CLAY, ONONDAGA COUNTY (AP) -- A pet fish that got wrapped up in New York state's efforts to eradicate an invasive species has died.
Rocky, an 11-year-old snakehead fish, died Wednesday night in his tank at owner Chris Deverso's home in Clay, near Syracuse. Deverso says the 28-inch-long fish showed no signs of disease.
Snakeheads can cause ecological trouble if they get into the wild. They've been known to empty lakes and ponds of all their native fish.
It has been illegal to own a snakehead in New York since 2004. Earlier this year, state environmental conservation officers planned to seize Deverso's fish and kill it. The agency backed off after the fight went public and Deverso's "Save Rocky" campaign got 1,300 signatures from people in more than a dozen nations.
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
