yeah, the fact that u live in cali with me leads me to think you dont know there illegal.. but i know a petstore in sd that sells them. they get pretty big, pretty calm tho towards tank mates but will eat smaller fish. they love feeders. get almost 2ft maybe bigger depending on how long you keep them. both of mine are about 16" now and have grown 4" in the past 4 months. let me know if u wanna pick one up cuz i know you wont find one in sd