Identify help please; bizzare looking fish

[DreD]

My uncle decided to catch fish from a nearby pond (in Oregon)
I checked them out and I don't think they belong in a fish aquarium, but he has them in a 30G octagon tank. Far too small to say he also has a nearly 12" pleco, 2 2" plecos, 2 2.5" gouramis, and a mid sized (?) 7" goldfish/koi in there as well
I'm not sure what this thing is...the best I could I identify it as was swamp monster which a rather rare breed and by the looks of it will probably sprout arms and legs soon.



From what my uncle told me/observing it I've decided that he either release it back in the pond or flush it (good luck...)
Behaviors:
does not eat fish food
chases the gouramis (trying to eat them?)
seems rather tempermental
shows slight aggression
can hardly swim/gives up chasing the gouramis after they swim to top of the tank
desc:
ugly
murky
nasty looking
has the aggressive look to it
body almost but not too much similar to a pleco.
two short side fins
teeth
oval mouth
tail becomes thinner starting from the mid body.
looks like it belongs in the mud

Now this fish I'm sure is a pond smelt and definitely needs to be placed back in the pond

it's become attached to the goldfish (they're around the same size), and does eat the fish food, so he doesn't want to get rid of it.

He's had these two additions to the tank for a few months now (6 or so?)
the pond smelt has grown a lot and fast but he seems to be slowing down, probably because they're not too much room for him to grow.

The tank is actually thriving, I can't imagine it be too comfortable even though there is a lot of space between all the fish.

 

[allaboutfish]

looks like a pleco and he shouldnt have any of these fish except the gourami in this tank

 

[BillD]

Looks like it might be some type of goby. Around here they are an invasive species and you are supposed to kill any you see.The picture isn't clear enough for a good ID.

 

[jetajockey]

Looks like some sort of sculpin. There's a level of responsibility in catching and keeping wild fish for use in aquaria. First off, there is a need to check for the legality of it, but also, it's important to identify the fish prior to taking it home, as it's easy to get some fry from an endangered species, or something that grows way too large or is just incompatible with aquaria.


Releasing fish back into the wild is also a no-no. If it is a personal pond, then that is fine, but not back into the wild. I can't tell if you were being serious about flushing, but that's definitely a painful way to euthanize, there are much more humane methods.


I've not any experience keeping sculpins so I can't say what they eat, but if he's been in there for months he's eating something.

 

[fort384]

Please read the sticky in the Freshwater & Brackish - Fish or Plant Profiles forum:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f29/what-goes-in-this-forum-151203.html

I have moved this thread to Freshwater & Brackish - General Discussion

 

[Suckerfishrule]

Looks a lot like a pleco to me

 

[Flossie]

google sculpins... I think jet is right

 

[alLexX]

do you have better pics? preferably one from the top.

 

[Gillie]

The "swamp monster" is a Mottled Sculpin, he won't do well unless he's in a well aerated, unheated tank and fed a diet of live or frozen food.
This was my breeding pair

The other guy I'm thinking is a Northern Pikeminnow/ Squawfish they get large 24''+.

 

[Mudfrog]

Yea that is a definitely a sculpin. They are small but one of my favorite native fish. I catch them in the creeks around here.