Redtail Catfish

[Mark B.]

Recently, someone sent NJDF&W a video of a good sized one swimming in Pondside Park, Harrington Park, NJ 07640.

Last year, an angler caught & released a big one in Duck Pond, Secaucus.

[catfishonthelake]

About 5 years ago my buddy caught a 5-pounder out White Pond in Waldwick. He sent me the pic and asked me what it was and I was shocked.

[Billfish715]

That's what happens when fish get too big for someone's aquarium! Exotics show up in lots of unlikely bodies of water when people dump them out of the tanks they have at home. It even happens with reptiles, mammals and birds. Ask people who live near Fairfield University in Connecticut about the wild parrots that live there. Someone is always losing a boa constrictor. Brightly colored koi seem to find their way into local ponds. So, a red tailed catfish is certainly not out of the question.

[Eskimo]

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I remember when the pet stores used to sell Pacus very cheaply. Nobody was able to keep them for long because they quickly out-grew their aquariums and the fish would sometimes end up in the local waterways. There was a lot of confusion when anglers caught an enormous fish with big, blunt teeth. Even fish and wildlife misidentified a Pacu as a Piranha when one was caught in the Delaware.
Article on it: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/200...hes_south.html

Nearly all the independent exotic fish stores have closed their businesses. They were replaced by the big-box pet stores like Petco And Petsmart that usually just sell small tropicals like platys and tetras. When I was big into aquariums and tropical fish, I would make several trips a month to the Shark Aquarium and the Pet Shanty on Route 22. Both of which are no longer in business.


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[tycomps]

"Water temperature: 72 – 82°f, 23-28°c", how do they survive the winter?

[AndyS]

They won't survive the winter, just like F&G said about the Snakeheads and Flatheads.

[Adrenalinerush]

Originally Posted by Billfish715

That's what happens when fish get too big for someone's aquarium! Exotics show up in lots of unlikely bodies of water when people dump them out of the tanks they have at home. It even happens with reptiles, mammals and birds. Ask people who live near Fairfield University in Connecticut about the wild parrots that live there. Someone is always losing a boa constrictor. Brightly colored koi seem to find their way into local ponds. So, a red tailed catfish is certainly not out of the question.

You don't have to go to Connecticut for wild parrots there are sizeable populations in the Carteret area.

https://dendroica.blogspot.com/2012/...-carteret.html

[tycomps]

Originally Posted by Adrenalinerush

You don't have to go to Connecticut for wild parrots there are sizeable populations in the Carteret area.

https://dendroica.blogspot.com/2012/...-carteret.html

interesting- "heat from the transformers may help keep them warm in cold northern winters"