fish help..........

[shawnaj7731]

I just a bought a 55g tank from a friend that was leaving to go over seas. Well he gave me a single fish with this tank and told me that the fish is a fish that is rare and he would not have enough time to get rid of it. So I did the research and after contacting him again, come to find out this fish i have is a cobra snakehead fish. He is about 15-18 long and he is very cool looking but the problem that i have is he is a very boring fish all he wants to do is eat and lay there....... This is not what I want out of a fish tank. I was also under that impression that other fish can be in the same tank after waisting 45 bucks on other fish, I soon found out that this fish had a great dinner that night. Any ways I am trying to get rid of this fish I Dont if it true or not but I am told they cant really be sold in the U.S but i am sure it happens if anyone is interested in this fish let me no. I am looking for Cichlids - African, or Cichlids - Central and South American or if i can sell this fish let me no please. I am a newbie to this so please excuse my ignorance.

I live in the Virginia beach area.

[joe kool]

"if" you decide to "get rid" of it, PLEASE whatever you do DO NOT turn it loose in a local pond, lake, or river. Irresponsible acts such as that would be are the very reason they are "banned from import or sale" in the first place.

If you can't find him a good home call the local fishery or wildlife folks and they will "find a place for it" or you may try a bass pro shop if you have one within driving distance as they "may" put it on display or just "dispose" of it as the game and wilflife folks would.



sorry to be so glum and grulesome but take the responsible route and make sure to protect our natural ecological ballance versus trying to "save" your 1 fish for being put down

Joe Kool

[fishfreaks]

if they werent illeal here i would take it!

[shev]

I would try to find out if it's illegal to sell/own them where you are. definately dont release them to the wild as joe kool said.
"All Snakeheads are now illegal to import or transport across state lines in the United States. Some states have even gone so far as to make them illegal to possess. Because of this new law, the price on Snakeheads has increased drastically. After the ban I have not seen any Cobra Snakeheads available for sale on a local basis."
is off the site there
http://kingsoftheaquarium.com/indiansnakehead.htm

i would try to sell it if its not illegal. virginia has the right environment for snake heads, and i think there was recently a scare there? at worst they will confiscate your fish. and probably destroy it.

[joe kool]

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2003 Contact: Julia Dixon Smith
Telephone: (804) 367-0991

ARREST MADE FOR POSSESSION, SALE OF SNAKEHEAD

(RICHMOND, VA) - The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) has charged a Richmond pet shop manager with violating a regulation prohibiting the possession and sale of exotic, non-native species without a permit. If convicted, Christopher Backus, fish department manager of The Pet Club on Parham Road could face up to $1,000 in fines for possessing and attempting to sell a snakehead fish.

A VDGIF biologist, on receiving a tip from a member of the public about the illegal fish, turned the information over to the Department’s game wardens for investigation. The fish had evidently been purchased at the same store prior to a regulation revision that added snakehead fish to the list of predatory and undesirable species became effective on January 1, 2003. The owner turned the fish back in to the pet store claiming it had grown too big for his fish tank. The pet store then put the fish up for sale again.

The fish was initially identified by a VDGIF biologist and confirmed by Dr. Walter R. Courtenay, with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Center for Aquatic Resource Studies and the country’s leading expert on snakeheads. He verified that the animal was a cobra snakehead (Channa marulius). Dr. Courtenay worked with Maryland and North Carolina last summer in their efforts to identify and to eradicate snakehead fish in those states. The fish was seized by game wardens.

Native to Asia and Africa, snakehead fish have no natural predators in the United States and pose significant threats to native wildlife communities in this country. The animals are capable of moving short distances on land and can withstand extreme weather conditions. They are sold in the pet trade worldwide and favored as a food fish in many cultures.

Game wardens also charged Backus with possession and attempting to sell another illegal exotic animal species, the clawed frog (Xenopus spp.). Wardens seized 10 albino clawed frogs. Backus is expected to appear in court on March 27. Game wardens are currently investigating several cases of possession of illegal exotic species.

# # # the pic doesnt' show but it's about 3 to 4 FOOT long! check it out:

http://www.dgif.state.va.us/newsroom...snakehead.html



Virginia State Game Wardens seized an illegal cobra snakehead at a pet store in the Richmond area.


OH YEA ... IMPORTANT!!! here's the regulation with some contact information for you to try to get a permit if you want or the guy you're going to "give" it to to try to get:

Title of Regulation: 4 VAC 15-30. Definitions and Miscellaneous: Importation, Possession, Sale, etc., of Animals (amending 4 VAC 15-30-40).
Statutory Authority: §§ 29.1-501 and 29.1-502 of the Code of Virginia.
Effective Date: January 1, 2003.
Summary:
The amendment adds the family of snakehead fish (Channidae) to the list of those nonnative (exotic) species for which importation, possession, cultivation, and sale in the Commonwealth is prohibited unless otherwise authorized by special permit.
Agency Contact: Phil Smith, Policy Analyst and Regulatory Coordinator, 4010 West Broad Street, Richmond VA, 23230, telephone (804) 367-1000, FAX (804) 367-0488 or e-mail regcomments@dgif.state.va.us.

[fishfreaks]

wow!