Exotic Introductions

Were these fish released into native waters? Yes
Were they found by random people? Yes and no. Some of the ones listed have established themselves and are apparently reproducing. Others have been seen, but haven't been confirmed as having established themselves. The point is that most people think that nonnative fish can't survive in the wild outside of their native waters. But the fact is that they can. A lot of ecosystems can be turned upside down by the introduction of non-native species. Native fish can't always compete and will be basically pushed out.
 
Originally posted by vaheelsfan
Native fish can't always compete and will be basically pushed out.
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Clarification: "pushed out" = outcompeted for resources or eaten up.

Another alternative is that native fish could cohabitate with the exotics by exploiting a slightly different niche. Most native fish in this scenario will probably be outcompeted while those that are able to "adapt" will survive.

This is a less likely scenario than the demise of native populations, since introduced species tend to have very few natural enemies.
 
I just explained this scenario to my 14yr old brother-in-law who was talking about how his friend had turned their Oscar loose in the local lake when it outgrew its tank. they live in south texas so I'm sure it could survive, hopefully there are not more oscars so it can't reproduce. KYle
 
Originally posted by vaheelsfan
Were these fish released into native waters? Yes
Were they found by random people? Yes and no. Some of the ones listed have established themselves and are apparently reproducing. Others have been seen, but haven't been confirmed as having established themselves. The point is that most people think that nonnative fish can't survive in the wild outside of their native waters. But the fact is that they can. A lot of ecosystems can be turned upside down by the introduction of non-native species. Native fish can't always compete and will be basically pushed out.
Click to expand...

I would **** my pants if I found some $50 fish in the local waters, or even perhaps a couple of them!
 
members of another board i post at, do this all the time. they go down to florida and catch tons of fish. they look a lot better than the ones at pet stores too. i went fishing at a lake here once and caught an angelfish. but nothing really cool.
 
Yes, finding a 50 dollar fish would be cool, and I imagine that they would be better than a fish you could get at a pet store. A fish that is hardy enough to live in an aquarium that is probably too small for it, be dumped into some foreign waters, and live long enough to find another fish like it to reproduce is probably a pretty rare find in a pet store. Makes you wonder how many fish get dumped that don't make it:shake:
 
While releasing non-native tropical fish into the wild might be a problem where YOU live, it's not where I live, up north.
Goldfish maybe; white clouds, maybe, (they're cheap and hardy), guppies, probably not.
 
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