I am not sure about Texas since I have not spent much time there. I remember seeing them in a canal next to the Zoo in San Antonio way back in 1969 when I was in basic training there. I have read about them being in Texas. Florida is full of them and I figured there must be 6 different types scattered throughout the south including Mexico. I did a study on them once because the Florida people thought they were invasive. I figured they came in water tanks on early ships but discovered that none of them were the same as South American types. Therefore I deduced that they were in fact wild in Florida and throughout the south. Just never classified as wild fish. Most will get between 1 ft and 2 ft long. They like to dig into banks and under rocks for a nest. We spent many a day hunting for Pleco balls on the Florida canals to hatch out on the fish farms $5.00 each ball.
