Video of a person releasing Midas

[the animal guy]

So about every place with non native cichlids, how big is it affecting the environment, or the way of life?

 

[big_tank_boy]

You'll get mixed responses, I feel the ecosystems adapt to house these guys. They say they lessen our native species by stealing territory and nesting areas. I feel like it hasn't had much if any of an effect. I have always caught plenty of largemouth and the sort, the only thing I can say is after the cold spell this winter a lot of non natives perished and I have been seeing more warmouths than ever. The main problem is when I used to go fishing I used to catch lets say 2 mayans, 4 pbass, and 6 lmb on an average day and now I catch 6 lmb and roughly 1 mayan or 1 warmouth. But now there are no more peacock bass this far north (only in miami, this is also where the midas such as this are located) Up her we had pbass, oscars, jaguars, mayans, tilapia, plecos, and clown knifes. Even still mayans, tilapias, and plecos seem pretty numerous although not as common. pbass, oscars, jags, and clown knives seem non existent up here now; some say for the better. Pbass were here to control the non native expansion of such fish as tilapia, which I have seen more of them than ever since the cold spell so hopefully pbass can make their way back up her to recontrol the population.

I dont live in florida but the only 2 natives u talked about where bass and a warmouth..... the bass are big enough and strong enough to put up a fight with the fish what about the smaller minnow type fish just because its not a bass or gar its not native..... the only reason the bass survive is they get big enough to eat most cichlids but not all fish can... some fish get wiped out and some can cope....... now we got to think is it right to force that kind of change on so many diff sp.......

 

[fhawk362]

dude they kill native species, ya ever go fishing for bass? large mouths are a good time to catch, but most cichlids will kill out of a large mouth. it will mess up the natural balance of your eco system.

I understand this but ecosystems can adapt, it hasnt been as severe as many people anticipated; could be due in part to the fact that many of these invasives live in man made canals/ecosystems, although you can find them in the everglades and other natural ecosystems as well. Although there are cases, such as the round gobys in the great lakes, where invasives have taken large tolls on the fisheries.

 

[fhawk362]

I dont live in florida but the only 2 natives u talked about where bass and a warmouth..... the bass are big enough and strong enough to put up a fight with the fish what about the smaller minnow type fish just because its not a bass or gar its not native..... the only reason the bass survive is they get big enough to eat most cichlids but not all fish can... some fish get wiped out and some can cope....... now we got to think is it right to force that kind of change on so many diff sp.......

Sorry I was so vague, they were just prime examples that I have first hand experience with. As for the big picture FWC doesn't state any major harms coming from such invasives, there is no warnings to kill such fish or to warn FWC of these current invasives so it doesnt seem to me like theyve had much of an impact on our ecosystem, but for the reasons you stated invasives are not encouraged and the control of such fish and control of future invasives from entering is being addressed, which is why fish such as pirahna and aros are illegal here in florida, and as i stated pbass were introduced to control the tilapia populations that have been known to eat great amounts of aqautic vegetation.

 

[Modest_Man]

The estimated economic loss due to invasive species in the US is $120 BILLION dollars.

Examining a series of case studies, the Pimentel study estimates the total economic damages and associated control costs for the U.S. due to “harmful non- indigenous species” is $138 billion annually. They attribute their higher estimate (vis a vis the OTA study) to the broader base at which they look and the increase in the economic cost estimates available for many invasive species. However, they also characterize their cost estimates as low because the study does not take into account the
extensive ecosystem damage caused by these species.

Just because it happened in Florida doesn't mean it was GOOD.

http://www.invasivespecies.gov/

Read this. FAQ on invasives from the US government...http://www.invasivespecies.gov/main_nav/mn_faq.html

LINK

A few quotes from the scientific journal.

About 400 of the 958 species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act are considered to be at risk primarily because of competition with, and predation by, invasive species (Wilcove et al. 1998).

The means and routes by which species are introduced into new environments are called ‘pathways’. Some species that become invasive are intentionally imported, and escape from captivity or are carelessly released into the environment. Other invasives are unintentionally imported, arriving through livestock and produce, or by transport equipment such as packing material or a ship’s ballast water. Fish and shellfish pathogens and parasites have been introduced unintentionally into the U.S. in infected stock destined for aquaculture. Crates and containers can harbor snails, slugs, mollusks, beetles and other organisms. Military cargo transport may also harbor unintended species. Stimulated by the expansion of the global transport of goods and people, the numbers and costs of invasive species are rising at an alarming rate (NISC 2001). The cost to preventing and controlling invasive species is not well understood or documented, but estimates indicate that the costs are quite high, in the range of millions to billions of dollars per year (OTA 1993, Pimental et al. 2000).

Over the period examined in the report (1906-1991), 59% of introduced species to the US have caused economic or ecological harm. The report estimated the total cost of damages related to 79 harmful species to be $97 billion, with a ‘worst case’ scenario total cost of $137 billion. The $97-137 billion estimate is the cumulative cost of invasive species to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and other water uses, utilities, buildings and natural areas.

For aquatic invasives, OTA considered 111 species of fish (88% of total known invasives) and 88 mollusks (97%). Of the 76 fish species intentionally introduced, 35 have caused harm and of the 26 unintentionally introduced in the U.S. 10 species are considered invasive according to the report. For mollusks, 5 out of 10 intentionally introduced and 27 of the 67 unintentionally introduced species have caused harm. Of those considered, 4 fish species and 15 mollusk species had high negative impacts. The
list of high impact aquatic species include the Sea lamprey, Zebra Mussel, and Asian clam. OTA estimated that the cumulative loss to the U.S. for the period 1906-1991 for 3 harmful fish species was $467 million (1991 dollars) and $1,207 million for 3 aquatic invertebrates.

 

[Aquanero]

haha, its all what youre used to i guess, people keep these fish as exotics, when they are no longer exotic people have a different view of them, but I find all fish cool.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean but I believe the answer to your question is that in natural bodies of water the beneficial bacteria is so much greater that fish can recover much faster from wounds and mistreatment, while in tanks we can only reproduce that in scale, but life expectancies are similar because there is less threat in a tank.

It was retorical, I meant we are so festidious and to see them treated like a sunny out of the pond down the street is funny, that's all. I guess if I had to explain what I meant it's not funny anymore.

 

[fhawk362]

This is a quote from the Florida wildlife conservation website (myfwc.com) about non native species in Florida "Fortunately, of all the exotic species that escape or are released, only a handful will survive and become established. The majority of those few species that survive will probably not have negative effects on native wildlife. Most studies have shown this to be true for terrestrial and aquatic animals."

 

[fishticuffs]

we have problems with zebra muscles here in colorado, they screw up all kinds of stuff, ive even heard of people catching snakeheads in aurora reservior, i dont know if that is true or not. but thats what another fisherman told me.

 

[fhawk362]

It was retorical, I meant we are so festidious and to see them treated like a sunny out of the pond down the street is funny, that's all. I guess if I had to explain what I meant it's not funny anymore.

haha sorry about that, thats what i thought at first, its still funny man.

 

[fishticuffs]

i say if it happens naturaly let it happen, but dont help introduce new species into your envivoment.