legality of parasitic catfish?

[KungFish]

I saw someone selling

pseudostegophilus nemurus

, and the auction said "will not be sent into any state where parasitic cats are illegal to own like California, Texas, and Florida". I was not aware of any restrictions on keeping parasitic catfish in texas! Does anyone know of an online page that explains this in more detail?

[dpm1]

I doubt if the issue is specifically because they are 'parasitic catfish' which is often just a generic name for the family they belong to (some will be major parasites, others minor, some possibly not at all), rather its the more likely to be related to the possibility of them becoming an invasive species if the local climate and waters resemble their wild origins.

The US restrictions are run in a similar manner to that of the UK where there is a 'black list' of plant and animal species, although obviously run on a more 'local' registry.
I would start here: http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/exotic/ which also includes the links to http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/spe ... atic.phtml

Note that many of the restrictions are for specific species only and its likely importers are playing it safe and easy by rolling the family in to one to make things a simple yes/no decision.

[slayer5590]

the entire family is illegal in TX

[bekateen]

Not to derail your thread, but I looked at the link to the spp. banned in Texas, and I discovered that whale cats are on the list, too. I know so little about them; I didn't realize the pest-like nature of those cats. They're banned in California too. No wonder I've never seen them (or the parasitic catfish of this thread) in any stores. Amazing.

[KungFish]

Apparently they are less concerned with the smaller species on the list because it says "Whale Catfishes, Family Cetopsidae All species" are completely banned, but my group of

denticetopsis seducta

got through just fine. Ssh, don't tell anyone! XD

I hope i'll be able to get the

trichomycterus

i've been looking at... Hopefuly they'll slip through like my red whales.

[KungFish]

Upon closer inspection, it appears that non-parasitic trichomycterids are allowed. Also, I believe my denticetopsis got through because it is not a recognized genus on the list, which was made in 1999. Apparently, according to their list, cetopsidae consists of these genera "cetopsis hemicetopsis pseudocetopsis cetopsogiton". I've never even heard of cetopsogiton.

[slayer5590]

listed as South American Parasitic Candiru Catfishes, Family TrichomycteridaeAll species

[Narwhal72]

Your fish "got through" because there is literally no state inspection of shipments from one state to the next. It doesn't make it less illegal to have them.

[KungFish]

listed as South American Parasitic Candiru Catfishes, Family TrichomycteridaeAll species

Not according to the official 370 page manual listed on the page… It says:

SOUTH AMERICAN PARASITIC CATFISH
Family: Trichomycteridae
All Species of the Subfamilies Stegophilinae and Vandelliinae.

I see no mention of Trichomycterinae, aka the non-parasitic trichomycterids.

Your fish "got through" because there is literally no state inspection of shipments from one state to the next. It doesn't make it less illegal to have them.

Well… whatever happened… I was not aware of all this when I got them. However, the official manual does state this:

(2) Genera of Whale Catfishes
Cetopsis
Hemicetopsis
Pseudocetopsis
Cetopsogiton

No denticetopsis here.

Here's the manual http://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdp ... 0376_1.pdf

[bekateen]

Assuming this 1999 document is still the law of the land in Texas (which it appears to be), two things appear to be true:

1. You're safe with your Trichomycterus: On the 99th page (which is numbered as 95 in its text), the document states,
   "Unrestricted nonparasitic Trichomycterid subfamilies and genera (Follows Burgess 1989): > {go down the list} > Subfamily Trichomycterinae > Trichomycterus." So this little guy is legal in Texas. As you point out, only the parasitic subfamilies are restricted.
2. Regardless of how you were able to get the Denticetopsis, you might have a difficult time keeping the fish if the long arm of the law knocked on your door. The document doesn't mention your genus, but the rules seem to say "Cetopsidae-All species." If taxonomy has evolved since then, but the law hasn't, then Denticetopsis is still considered forbidden.

Cheers, Eric

[KungFish]

Well… I wouldn't argue if they were to be confiscated, but let's hope that doesn't happen.

It's sad that they restrict the whole of cetopsidae based on the predatory behaviors of

Cetopsis coecutiens

and

Cetopsis candiru

. Apparently all other species feed on insects. Insectivorous

trichomycteridae

are not restricted, so it seems that the same exceptions should apply for the insectivorous cetopsids.

[Marc van Arc]

If this law is based on Burgess' book, it is certainly outdated - to say the least.
It is an enormous generalization to include all Cetopsidae based on the behaviour of just a few species.
Besides, what to do with the former family Helogenidae, which is now included in Cetopsidae? They should be allowed based on Burgess - which shows that it is very difficult to apply this law *.

I shouldn't worry too much wrt Denticetopsis. As long as you can avoid talebearers/tattlers/rats, you and your fish should be fine.

* this is the polite version. I wrote it like this, because politics have caused me more problems on this forum than any fish related illness you can think of. And I've had my share of sick fishes.....

[bekateen]

As long as you can avoid talebearers/tattlers/rats, you and your fish should be fine.

... and trolls: As long as you can avoid talebearers/tattlers/rats and trolls.