I caught this "thing" in a freshwater pond with lots of lilies and wood. No one has been able to tell me what it is.
Please help me identify it. I never officially weighed it, but it was 20.7 pounds.
I hope it's not the world record, because I don't think the pictures are proof enough. I just want to know for myself.
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Looks like a giant freaking piranah!! Not exactly sure..
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Doesn't look no 20 pounds to me based on the newspaper its laying on. Where did you catch it? State? Country? Warm or Cold water?
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That's funny you said pirhana. It's fins are closest to what I caught. I've tried to get this thing classified and no one knows. I caught it at a place where people rarely fish. It's been owned by the same people for over 100 years. I'm wondering if it was put there a long time ago. It's an overrun pond with lots of lily pads and crap. It has no enemies, obviously, because it was HUGE! Almost 21 pounds, it had teeth (not like pirhana teeth), and it was extremely bony inside with a giant ribcage-like structure in the middle. Let me know if anyone can help identify this thing.
[url "mailto:pseibold@hotmail.com"]pseibold@hotmail.com[/url]
thanks
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O.K. Look at this picture of it!! It was 26" long, 12" tall in the middle,and 25" around at its dorsal fin. Absolutely HUGE! Very warm, very wooded/leafy pond, freshwater. Same people have owned it for a long time, and no one ever fishes there!
Let me know if you find out what it is at [url "mailto:pseibold@hotmail.com"]pseibold@hotmail.com[/url]
Thanks!
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If that is in North America it could very well be a Red Breasted Sunfish or a Pumpkinseed. They are not really known to get that big but you described some speacial circumstances that would help it.
I am curious as to what geographic are is that you caught it from.[cool]
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Is that the original size of your picture?
I am blowing them up to get a better look at it but loosing quallity detail in doing so,
and still I need a state and general local... dont need the name of the pond or the town it was caught in...
I have a hunch, if it is a member of the gill family, it would need a particular environment to reach that size... [ul] [li]Year round growing season, meaning further south than mexico.[/li] [li]living on a southern state on a farm pond feeding off of growing feed "with steriods"[/li][/ul]
blue gill normaly only live 5-8 years, in special farm ponds they can live up to 8-11 years... so long long time ago alone would not do it,
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I think this is your animal, once I got the location I called up someone I know in the area,
sorry, it is not a record but a fine specimine none the less. they get all most twice the size of what you have, They thrive in the waters you discribe. and are used for aquariums, quite often out growing thier glass cages... hence the nick name "tank buster"
It could have been native to the pond or it could have been released in the pond.... I am leaning twards being native to the pond because of the lack of tail and fin wear and tare... (not a native species to your state)
follow this link to see a blow up of the teeth to see if I have your species corect.
[url "http://zipcodezoo.com/Animals/C/Colossoma_macropomum.asp"]http://zipcodezoo.com/Animals/C/Colossoma_macropomum.asp[/url]
Colossoma macropomum [indent]
Common Names: [indent]
Blackfin Pacu
Pacu
[#000000]Red Bellied Pacu
[/#000000]Tambaqui
[/indent][/indent]
Potential Size [indent]
Male: 110cm (43.3")
Female: 110cm (43.3")
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Gender: Males have a much redder stomach area. The males dorsal fin has a sharper point than the female.
this was fun, look forward to your next unknown species....[cool]
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I would have to agree with Dave. They have even found the Pacu in Minnesota waters recently. Obviously from being released from an aquarium. The description of the pond would make it an ideal feeding ground for the Pacu.
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The OP's IP traces to Southeast Florida. Pacu are listed by the Flordia Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as being a non-native species found in that state.
http://www.floridaconservation.org/Fishi...0List.html
Note that they also have a couple Exotic ID tools as well.
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I would have to agree with Dave. They have even found the Pacu in Minnesota waters recently. Obviously from being released from an aquarium. The description of the pond would make it an ideal feeding ground for the Pacu.[/reply]
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I finaly figured out he was from florida when after he posted the same question on the florida board.
I swear my genous even amazes me some times... [angelic]
Ya I did my search though florida's site to find the answer...
but ya know, I should have remembered from the last time some one posted a pic of the same fish.. LOL, It was just a few month ago to....LOL
by the way, good tracking on the IP...
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Thanks for all your help guys! A 20 lb 9 oz black pacu, while less than 1/4 the size of the world record, was certainly a hell of a lot of fun to catch in a florida pond. My friend swore he got bit by the thing, and now I believe him since the pacu is a variation of the pirhana, it's native to the Amazon, although the mouth, jaw and teeth don't really look like the pirhana.
Happy hunting!
Pete
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It looks to me like it's a new world record for Bluegill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I thought so too. And believe me, I wanted it to be. But I guess 4 times as big as the world record at 5 lbs 3 oz was wishful thinking. It really does resemble the redbreasted sunfish, but upon much further inspection, its fins resembled only one fish I researched--the pirhana. It's related to the pirhana, and what gave it away were the teeth, and the bottom rear fin shape. Also, like the pirhana, it has the "little fin that couldn't grow" on the top rear. I thought I was a millionaire for a minute--although, who gives a crap about a fish, right?
It was without a doubt the heaviest fish I ever caught in a pond!
20 pounder!!!! wooo hooo !!!
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Awesome catch. You should feel quite special after that one, lol.[sly]
-ABT
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well the good thing is you didnt go out and spend a million dollars untill the check cleared....[angelic]
have to admit the rush is a good one.
rule of thumb, cary a tape measure, if it is in season and it is a record of some type, the fish must die to become the new record... Thats life.... unless it is a catch and release record, but you will still need your tape measure...
I can tell ya first hand what it feals like to loose a million dollar ticket.... man that blowsss chunks big time... and that fealing dont go away for weeks or months...
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That is most definitly a pacu. I raised 3 of those little monsters and ended up having to sell one to a pet store and the other two I donated to BYU in their freshwater fish exhibit. These fish eat just about anything and grow really fast and yes, they get extremely huge. Mine that I donated to BYU have grown absolutely huge. I can't imagine hooking into one of those. A fish like these can really wreak havoc on a local ecosystem. It is too bad that people just let them go in local waters. What is worse is these fish are sold everywhere without people knowing how big they get. They seem to be really popular due to the fact that they look alot like a pirhana. Most people can't take care of something this big.
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I can imagin the food bill, Tbone steaks for the fish while your eating spam and balogna...
Wonder what a pacu taist like?[
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could always sit on the corner looking for road kill, Oh sorry mr Swanson, was that your putty tat? [laugh][sly][angelic]
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