Wels....

[tatsblisters 9,504]

I remember buying catfish from the pet shop as a kid 50 years ago their used to be tanks full of them in various pet shops around Rotherham is it possible that rivers in the UK the catfish are from these pet shop fish that found there way into our waterways.

[mackem 26,261]

5 minutes ago, tatsblisters said:

I remember buying catfish from the pet shop as a kid 50 years ago their used to be tanks full of them in various pet shops around Rotherham is it possible that rivers in the UK the catfish are from these pet shop fish that found there way into our waterways.

The cat caught at the weekend was 300 yards away from a documented wels release into the Thames during the 1930's.

[tatsblisters 9,504]

2 minutes ago, mackem said:

The cat caught at the weekend was 300 yards away from a documented wels release into the Thames during the 1930's.

Remember the tanks full of them mate all fish the same size about 5inch long and being an olive green colour i always wondered if they were imported like the dozens of tortoises clambering over each other in the same pet shops.

[mackem 26,261]

2 minutes ago, tatsblisters said:

Remember the tanks full of them mate all fish the same size about 5inch long and being an olive green colour i always wondered if they were imported like the dozens of tortoises clambering over each other in the same pet shops.

I remember the piles of tortoises,used to cost a pound. 

[BEARINATOR 2,867]

4 hours ago, tatsblisters said:

I remember buying catfish from the pet shop as a kid 50 years ago their used to be tanks full of them in various pet shops around Rotherham is it possible that rivers in the UK the catfish are from these pet shop fish that found there way into our waterways.

People buying them then realising they don’t stop growing so in to rivers and ponds they go, same as terrapins 

[Nicepix 5,650]

7 hours ago, tatsblisters said:

I remember buying catfish from the pet shop as a kid 50 years ago their used to be tanks full of them in various pet shops around Rotherham is it possible that rivers in the UK the catfish are from these pet shop fish that found there way into our waterways.

There are hundreds of catfish species. In our region there is a big problem with a small south american catfish that has populated hundreds of rivers and lakes. If you are bait fishing for roach or bream sometimes  all you can catch are these damned nuisances. They are about 4 inches long with a gob like Cherie Blair and just as spikey. You have to handle them in order to kill them.

Some of the wels catfish that are in UK waters were deliberately and illegally released after being brought over from France and Spain. They take over the river system, cleaning out the barbel populations. The size and numbers is beyond your imagination. Apart from decimating fish stocks they wreck conventional carp and barbel rigs.

 

[Daniel cain 45,129]

I know a few lads who have brought loads of 'tadpoles' back from France on various occasions in bait buckets over the yrs...not so much a good idea when they grow past 30/40 lb and start swallowing decent carp whole

[Nicepix 5,650]

30 minutes ago, Daniel cain said:

I know a few lads who have brought loads of 'tadpoles' back from France on various occasions in bait buckets over the yrs...not so much a good idea when they grow past 30/40 lb and start swallowing decent carp whole

What the French call tadpoles aren't wels. They are a small south american species that don't grow much over 6 inches. At this time of year you can see shoals of them in the shallows of lakes. They look like large black tadpoles and pack tightly together in a shoal so sometimes they get mistaken for one large fish. That makes them easier to net out. 

The wels fry are usually well guarded by the male until they disperse from the nest. They aren't usually seen until they get to gudgeon size and by then they are the same shape and colour as adults.

[Daniel cain 45,129]

22 minutes ago, Nicepix said:

What the French call tadpoles aren't wels. They are a small south american species that don't grow much over 6 inches. At this time of year you can see shoals of them in the shallows of lakes. They look like large black tadpoles and pack tightly together in a shoal so sometimes they get mistaken for one large fish. That makes them easier to net out. 

The wels fry are usually well guarded by the male until they disperse from the nest. They aren't usually seen until they get to gudgeon size and by then they are the same shape and colour as adults.

these fish are definitely wels mate....they between 60/80 lb now