PlanetCatfish.com

i want to take my pleco to thailand and let him go in a river over there. does anyone know how i would go about it? what would be the procedure? who could i contact? would he have to go into quarantine?

Pl*cos are a non-native species to Thailand. I don't think this would be a wise idea to let him/her go in a river.
Amanda

why would you want to do that?

This is a joke, right? If not: don't!

so where are they native to then? i thought they came from thailand? sorry for being so dozy... anyway, no one wants to answer my previous question about who my pleco will and wont get on with, so what am i to do?? a little advice would go a long way!

drgold wrote:why would you want to do that?

cos i thought it would be a really noble thing to do??? i mean, how amzing would it be to release an animal back into it's natural habitat? where he can have space and freedom?? i don't need to be criticized or attacked by you guys. it was an honest mistake and it's not like i would, or could just pack him in my suitcase and drop him off! i would obviously have loads of red tape to get through, i would have to speak to officials, consult the people who manage the fragile environment... from the feedback i've had i feel like u think i have no regard for the environment and i'm as thick as two planks i am aware of eco systems and when i found a dragonfly nymph in my one tank i contacted the dragonfly society to make sure it was ok to release it into the wild when it finally emerged (as I had received plants from thailand and i didnt want risk anything, just incase the dragon wasnt meant to be in the UK)...

This sounds a bit like flaming to me.

If not, then no, you can't release them in Thailand.

Plecs are native to South and Central America only.

They are found all over the world in other places because idiot fishkeepers decide to release them.

what's 'flaming'?

well then i'll take him to south america! would it be possible? i mean, would they let me release him there?

oh, flaming as in mad? nope, flaming would be if i said i won the lottery and i was gonna buy some rain forest and a river to go with it, bring it over here and let my pleco go... ROFL!!!

Sorry, I meant "Trolling" rather than flaming.

"Trolling" is when you post a deliberately provocative message to get an angry response from forum members.
It's in the rules.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/rules.php

People who do this would get pleasure from winding people up.

I don't know if you are or not.

That would be up to the mods to decide.

well then i'll take him to south america! would it be possible? i mean, would they let me release him there?

I do very much doubt that you would get the necessary import/export licences to take your pet to South America.

From the NANFA Code of Ethics (my emphasis)

"Fishes or other aquatic organisms must not be relocated or introduced into any outdoor bodies of water, even to places where they were originally collected (except catch and immediate release), including specimens raised in private aquaria, without permission from the appropriate governing agency. Members must realize that there are complicated and often unknown ecological processes at work in aquatic systems which may make fish introductions detrimental to the system. Potential problems from such introductions include displacement of native species, spread of disease, and the loss of genetic diversity via hybridization."

The basic rule is, "Once placed in an aquaria, never released." This is because the animal can be exposed to all sorts of viruses, bacterias, and parasites in the fishroom that have come in with fishes from all over the world. You may not just be returning your pet to the Mississippi, but also a Peruvian parasite that your pet picked up from its tankmates.
-Shane

thanx for all the info. this isnt a wind-up. sorry if any of you took it that way. i just thought it might work. anyhow, it's obvious it's not gonna work and it was a stupid idea...

funkedupkoalzz wrote:who my pl*co will and wont get on with

I'd have thought it'd get on with most other fish, excepting maybe another of it's own species AND sex (but plenty of 'hides' usually solves this). Or an other aggressive fish.

What fish are you having problems with?

hey thanx for your reply!

well, if you read my other thread you'll see that i have to rehome my pleco cos i cant keep the tank anymore there's a guy that will take him but he has a snow king plec, and mine is a common plec. he has other plecos too, and the tank is only 3ft, although it is decked out with a lot of hiding places. wot do u think?

Snow King Pleco is another big-grower - 400mm according to the Cat-eLog. That means that it's pretty much unsuitable for a tank less than three foot on the shortest side and I'm sure by three foot tank, you don't mean one that is six by three by three foot, right?

Similarly, yours will need equally large housing, give or take a little bit.

Also, most plecos are somewhat aggressive towards same or similar species, so a Liposarucs pardalis and Liposarcus ambrosetti would be similar enough to cause territorial agression.

Unfortunately, it's hard to get these things right, as the only really "easy" solution would be to "leave the fish in the shop" before you got it the first time round - but there are thousands of these sold every day of the year, and most die before they become really large [due to lack of knowledge from the owners], but if they don't, they get so big that they are a bit difficult to find a home for.

--
Mats