Snakehead invasion in the States

[Kokanee9]

Just sitting here watching a show on National Geographic channel about snakehead fish in the states. Terrible fish. Not a good fish to get into the ecosystem, it is native to asian countries and can live out of water for up to 3 days.
I would suggest a google search to inform yourself about these fish.

[Braun]

ya, weve seen threads on this guys pop up in the forum alot in the past year. sad thing is is that i am seeing alot more pop up in stores around calgary. hope the people who buy them for pets know what they are getting into and if it gets to that point, dispose of them properly rather than throwing them in the river

[Kokanee9]

I didn't remember other threads so I thought I would post it. I remember about 10 years ago, these fish were for sale in pet stores but didn't think they were still for sale. I had no idea that they could survive outside of the fish tank here in alberta.

How is that ship coming along?

[Braun]

There is one species of snakehead that is said to be able to survive the cold temperatures of canada. Cant remember which one. I have seen snake heads in the bigger aquarium stores. (not that i am bashing them.) riverfront aquariums is one. there is another store in the NE that has them. not that I am against these pet stores, I love riverfront, we get alot of our supplies for our bearded dragon there because they are very reasonable. I would like to think owners wouldnt be stupid enough to dump them into a waterway when they get too big to keep as puts but that apparently was one of the listed problems on how they got into american waterways. THat along with the bucket brigade importing them and stocking them for resale later because they are apparently great to eat and really expensive to buy at the store.

I havent done much with the boat. Little by little. the motor runs great. I am hoping the leg is good. Havent put a prop on there yet so i dont know yet what I might be getting into there. I was told that everything was in good shape but until i see it with my own eyes, im a skeptic. The next step is to start work on layout. I dont want to do that until I find a cooler I am going to use for a live well. I wont fully hook it up but i need to find the unit so i can lay out my consoles and bow around it. I have decided to put it between the consoles anyways which means cutting out the console supports and framing in new ones so i can fit the livewell and open it. sounds difficult but it is actually really easy to do when you consider that im framing the front of the boat anyways. If anyone has a big, old cooler(at least 30inches long on the inside) that they dont use, let me know. ill buy it from you.

[Loki610]

If River Monsters and wikipedia are correct we have no need to be worried in Alberta. If these fish have to surface to breath they wouldn't survive the winters in our lakes very well!

[npauls]

They don't need to surface to survive but if the oxygen levels are to low they can surface to get air. The northern snake head can survive in arctic temps and is a definite possibility of spreading across Canada.

I hope it doesn't happen but there is alot of people that don't care about Canadian water ways and fish species and would have no problem dumping them into any water system.

[pickrel pat]

we better start stocking bass right now so they can eat the snakeheads....

[FishBrain]

Not all Snakeheads grow to be the huge Monster killer that everyone claims.
I have had a few diffenet types. They are aggressive yes, but drown if they do not get air from out of the water. Yes they will survive for along time in water without real air, but will drown. OUt of water, they die because they dry up, and cannot eat.
I highly doubt they would survive a winter here, but hey animals a strong creatures.

[Braun]

I could see it now. I drag my auger out, pop my first hole and start scooping ice and up pops a head of a northern snake head to take a breath of air and i nearly **** myself

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by FishBrain

I highly doubt they would survive a winter here, but hey animals a strong creatures.

x2 Our native fish have a hard time surviving in our waters at times so I can't see a warm water fish making a go of it.

I watched the show last night as well and I found it very interesting. I think that they are going to have a bigger problem in the Potomac in the future. In the southern states where allot of species of fish can survive and flourish they have allot more than just snakeheads to worry about. I watched Wild Justice one night and there was a segment about a teenager selling piranhas. Apparently if released into California waters they could survive and flourish. I think that it would take a long, long time before fish like that could ever evolve enough to survive our Canadian climate.

[Braun]

http://bannedontheweb.com/everything...lla-snakehead/


read the 3rd bullet point. northern snakeheads can live under the ice of northern climates

[Izumi]

Originally Posted by Braun

http://bannedontheweb.com/everything...lla-snakehead/


read the 3rd bullet point. northern snakeheads can live under the ice of northern climates

I question your source.

The wikipedia states the fish is an obligate air breather
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_snakehead

and Wikipedia also says
"Obligate air breathers, such as the African lungfish, must breathe air periodically or they suffocate."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish

So if there is ice, I would expect them to suffocate.

