Invasive armored catfish report

One of these showed up in a local Marin county creek. Having grown up in the Bay Area I've never seen one and bummed this tropical aquarium fish is now taking up steelhead habitat. Anyone else know about their distribution around here? Let's team up and eradicate these before they establish. Fishermen once again are the front line of conservation and it's time to be vigilant and act.

I thought these were tropical and need warmer waters?

What creek? Im in point reyes and having been trying to get bowfishing/spearfishing permission for papermill creek and possibly even nicassio.  Hopefully these little guys dont spread.

Looks like the fish sold as "plecostomus" in aquarium stores:

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/pleco/common.php

This article says they need 68 to 82 degree water, but I still seem to remember that they are pretty hardy. Regardless, I have a hard time believing these could live anywhere around here unless there is a warm water outlet nearby.

Looks like the fish sold as "plecostomus" in aquarium stores:

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/pleco/common.php

This article says they need 68 to 82 degree water, but I still seem to remember that they are pretty hardy. Regardless, I have a hard time believing these could live anywhere around here unless there is a warm water outlet nearby.

I thought it was a pleco as well!

All bad,those things are very hardy and omnivorous.they will turn the eco system upside down.ive seen them live in numerous aquariums where everything else died but those things.

Gotta love people that do not have the heart to either flush them or find another home other than our waterways when they move.

Looks to be a freshly released Pleco. I'll take it for my tank. Right now my other catfish have killed 3 plecos.

  XYv

That's so wrong. Some people just don't think about the consequences  when they dump invasive fish into our rivers and lakes. Just take them back to the pet stores or use them as fertilizer.

They will thrive around California
When in oragon someone caught a piranha it was verified by fish and game
Way colder water than they are supposed to live in but it was very healthy they figured it got to big for someone's tank

We used to have a huge one in our fish tank at my moms house.... 

They will thrive around California
When in oragon someone caught a piranha it was verified by fish and game
Way colder water than they are supposed to live in but it was very healthy they figured it got to. It for someone's tank

No way a piranha could survive a year in the wild in Oregon---must've been recently released, as they're easy to grow to large size in an aquarium.

They will thrive around California
When in oragon someone caught a piranha it was verified by fish and game
Way colder water than they are supposed to live in but it was very healthy they figured it got to. It for someone's tank

No way a piranha could survive a year in the wild in Oregon---must've been recently released, as they're easy to grow to large size in an aquarium.

They've been catching piranha in Lake of the Ozarks for years. national Geographic even did a study and found they live year round by finding a natural sring feed and going dormant during the winter when the water gets too cold.

http://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/piranha-hunt-at-the-lake-of-the-ozarks/71729708

I did a quick search on the net but this was pre net so no luck
As I remember the  piranha was caught in the lower clak
I used to love fishing that stretch of river
Because of the site seeing girls would lie out to get a compleat tan
Very nice but very distracting