Straight to Colbert's Threatdown: Armored catfish! You'll never guess where...

[KamaAina]

Hint: The catfish need the armor to protect themselves from rogue neighborhood watch captains.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/armored-catfish-wreaking-havoc-south-florida-lakes-182812663.html

A species of "armored catfish" are damaging South Florida's lakes, causing coastal erosion and even burrowing holes that trip up humans walking along the water's edge.

Catfish are usually one of the more popular breeds of aquatic life, with their smooth skin and flavorful meat. There's even a highly unconventional form of fishing known as "noodling," in which people use their bare hands to capture catfish.

But the Sun-Sentinel reports that the Loricariidae (armored catfish) are far less welcome. The non-native and invasive species have rugged scales along their backs and spiky fins. Catching the South American natives can be difficult, as the armored catfish reportedly are not baited by fishing hooks and must instead be caught by nets or even spears....

The Loricariids are a popular aquarium fish, as they use their suckered mouths to clean algae from tanks. But that same behavior that is helpful in fish tanks actually erodes local shorelines up to 10 feet as the fish devastate aquatic plant life. They have also been wreaking havoc in Texas waterways for a number of years.



Yum! Pass the cornbread!

[RebelOne]

1. Remember the walking catfish?

A friend had one in an aquarium and it keep jumping out.

http://www.in.gov/dnr/files/WALKING_CATFISH.pdf

[LeftyMom]

2. That's a plecostomus.

Find somebody with a big fish tank and they'll put him right to work.

I'd guess hobbyists and maybe dealers are dumping the plecos that get too big for their tanks? They grow damned big and don't take real long to do it.

[HopeHoops]

3. Darth Invader