[npauls]

There is always pockets of air under the ice that they could use in that situation. With it being pretty cold I am sure the snakeheads body would slow down and use alot less air in the winter making them capable of surviving in some of our lakes over winter. On river monsters they mentioned that the northern snakehead is capable of surviving in Canada over the winters and could easily take over some bodies of water.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by npauls

There is always pockets of air under the ice that they could use in that situation. With it being pretty cold I am sure the snakeheads body would slow down and use alot less air in the winter making them capable of surviving in some of our lakes over winter. On river monsters they mentioned that the norther snakehead it capable of surviving in Canada over the winters and could easily take over some bodies of water.

X2....pretty scary. The only good thing for the US is that they are edible. The other terrible invade...asian carp are not so much.

[Braun]

sundance, ive always wanted to know. what kind of fish is that in your profile picture

[HunterDave]

In theory, only the Channa Argus might be able to survive in some areas in Canada but I think that they'd have a hard time of it.

Have a look at Page 45 about the experiment that Russia did to introduce them there:

http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/circ_1251_courtenay.pdf

POTENTIAL RANGE

Temperature is the most important environmental factor that would determine potential range of snakeheads in the United States. Because there are few data providing thermal tolerance ranges for snakeheads, potential range must be inferred from distribution within native ranges (fig. 6).

The family Channidae contains 10 species that are strictly tropical and, if introduced, would survive in only the warmest waters, such as extreme southern Florida, perhaps parts of southern California and Hawaii, and certain thermal spring systems and their outflows in the American west. Another four species can be considered tropical to subtropical, indicating a similar potential range of distribution as for tropical species, but with a greater likelihood of survival during cold winters and more northward limits. One is subtropical. Another 11 snakeheads (3 that appear to be species complexes) can tolerate tropical or subtropical to warm temperate conditions, indicative of species that could survive in most southern states. One is warm temperate, and another is warm temperate to cold temperate (Channa argus has a temperature range of 0-30 ºC).

In summary, there are no waters in the United States that, based on temperature, would preclude some member(s) of the family Channidae from becoming established.

[hustler]

I have a 20" giant or channa snakehead in a tank downstairs....
I would never let it loose in the wild, It hits harder than a pike and kills fish twice its size with little effort.
I have heavily arrorated water with tons of filtration and it still hits the surface for air every 15-20 min regardless just like my diffrent Gars so I would think if nothing else the ice would kill it. (i would hope anyways) Like that pacu the guy caught in pigeon a few years back thinking it was a pirihana.... scary stuff

[FishBrain]

Originally Posted by hustler

I have a 20" giant or channa snakehead in a tank downstairs....
I would never let it loose in the wild, It hits harder than a pike and kills fish twice its size with little effort.
I have heavily arrorated water with tons of filtration and it still hits the surface for air every 15-20 min regardless just like my diffrent Gars so I would think if nothing else the ice would kill it. (i would hope anyways) Like that pacu the guy caught in pigeon a few years back thinking it was a pirihana.... scary stuff

I really miss mine. They are very smart fish, strong as heck, and not scared of a damn thing. I have seen them take chunks out of fish that are to big for it to swallow. They are little b@st@rds too. I had a goldfish the kids named Bob, because the snakehead bit him in half, he had a little meat on his but so his stomach did not come out and he was able to tay alive. The Channa would bump him to get him to swim away but he could not, so the channa would bump and chase the other fish in the tank, and bump and chase and when the fish could not swim any faster to get away that is when the channa would strike! So Awesome to see.
Imagine watching an angrier, more aggressive pike feeding!!!

[pickrel pat]

Originally Posted by npauls

There is always pockets of air under the ice that they could use in that situation. With it being pretty cold I am sure the snakeheads body would slow down and use alot less air in the winter making them capable of surviving in some of our lakes over winter. On river monsters they mentioned that the northern snakehead is capable of surviving in Canada over the winters and could easily take over some bodies of water.

if bass cant survive in alberta, neither can they!

[The Fisherman Guy]

Originally Posted by Braun

sundance, ive always wanted to know. what kind of fish is that in your profile picture

I'm going to take a wild guess and say it is a Dog Salmon, or Chum, in spawning colors.

My favorite of all the spawning salmon. They really get gnarly chompers on them, and the colors that adorn their sides are incredible.