MonsterFishKeepers.com

[sandtiger]

Round Goby (Neogobius melanstomus)

Distribution:

Source: http://biology.mcgill.ca

Identification:

SOURCE: http://www.protectyourwaters.net


SOURCE: http://www.naturewatch.ca

Impacts: Feed off of native fish eggs (lake trout) and competes with similer species such as sculpin and logperch.

Further Information:
http://www.protectyourwaters.net/hit...round_goby.php
http://www.glsc.usgs.gov/main.php?co..._invasive_fish

Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)

Distribution:

Source: http://www.iisgcp.org

Identification:

Source: http://www.gma.org

Impacts:
Parasitic, feeds off of other fishes, particularly ciscos, walleye and lake trout. Hosts normally don't survive.

Further Information:
http://www.issg.org/database/species...=542&fr=1&sts=
http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/greatla...alamprey1.html

Northern Snakehead (Channa argus)

Distribution:

SOURCE: http://www.columbia.edu

Identification:

SOURCE: http://www.wvdnr.gov


SOURCE: http://www.dnr.state.md.us

Impacts:
Competition with and predation on native organisms

Further Information:
http://fisc.er.usgs.gov/Snakehead_ci...nna_argus.html
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactS...speciesID=2265

Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Distribution:

SOURCE: http://fisc.er.usgs.gov

Identification:
Not to be confused with native members of the sucker family. Common carp has a set of two barbels on it's mouth, can reach 4' in length and continuous dorsal fin with 17-21 rays. Some are covered in large scales but not all, some can be found with patches of them and others with no scales at all. Color is generally brownish but koi carp (selevetive bred strains of the same species) and be found in a wide range of colors and are often found in the wild.

SOURCE: www.wikipedia.com

Impacts:
Common carp destroy and uproot aquatic plants and the habitats they create for fish, waterfowl and other species. Their foraging behavior creates turbidity, also upsetting the habitats of native species. They also consume fish eggs and native organisms.

Further Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_carp
http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet.php?toc_id=183

Eurasian Ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus)

Distribution:

SOURCE: http://www.columbia.edu

Identification:

SOURCE: http://www.iowadnr.com

Impacts:
Ruffe are a fast growing species that grow quickly, thus they can populate an area completly. They are aggresive competitors of native fishes and disrupt current predator/prey relationships.

Further Information:
http://www.issg.org/database/species...=544&fr=1&sts=
http://fwcb.cfans.umn.edu/research/ruffe/

Goldfish (Carassius auratus)

Distribution:

SOURCE: http://cars.er.usgs.gov

Identification:
Due to selective breeding goldfish come in a wide range of sizes, body types and colors. Most you're likely to encounter in the wild are feeder type "common" or "comet" goldfish who are very similer to their wild Asian counterparts. They are very similer to the common carp but lack barbels around their mouths and have shorter dorsal fins. They can reach about 2' in length.

SOURCE: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu

Impacts: Similer to the impacts created by carp. Habitat destruction (including the creation of algae blooms) and predation on native species.

Further Information:
http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet.php?toc_id=170
http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet2.php?toc_id=170

Rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus)

Distribution:

http://fisc.er.usgs.gov

Identification:

SOURCE: www.wikipedia.org
Not to be confused with golden shiners or other native cyprinids. Eight-Nine rays present in dorsal fin. Unlike the golden shiner the keey in front of the anus is covered in scales.

Impacts: Competes with and consumes native species including plants.

Further Information:
http://www.issg.org/database/species...=1&si=614&sts=
http://fisc.er.usgs.gov/Carp_ID/html...phthalmus.html

Weather Loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus)

Distribution:


Identification:
Reaches 12" in length, long slender body. Six barbels around the mouth. Short lateral line that does not exceed the pectoral fin. Spines located on the pectoral fins.

SOURCE: http://artedi.fish.washington.edu

Impacts:
Competes with and consumes native species. They aren't very vulnerable to predation and have a high rate of reproduction.

Further Information:
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactS...?speciesID=498
http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet.php?toc_id=192

Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus

Distribution:

SOURCE: http://www.columbia.edu

Identification:
Reaches 12-15". Eyes large compaired to other herring species, diameter of eyes greater then the length of the snout.

SOURCE: http://www.invasive.org

Impacts:
Competes with native species

Further Information:
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/a.../alewife.shtml
http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/greatla...h/alewife.html

Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)

Distribution:

SOURCE: http://www.pserie.psu.edu

Identification:

SOURCE: http://www.great-lakes.org

Impacts:
Silver carp mostly eat phytoplankton, when this is scare they will feed off of zooplankton. Algae blooms have been reported in ponds stocked with these fish, zooplankton populations decline.

Further Information:
http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet.php?toc_id=189
http://fisc.er.usgs.gov/Carp_ID/html..._molitrix.html

[TheBloodyIrish]

I am going to look for a Canadian counterpart since this is about North America afterall.

[sandtiger]

You're more then welcome to do up something just like this for Canada, I'll sticky that as well.

[EstebanW]

Very interesting. Here we have the same problem with Lepomis gibbosus

[sandtiger]

Yeah, I have heard about that one. If you would like you can do the same thing I did and had suggested to BloodyIrish and write up on your country's invasives. This is a global forum after all and Europe does qualify as temperate/coldwater. I just don't have the time to cover all these places and am not familier with their invasive problems.

[EstebanW]

In german, but with latin names:

http://neobiota.umwelt.vdst.de/Funde.php

Thats official, the truth is that you can catch Lepomis gibbosus everywhere here. I hope I'll find better informations tomorrow.

[teleost]

Not a major player but irritating to me....

[mrdylan]

The Goby, the Carp, Lamprey Eel and the Snakehead (only a few found I think) all apply to Canada as well could be others. Carp have totally infested Lake Ontario and all the way up the Trent Severn waterway right into Peterborough (possibly further) that I have seen. The carp are also huge some over 2 or 3 feet in length as well not sure if that is normal but they are monsters.

[TheBloodyIrish]

Originally Posted by mrdylan

The Goby, the Carp, Lamprey Eel and the Snakehead (only a few found I think) all apply to Canada as well could be others. Carp have totally infested Lake Ontario and all the way up the Trent Severn waterway right into Peterborough (possibly further) that I have seen. The carp are also huge some over 2 or 3 feet in length as well not sure if that is normal but they are monsters.

Yep. The thing is that the range map on here only apply to the US. Some of those already infected the St. Lawerance. Not to mention there are a couple of other ones like Atlantic Salmon, which they are trying to get the wild population under countrol, on the B.C. coast, a lake in Alberta that was stocked by "bucket biologist" with largemouth bass, goldfish is absolutely everywhere now, although I don't know how many are breeding.

[zaq]

Here in serbia we have the same problem with
Ictalurus nebulosus