fishguy2501
New member
If i am not wrong thats how it worked out with the peacock bass and cichlids down in south florida. they released the bass to control the cichlid and carp population while also adding a new game fish.
Florida is trying to reduce sales of exotic pets
- Thread starter Ohioreefer7
- Start date
If i am not wrong thats how it worked out with the peacock bass and cichlids down in south florida. they released the bass to control the cichlid and carp population while also adding a new game fish.
anbosu
New member
I wonder if that has had a negative impact on the Florida largemouth populations?
I fish in lakes that still have plenty of both so it would appear they coexist fairly well. The lake I fish mostly is called Lake Ida. The largemouths and peacocks are ridiculously easy to catch there. They will take dead shiners off the bottom. My theory is that maybe they have to be less picky about food since there is increased competition. But I could be totally wrong on that one.
there have also been several Nile Crocodiles found in the everglades. pretty sure those were always banned. The burmese python problem has gotten out of control here though. The even eat american alligators. We hunt them by the thousands every year, they just breed too fast to keep up with. Unlike most large constrictors, burmese pythons have a voracious apetite. they can eat almost daily whereas an anaconda eats every 6 months or so in the wild.
The problem with bans is they make the problem worse. The cost of the animals goes up and demand goes up. just makes them more appealing to breed and sell. Look at the piranha. since it has been banned in most states, many many illegal markets have surfaced for their purchase.
It is a major issue but ussually our attempts to curtail it make it worse. i sure hope the Nile croc population doesnt pick up down here. If they breed with the American crocodile we will have a super predator in our hands.
The problem with bans is they make the problem worse. The cost of the animals goes up and demand goes up. just makes them more appealing to breed and sell. Look at the piranha. since it has been banned in most states, many many illegal markets have surfaced for their purchase.
It is a major issue but ussually our attempts to curtail it make it worse. i sure hope the Nile croc population doesnt pick up down here. If they breed with the American crocodile we will have a super predator in our hands.
Ohioreefer7
New member
I think the people who have salt water aquariums are more mature than people who own cichlids or reptiles. People who own cichlids and reptiles tend to behave like 15 year old kids when they think it would be cool to release their pets into the wild. Salt water aquarists may occasionally put a fish into the ocean but rarely enough to have a breeding population. Plus it is lucky they don't put really invasive stuff like blue clove polyps or marine invertebrates into the ocean because they really would become bad news. I think most people who have marine aquariums have grown up past that stage.
fishguy2501
New member
The true reptile and cichlid hobbyists aren't the problem. It is the uneducated people who buy a python from Petsmart and then when it gets to big they think that releasing it is the best option because they will be "free". And for cichlids, it could be people who aren't as experienced in the hobby that go to a big box store and then buy a fish that the employee tells them is not aggressive and doesn't get too large, but it turns out that red devil or Oscar got huge and ate everything else in the tank. They see a canal by their house and dump them in there cause they think the fish will be "free" and will have a better life. Also a lot of animals that have escaped came from facilities and fish farms that got damaged or flooded during storms. That's how some of the cichlid populations got out when a farm flooded into a nearby canal.
