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Post by qbert on Jul 12, 2010 21:12:33 GMT -4
Went fishing today with my nephew and saw what I can only describe as an albino catfish. I don't know how this thing could have been in my tiny little stream long enough to get to be 16-18 inches without getting eaten or me ever seeing it before, but it was there today.
My nephew got him to bite, but lost him. I will try to catch him in the near future and get some pics of it, because I'm sure at least a few of you think i am out of my mind with this one!!
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Post by fishing_in_israel on Jul 12, 2010 21:36:43 GMT -4
Went fishing today with my nephew and saw what I can only describe as an albino catfish. I don't know how this thing could have been in my tiny little stream long enough to get to be 16-18 inches without getting eaten or me ever seeing it before, but it was there today. My nephew got him to bite, but lost him. I will try to catch him in the near future and get some pics of it, because I'm sure at least a few of you think i am out of my mind with this one!! A couple of years back we were on a trip to the Hula Nature Reserve (north of the Sea of Galilee) and saw loads of cats swimming around waiting for the visitors to throw scraps of food - sandwiches, corn snacks - it didn't matter to them. they seem to eat anything and everything - one kid's hat got blown into the water and a cat immediately swallowed the thing  I digress. In amongst all the cats there was a good sized albino one -- so you're not crazy. |
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Post by bacon on Jul 12, 2010 22:39:46 GMT -4
thats awesome, you see them at cabelas and bass pro shops in the aquariums, but hearing about someone see one in the wild is very cool. good luck.
bacon
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Post by rocfish on Jul 12, 2010 23:16:19 GMT -4
Some biology info from my high school classroom for you all. Albinism, which is most commonly caused by a recessive gene, statistically could appear in about 25% of a species' population, but, due to non-random mating, environmental pressures and Natural Selection, it probably more likely appears in less than 1% of a species' population. And those individuals born with the condition face greater adversity due to them not posessing the common coloration of whatever has proved to be most successful for the species, so, the chances of them surviving to adulthood is lessened even more. Occurences in the wild are rare (and cool) and should be cause for excitement if witnessed. The captive specimens in certain outdoor shop aquariums are most likely found and donated by catfish farms, where the occurence could be greater due to artificial breeding.
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