Snake Fish ? Eels.

[leisurely]

I bought four long thin fish from a stall by a Wat on Saturday. i thought they would look nice in a pot in the garden. Unfortunately one has escaped (I found it dead on the patio around 3 metres from the pot). I am not sure that they are happy so I want to release them into a local klong. This will sound daft, but will they affect the ecosystem as they are not local? This is a serious question by the way. They are around 30 cm long, brown on top and a paler browny yellow on the bottom. They have obvious long mouths and look quite nasty. I hadn't realised how vicious they looked until I got them home Both girls are scared of them and I think that it is time to free them. Even the cat from upstairs was a bit hesitant about looking into the bowl at them.

Cheers,

Leisurely

[udon]

If you are not 100% sure what they are, do not put them in the klong.

Kill them.

[N&M]

Put anything into the Klong, it wont survive anyway and all those pet crocodiles will eat them.

How much were these fish by the way, 30cm is quite big, could have been saratoga, but they would have been expensive at this size and doubt you would be setting them free.

[leisurely]

10 baht each. The idea was that you released them to make merit I think.

[zzap]

The description fits 'pla lai' - a kind of eel.

They'll do fine in the Klong.

May also be cooked and eaten...

[BambinA]

Pla Lai /Swamp eel

Monopterus albus

[leisurely]

Yep. Those be they. Gone now. LIberated. Ugley buggers.

[penzman]

They live in swampy areas and love to feed on dead animals.

A neighbour here told me about them. He once tried to cook a bunch of these in army training as his platoon was dropped somewhere for a week without food. They boiled water and dropped a bunch of these in a pot, they all jumped out squealing. He couldn't stop laughing as he was telling this story

[FlyingDutchman]

Exotics : Monopterus albus - Asian Swamp Eel

"Significant adverse impacts have yet to be documented, but due to its predatory nature, the Asian swamp eel appears to have the potential for adverse environmental impacts in North America. There is concern, for example, that they may disrupt the Everglades National Park ecosystem."

Juveniles

• All young are females
  

Adults

• Begin as mature females
  

Some females develop into males; males can change back to females if female densities are low; change from one sex to another can take up to a year

Native Range

• Asia, from northern India and Burma to China
  

Prevention Techniques

...

• Prohibit the release of aquarium fish into local water sources
  

...

Source

You released them in local enviroment ? If they are only with two and both male, one can change from male to female to reproduce. I hope they'll be eaten by other fish or a croc ...