Strange fish found in Surat, later identified as Pleco

A strange fish was found in the River Mindhola river at Malekpore village in Palsana taluk of Surat district. This fish was identified as Sour Mouth Catfish. It is also known as Pleco fish. This fish is usually found in the River Amazon of South America.

Surat:A strange fish was found by Prakashbhai Parsottambhai Rathod, a resident of Malekpore village, in the River Mindhola on Tuesday. He was scared after finding out about the strange fish in his net. Later, it was identified as the Sour-Mouth Catfish. As soon as the news of the strange fish being caught spread, a large number of people gathered at Prakashbhai's house. After receiving the information, Bardoli's Friends of Animal Welfare Trust's President Jatin Rathore reached the spot. After inspecting the fish on the spot, it was identified as the sour-mouth catfish.

"When this fish is small it can be kept in an aquarium as it keeps the water in the aquarium clean. But, as it grows it becomes the prey of other fish. Because of this, it is a threat to the other fish as well," said Friends of Animal Welfare Trust's president Jatin Rathod President. Finding such fishes in the River Mindhola can be said to be a matter of concern.

The speciality of this fish is that it can survive for one day without water and can remain hungry for five days. This fish can grow to be more than three feet long. Experts believe that when this fish grows up, it eats fish of other species as well as their eggs, thereby posing a threat to the local aquatic ecosystem. It is speculated that someone might have brought it to put it in the aquarium, but they released it into the river. Because this fish is not found in the water bodies of the country.