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Post by bulldog21 on Aug 10, 2010 16:11:36 GMT -4
Went out bass fishing today. Didn't have much luck catching any keepers. Everything was 13 inches. We were about to leave when I saw this fish in the water, so I grabbed the net......  It's called a Pleco. Many are grown as pets in aquariums but some are found in large lakes. Kinda like a large sucker fish. -Ryan |
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Post by Tom on Aug 10, 2010 17:19:12 GMT -4
pleco* I used to have one, but it died  |
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Post by Compre on Aug 10, 2010 18:54:44 GMT -4
Looks like a fish from the Jurassic time.  |
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Post by rocfish on Aug 11, 2010 0:09:26 GMT -4
 Ryan, where exactly do you fish? You're right, the common name for that catfish is "pleco" or "plecostomus", the name is kind of thrown at any of the aquarium trade armored scaled sucker mouthed catfish, even though there is really only one true Hypostomus Plecostomus species. They are native to Central and South America. You found this in a lake? A canal in the southern U.S. somewhere? Definitely out of place, unless your picture is you on some far flung fishing adventure vacation. I posted a thread on the 'Nation asking members if they had ever caught an exotic species on a Rapala, but alas, you said you netted it, oh well. ;D
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Post by bulldog21 on Aug 11, 2010 0:17:03 GMT -4
I caught it in a lake in South Texas. I saw it swim under a log and I managed to get it to swim in my fish net. Measured out to 24-25 inches. Thinking about getting it mounted but I don't know. I mean when would I ever catch one this big again?
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Post by rocfish on Aug 11, 2010 14:59:35 GMT -4
I guess S. Texas has similar enough habitat for the Central/South American Plecostomus to survive. Since you said you got it out of a lake, my guess is it was someone's aquarium pet that out grew its tank or the owner just got tired of taking care of it, and then it was set free. 2 feet plus is their normal adult size in the wild.
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Post by qbert on Aug 11, 2010 16:10:46 GMT -4
Nice!! That thing looks prehistoric as all hell!!! Congrats!!
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Post by Fishooked on Aug 15, 2010 18:58:37 GMT -4
Cool as hell...I had them in my fish tank for awhile as a kid...supposed to survive just about anything, but I still managed to kill those too..  |
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Post by omigosh on Aug 15, 2010 21:24:49 GMT -4
Had one that I put in the koi pond in the back yard. It got big in the summer until the water temp dropped. Then it went belly up.
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Post by bulldog21 on Aug 16, 2010 13:16:36 GMT -4
Yeah I bet the cold water probably did it in...
I am guessing this fish escaped from an aquarium during a flood and managed to survive a while. It never really gets that cold down here. And when it does...not for long.
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