the auctions title RARE.
because to you it may be a dime a dozen lol

anyways, please urgently ID this fish.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=459681089

scientific name would be good, so i can google it and see more pictures.

seller claims its actual pics, looks legit, but the name is not really very descriptive... im sure colombia has MANY catfish species!!

[MatsP]

I can pretty safely declare that it is not a Colombian fish (but perhaps Columbian means the Columbia river in the US?). The reason I say that is that the fish in the picture has 8 barbels, which is not found in any South American catfish.

In fact, it does look a bit like a North American fish, but could also be an Asian fish...

Sorry, but not sure what species it is. Have a look through

Ictaluridae

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Mats

[henward]

thanks, that helps somewhat.

but someone said that it could be a bullhead catfish, brown bullhead perhaps?
not sure, any feedback on that?

[MatsP]

Yes, brown bullhead is definitely a possibility. See

Brown bullhead

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Mats

[Silurus]

It IS a brown bullhead.

[MatsP]

Thanks HH for confirming what I was leaning towards.

It is an invasive species in NZ, introduced in 1878 and now fairly widespread.

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Mats

[nvcichlids]

It is an invasive species in NZ, introduced in 1878 and now fairly widespread.

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Mats

Wait, so it ISN'T rare?? The auction title was wrong ? Get out of here!

all joking aside, I agree with the id

[MatsP]

Wait, so it ISN'T rare?? The auction title was wrong ? Get out of here!

It was a catfish, so one of the three words in the title IS correct... ;) And I suspect it's quite rare in Colombia, so that's probably true too - just where it came from ORIGINALLY isn't Colombia...

(not sure if it's rare in Columbia [river around the border of Canada and Washington state in US]).

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Mats

[Buddiechrist]

That is totally a Brown Bull, have caught many of them in the past.
The Price is WAY expensive even for shipping costs etc.

[MatsP]

That is totally a Brown Bull, have caught many of them in the past.
The Price is WAY expensive even for shipping costs etc.

Bear in mind that this is NZ, where ALL fish is very expensive. They have very strict import rules.

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Mats

[Buddiechrist]

Even so, it would be on par with like pepper cories or bronze etc... SOO MANY and extremely common that it is never priced high. Even with US or Canada importing to NZ wouldn't cost that much / much time in quarantine at airport. I have shipped internationally so I do realize unless sending in bulk its not worth it, but even if he was one of the few remaining survivors from a bad shipper it wouldn't justify the price.
Trust me BC Canada has one of the most STRICT import / export law(s) lots of the time gotta ship from BC to ONT then over seas.

[MatsP]

I don't know much about the Canadian quarantine rules, but I've never heard anyone saying that it's more than the four weeks of quarantine that "low risk" fish requires. High risk fish requires further action.

http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/ih ... ic.all.pdf

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Mats

[racoll]

Oh dear. Selling this species is really bad form, and illegal.

I've informed MAF. Maybe the $20,000 fine will put them off doing it again.

[henward]

i got excited for a moment, but i have learnt my lessons purchasing 'new and rare' species online