ATTN: POLYPTERUS

[West1]

I have a few Lamprey questions for you if I may.

Let me start by saying I did not collect this fish ! It was caught by a third party angler attached to a walleye. A friend brought it home in a bait bucket for a photo op thinking this to be a sea lamprey.

My friend knowing my fishkeeping and photo skills asked if I wanted it and of course I said yes. So last night he came to my fishroom.

While observeing this fish I believe it to be a chestnut lamprey. A native to lake michigan. P.s. the fish was caught in a direct tributary of the lake.

the following a two quick pics. I know the glass isn't clean I did this in a hurry.

The dorsal segments are fused making a single structure.

What can you tell me about this quy.

Thanks in advance

WOW, what is that thing??????????
That is an awsome looking fish!! Does he suck the fish or does he swallow it?
Can they swim??

 

[Polypterus]

that mouth is creepy though!

any cases of them latching on to swimmers?

Only by accident...I actually have a scar from where a silver lamprey attached to my hand and really dug those teeth in hard. In general however They do not care for warmblooded prey.. Sea lamprey have been know to attack swimmers and whales and dolphins. Cases are rare they go after hairless apes though.

How large are they known to get?

Davo, Chestnuts are rarely over 10 inches and are frequently quite small fish.
Here is a pic of one of mine from last year. This was a first year metamorph and got to around 8 inches.

 

[Onion01]

were you swimming or working with them when that happened?

 

[Polypterus]

WOW, what is that thing??????????
That is an awsome looking fish!! Does he suck the fish or does he swallow it?
Can they swim??

Lamprey (as sub adults and of the Parasitic / opportunistic variety) feed by attaching to the side of a prey item and then use the tongue teeth to rasp out either an open wound to feed on fluids, particularly blood and plasma, or bits and pieces of flesh, scales etc. They have no jaws at all but can somewhat use the infraoral tooth plate and the circumoral and supraoral teeth to dig in and break chunks of stuff. Most of there feeding however involves the very sharp tongue teeth and the Supraoral teeth for leverage.

Just so this makes more sense here is a diagram of the teeth and where they are at.

 

[Polypterus]

were you swimming or working with them when that happened?

In one of my tanks while cleaning... It latched and refused to release.

 

[cichlidfinder]

Thanks Polypterus

For the ID confirmation and the great added info.

I'll have more and better pics to follow if your interested.

 

[_Sushi_]

That is one awesome looking fish!!

What freshwater species is the biggest, and what do they top out at?

I wonder if anybody sells them, or if you have to catch them yourself?

 

[Polypterus]

Thanks Polypterus

For the ID confirmation and the great added info.

I'll have more and better pics to follow if your interested.

I'm always interested in good Lamprey photos...

 

[meepster]

That is one awesome looking fish!!

What freshwater species is the biggest, and what do they top out at?

I wonder if anybody sells them, or if you have to catch them yourself?

In most cases, it is illegal to sell natives in a retail store.

And also, since they are hard to feed, most stores don't carry them anyway.

 

[Polypterus]

In most cases, it is illegal to sell natives in a retail store.

And also, since they are hard to feed, most stores don't carry them anyway.

It is not Illegal to sell Natives in a retail store... They just need to be collected or propagated legally and the person selling needs to have permits according to state law.

You will not find Lamprey in any store.. You will be hard pressed to find someone that actually works with them. They really are sucky (pardon the pun) hobby aquarium fish. For someone with patience and a bit of expertise they can be very rewarding but if your looking for a fish to pop into a community tank, postage stamp collection tank, these are not them.