Monday, September 17, 2007

Fishing Pall

VietNamNet Bridge has an interesting report about fish that have invaded the Tri An Reservoir in Vietnam. Peacock bass (Cichla ocellaris) and red pacu (Colossoma brachypomum), were introduced by fish breeders that kept the carnivorous fish in cages in the reservoir. Both species escaped, though the peacock bass is considered more of a threat since it is breeding quite well in the wild and the red pacu apparently does not. The article also makes reference to yet another introduction, ca lau kinh (a suckermouth catfish, likely a species of Hypostomus) that has made the Tri An Reservoir its home. While the native range of these species is listed in the article as South Africa, they are actually all native to South America.

Tip of the virtual hat to the Protect Your Waters website for posting about this story.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this.

AJB said...

The various pacu are largely vegetarian:

http://tinyurl.com/2xfjvr

Although, they still shouldn't be there. :)

Andrew.