As an ambitious young angler you are always looking for a catch to impress your friends.
If you can land one that scares them too, well that's a bonus.
Shaun Brown, 14, managed to hook this ugly-looking creature from the less than exotic surroundings of the Grand Union Canal in Leicestershire.
With its prehistoric armour-like scales it looks like the mechanical Terror Fish that used to pursue Troy Tempest in the Sixties puppet show, Stingray.
Foreign friend: This armoured suckermouth catfish, pictured on a fence post, was found by angler Shaun Brown at the Grand Union canal near Leicester
In fact, it is a tropical fish that would normally be found in Central America.
Shawn pulled the 10in specimen from the canal at Wigston.
Dead ringers: The tropical fish resembles the Stingray Terror Fish
He took this photo of it and showed it to a number of aquarists who have identified it as an armoured suckermouth catfish. They normally live in Panama or Costa Rica and this one is thought to be the first to be found in our waterways.
Experts say it is unlikely to have migrated here because of global warming. It was more likely released into the canal after growing too big for somebody's aquarium.
Shaun said: 'I thought it was some sort of monster fish at first. I could see its teeth which looked menacing. It had a really hard back and an ugly look on its face.'
His father Alan, 45, a service engineer, added: 'I was really excited. I usually catch perch and pike but this was really amazing. It blew me away.'
The armoured suckermouth catfish - which grows up to 2ft long, is a herbivore and uses its distinctive mouth to draw up algae from rocks.
Its tough scales act as a defence mechanism to ward off predators.
Often called plecos after their Latin name hypostomus plecostomus, some species can live out of water for up to 30 hours.
Ian Wellby, a fisheries scientist, said: 'It is not something you want nearby but it is quite harmless.
'It is a warm water fish and could not survive our winters.'
DID YOU KNOW?
Armoured suckermouth catfish grow up to 2ft long. Females are bigger than males.
Herbivores, they feed mainly on algae - but will eat almost any detritus.
Sucker-like lips enable them to cling to surfaces and rasp off food.
Live in tropical South and Central America. Able to survive in very fast and dirty water.
Rapid breeders, females lay their eggs on submerged stones, logs or in holes.
Males guard the eggs, which hatch in 3 to 5 days.
Natives reported to eat the eggs as caviar.
Popular aquarium fish because they provide a 'clean-up service' for the tank by hoovering up algae.
Sometimes called 'plecos' or 'plecs' after Latin name 'hypostomus plecostomus'.
More than 100 different species of suckermouth catfish. Some can live out of water for up to 30 hours.
