Albino Siluris Meridionalis going into his outdoor pond!

[GeorgeHaddaway15]

This is a few pictures of me releasing my Yangtze catfish into his new home over the summer. Looks like a traffic cone lol. This was an experiment, albeit a very expensive experiment, to see how well this species will do in -20F winter conditions. We will see what happens in the spring! The 3 most likely scenarios are: He's dead, he's happily munching on fathead minnows, or he's lying comatose at the bottom. I hope they're as tough as people make them out to be...
I apologize for the bad quality.
The pond is less than 1/4 acre, so very small. Deep enough to where there's no winter kill though.

I released about 15 4" common carp in this same pond about 3 years ago..now they are all approaching 10lbs. Everyone I talked to said they would die. They thrived. The resilience of those fish continues to amaze me.

 

[jjohnwm]

A quick glance at a map seems to put the latitude of the central Yangtze basin at about 15 degrees further south than central Montana. It's more like Florida than Montana.

I can't imagine who would state that carp wouldn't survive under the ice; they do so over huge portions of North America every year. Their natural range is much close in latitude to yours.

I realize that there is much more in the way of variables to consider than latitude...but that one is a biggie insofar as climate is concerned. I hope it works out for you; sadly, that is not the same as being hopeful. I've got my doubts. Good luck, very cool fish!

Edited to add: Oops, I just saw in your other thread that you are in Colorado; shows how little I know about American geography! I though Crested Butte was in Montana. So that gives you back a good chunk of the latitudinal difference I was babbling about. Looking better!

 

[GeorgeHaddaway15]

thank you for this information. We will see in the sp

A quick glance at a map seems to put the latitude of the central Yangtze basin at about 15 degrees further south than central Montana. It's more like Florida than Montana.

I can't imagine who would state that carp wouldn't survive under the ice; they do so over huge portions of North America every year. Their natural range is much close in latitude to yours.

I realize that there is much more in the way of variables to consider than latitude...but that one is a biggie insofar as climate is concerned. I hope it works out for you; sadly, that is not the same as being hopeful. I've got my doubts. Good luck, very cool fish!

Edited to add: Oops, I just saw in your other thread that you are in Colorado; shows how little I know about American geography! I though Crested Butte was in Montana. So that gives you back a good chunk of the latitudinal difference I was babbling about. Looking better!

Thank you for this wonderful information. I will update this thread when the ice melts. That fish stands out like a swimming traffic cone so it will be pretty easy to see if my experiment comes to fruition. I’m very excited to see what happens, as this will open up lots of cool projects for me to do. Especially with my new pond being constructed.

 

[wednesday13]

? sadly this is all someone needs to see to get this species banned in all cold climate states. Just post “he died” and end the documentation there ? lol…

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

That is a cool project. Hat's off, for sure.

But Wednesday13 has a point and he is building on his personal dramatic experience.

Is this your own private pond?

Does your state require pulling a permit to release exotics, like the meridionalis, into the private natural ponds/lakes?

This project may or may not be loaded with serious repercussions, you and your parents better know your local laws.

Be careful also about this on MFK, be mindful of not setting up the MFK for a charge of illegal activities discussion from authorities. The big brother is watching the MFK, we know this from the past.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Not to hijack the thread, but I heard about someone in Florida on here who had their European catfish confiscated because they shared it on here and someone snitched. Anyone know about that?

 

[GeorgeHaddaway15]

I

That is a cool project. Hat's off, for sure.

But Wednesday13 has a point and he is building on his personal dramatic experience.

Is this your own private pond?

Does your state require pulling a permit to release exotics, like the meridionalis, into the private natural ponds/lakes?

This project may or may not be loaded with serious repercussions, you and your parents better know your local laws.

Be careful also about this on MFK, be mindful of not setting up the MFK for a charge of illegal activities discussion from authorities. The big brother is watching the MFK, we know this from the past.

Private pond. It is spring fed and I had a survey done to make sure the water goes back into the ground and doesn’t flow back into the river. I approached this with the utmost caution. Colorado only has a banned list of wildlife, and anything on the list is fair game. Luckily for me I am just outside the western slope, otherwise this would be much harder to go about in a legal way. Thank you for your concern. I have learned a serious lesson here, I just read through the thread about Wednesday’s tragic experience. I’m not going to be posting on this thread in the future, even though I have gone about this in a legal way.

 

[GeorgeHaddaway15]

Not to hijack the thread, but I heard about someone in Florida on here who had their European catfish confiscated because they shared it on here and someone snitched. Anyone know about that?

I do not have a European catfish. This is Silurus Meridionalis. Much smaller than the European giant, silurus meridionalis. Maxes out at about 30”.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Oops, lol. My brain automatically converted the title to European catfish. You're absolutely right.

Nonetheless, anyone know about what I mentioned? Is it like what apparently happened to Wednesday (that, I don't know about either)?

 

[wednesday13]

Oops, lol. My brain automatically converted the title to European catfish. You're absolutely right.

Nonetheless, anyone know about what I mentioned? Is it like what apparently happened to Wednesday (that, I don't know about either)?

Ur probably just thinking of me ?… Ohio, not florida. Ohio was the only state out of 50 that made it illegal to possess previously legally purchased euro wels. Theres still a handful out there in the states that were bought pre importation ban. Federally they are legal to possess and even sell within ur state, other than Ohio of course. Illegal to transport across state lines. The main issue is State laws always trump federal laws. Federally my fish was still legal to own, the State decieded to make possession illegal even tho the fish was legally purchased and legal to own for 4 yrs prior. Any state can do whatever they want whenever they want in regards to “pets”. They put out new lists every year and theres nothing u can do. Hence all my “rants” on here these days about not posting pictures, using scientific names and really advocating for keeping fish in general regardless of species or size. The end is closer than u might think. I know ur not in the U.S. but similiar things can/may happen in other countries. Things like “flaming” people for tank size and debates about people needing permits for certain species all lead to tighter laws. In the end it comes down to being able to keep fish as “pets” or not. Size, scale, species is all irrelevant to law makers. I know u like loaches. The same thing could happen there. Theres no ryme or reason to it nor is there knowledgable people making the laws against “us”.