I'm a new member and I joined in the hope that I could get some help identifying a strange fish that I recently saw. I am an engineer with the Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, and we recently performed a video inspection of storm sewer lines at a Tampa, FL strip mall as part of an investigation into the illegal discharge of dry cleaning solvent. Several hundred feet of storm sewer lay below the water table and was flooded. As the camera transited the sewer (36 to 48-inch concrete pipe), we saw numerous fish. Interestingly, of all the fish that we saw, only one individual was a native species- a single 1-inch long rainwater killifish (Lucania parva). The rest of the fish (several dozen) were all cichlids- I'm not sure what species. Near the end of the camera transit, as the camera neared a stormwater retention pond that was the disharge point for the storm sewer, we saw an unusual fish. It was at least a foot long, with an eel-like body and prominent barbels. Its dorsal and anal fins extended in an unbroken line to the tail, and it appeared to be olive in color. It was definitely not a snakehead. It looked a lot like an American eel, except for the barbels. It is not a native species here, and is not listed on the FL Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission invasive species webpage.
Does this sound familiar to anybody?
Rob Cowdery
robcowdery@gmail.com
Does this sound familiar to anybody?
Rob Cowdery
robcowdery@gmail.com
