Carnivorous Fish Found In Pattaya Temples Pond

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22-12-2009, 06:13 PM
dirtydog

Carnivorous Fish Found In Pattaya Temples Pond

FRIGHTENING CARNIVOROUS FISH FOUND IN PATTAYA TEMPLES POND

A strange fish, with sharp teeth and a long snake-like body has been caught in the pond of the Goddess Court Chinese Temple, Pattaya. The fish was discovered after concerned staff had been finding numerous dead fish daily, with evidence of an attack on the bodies.

Pattaya, the 21st of December 2009 [PDN]: After finding dead fish appearing everyday staff of the Goddess Court Lim-Kor-Niew, Soi Nern Plubwan, Pattaya and various residents of the area decided to investigate the situation to determine what the cause of the deaths might be. After watching the pond they discovered several 1 meter long snake-like fish swimming in the water attacking the other fish.

Several residents tried to catch the fish, although ultimately they were scared away as the fish was seen to have numerous sharp teeth and would try and attack if an attempt was made to catch them by hand or with a net. A resourceful resident then tried and succeeded in catching the strange specimen using a fishing rod and pork for bait. The fish turned out to be around 1 meter in length with 2 fins on its body and 2 on its tail, it had numerous sharp teeth in a long hard snout and weighed approximately 3 kilograms.

https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif

https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif

Mr. Raweesak Lekjarern [47], a temple guard explained that the perimeter of the pond was approximately 100 x 100 meters and that it was around 30 meters deep; it is used in temple ceremonies and for locals to place fish for good luck. Mr. Lekjarern stated that over the course of the last week he had been finding about 5-6 kilograms of dead fish per day, with all of them suffering from deep lacerations to their bodies. He said that it was after this that the locals began to observe the pond in an attempt to discover what it was that was causing these deaths. Upon discovering and catching the fish no one in the area knew what the fish was but they were all rather frightened of its appearance and ability to eat meat.

https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif

https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif

After consulting with a local aquarium it was discovered that the fish was in fact an Alligator Fish, found in the state of Florida, America. It is a fierce carnivorous fish that can grow up to 4 meters in length. It is now assumed that someone disposed of the fish in the temple pond as they were no longer able to care for the aggressive species themselves.

Pattaya Daily News

They sell them in pet shops in Pattaya, God knows how they got an import license for them, here's one from a pet shop in Jomtien, big beasty thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7BAnHNiSws
22-12-2009, 06:23 PM
Fondles

lol 1 metre in length, if thats true it makes me a more confident man with my newly measured penis length.
22-12-2009, 06:24 PM
Norton

Nasty big buggers they can be. Caught a few in the swamplands in the SE of the US.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzfrvzKRdaU
22-12-2009, 06:48 PM
robuzo

It's just a gar, I've seen a number of them in ponds in Thailand- as I recall they have a couple at the Jim Thompson Hou'. They look naughty but are harmless.
22-12-2009, 07:01 PM
StrontiumDog

Evil looking bastard. I bet a 4 metre one is real fun.
22-12-2009, 07:07 PM
dirtydog

Quote:

Originally Posted by robuzo

They look naughty but are harmless.

Maybe the tags on the youtube might be a bit over the top then :( I tagged it man eating fish :(
22-12-2009, 07:08 PM
robuzo

Four-meter gar is not very likely- would be a record. I check Wiki to see what they had for record size, and amongst other things I didn't know found that they can be eaten; I had always assumed they were too bony. Once the Thais find that out they might feel better. I've been in the water with very big ones and they are not aggressive or scary at all.
This is a nice big one, not sure what the point of killing it was, some guys never grow up, I guess:
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2009/12/1183.jpg
22-12-2009, 07:09 PM
dirtydog

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fondles

lol 1 metre in length, if thats true it makes me a more confident man with my newly measured penis length.

This picture makes it quite obvious that the man in the picture is just over 10 foot tall....

https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
22-12-2009, 07:37 PM
Thetyim

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtydog

Maybe the tags on the youtube might be a bit over the top then I tagged it man eating fish

This is a man eating fish.
Still looks quite frightening

https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
22-12-2009, 07:50 PM
Norton

Quote:

Originally Posted by robuzo

Four-meter gar is not very likely

Agree. This ones pretty close though.

https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2009/12/1184.jpg
22-12-2009, 08:17 PM
Eliminator

If it was a 4 meter Gator instead of a gar, then it might eat you. I grew up down south and there are plenty of gars and gators there, nice to eat they are.
22-12-2009, 09:34 PM
robuzo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eliminator

If it was a 4 meter Gator instead of a gar, then it might eat you. I grew up down south and there are plenty of gars and gators there, nice to eat they are.

It's interesting that they can be eaten, it is really kind of hard to tell with fish. There is a common fish in Florida called a bowfin, which looks a lot like a snakehead but is dissimilar in that it doesn't taste good (or so people say). In general Americans have given up on a lot of fish that people used to eat regularly, like eel, whiting (called "lake trout" in Baltimore where people do still eat it), and mackerel. Of course, a fish, especially a freshwater fish, is only as good as the water it comes from- a bluegill from a spring-fed pond is OK, whereas one from a muddy river tastes unsurprisingly like mud.
22-12-2009, 09:47 PM
Timber

I accidentally hooked one that had been shot by archers when I was a kid. Scared the hell out of me at the time and it put up a pretty good fight. Naturally my dad being Thai decided it was fair game for eating. The thing was tough as hell to skin but the meat itself wasn't bad. It tasted like catfish with the consistency of frog or gator meat.
22-12-2009, 10:19 PM
robuzo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timber

I accidentally hooked one that had been shot by archers when I was a kid. Scared the hell out of me at the time and it put up a pretty good fight. Naturally my dad being Thai decided it was fair game for eating. The thing was tough as hell to skin but the meat itself wasn't bad. It tasted like catfish with the consistency of frog or gator meat.

Did he take your bait or did you snag him after he was shot? I would guess they hit on live bait.
22-12-2009, 10:20 PM
BillyBobThai

As a kid in the 1960's in Mississippi, I remember seeing a picture that was taken in the 1880's, of an alligator gar caught in a net on the Mississippi river. This fish was measured at just over 21 feet.
22-12-2009, 10:26 PM
robuzo

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyBobThai

As a kid in the 1960's in Mississippi, I remember seeing a picture that was taken in the 1880's, of an alligator gar caught in a net on the Mississippi river. This fish was measured at just over 21 feet.

Are you sure that wasn't a sturgeon? They can get about that big and are considered the largest fish in North America, but I think don't live in the Mississippi (but are found in the Missouri).
22-12-2009, 11:07 PM
BillyBobThai

The picture was hand labeled "Alligator Gar". The fish was huge and looked like some of the gar that I had seen locally at this lake. This lake was along side of the Mississippi river and was flooded by the river every year during high water. The picture was at a fish camp store that served the locals. If sturgeon are in the Missouri river, then they will also probably be in the Mississippi, as they are one in the same river.
22-12-2009, 11:17 PM
Timber

Quote:

Originally Posted by robuzo

Did he take your bait or did you snag him after he was shot? I would guess they hit on live bait.

I snagged it by accident while bass fishing in a river below a dam. I've been told they are scavenger fish and don't really go for bait. The only way I've seen them being fished is by archers.