From: Ann Mansker 
Subject: Critter of the Week: Monopterus albus
Date: 10 Nov 1998 01:36:31 GMT
Newsgroups: ucd.life

The Asian Swamp Eel (also known as the Rice Eel) is considered a delicacy
in its native East Asian waters.  Occasionally kept by aquarium hobbyists,
this voractious predator has escaped captivity in the US and has
apparently naturalized in Georgia and Florida.  Highly adaptable, the eel
( http://biology.usgs.gov/pr/newsrelease/1998/eel4.tif ) is capable of
living in virtually any freshwater habitat, including ditches just a few
inches deep.  It was first noticed in an impoundment at a Georgia nature
center; all the native fish which originally throve in the pond had
disappeared.

When conditions become too hostile for even the swamp eel, it crawls out
of the water and sets off across land seeking a new home.  Their ability
to breathe air promises to make them a difficult control problem.
Traditional methods use chemicals such as rotenone, which stuns fish,
causing them to float to the surface where they can be collected.  The
swamp eel simply leaves the water and waits for the chemical to disperse.