Giant goldfish problem in US lake prompts warning to pet owners
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Giant goldfish problem in US lake prompts warning to pet owners
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11 hours ago
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image captionSeveral massive goldfish were recently found in a lake in Burnsville, Minnesota
A city in the US state of Minnesota has urged residents not to release their unwanted pet fish into the wild after finding huge goldfish in a lake.
The common household pets can grow far bigger in the wild and cause major disruption to ecosystems.
The city of Burnsville shared images showing several monster goldfish caught during a survey of Keller Lake.
It said goldfish could contribute to poor water quality by disturbing sediment and uprooting plants.
"Please don't release your pet goldfish into ponds and lakes!" the city wrote in a tweet.
In Minnesota, goldfish are a regulated invasive species, which means it is illegal to release them into public waters.
A goldfish kept in a home aquarium typically grows to about 2in (5.1cm) in length.
But once they are established in public waters, wildlife officials say, goldfish can grow far larger and be difficult to remove - reproducing rapidly and dominating native species.
In its warning, the city of Burnsville advised pet owners to "please consider other options for finding them a new home".
Giant goldfish problem in US lake prompts warning to pet owners
Published
11 hours ago
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Wildlife officials have been dealing with a similar problem in nearby Carver County, where 50,000 goldfish were removed from a creek in October last year.
The removal was part of a three-year plan to study and manage the species, which have caused problems across the US.
But the US isn't the only country to suffer from marauding goldfish.
In 2017, Munich city council in Germany said shoals of goldfish were starving out all rivals in local ponds and lakes. The problem got so bad, the council threatened to fine anyone caught releasing their pets into public waters.
Large goldfish have been found in the UK's wild waters as well. In 2010, a British teenager pulled a 5lb (2.2kg), 16in fish from a lake in Dorset.
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Re: Giant goldfish problem in US lake prompts warning to pet owners
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Snagrio
"A goldfish in an aquarium typically grows to 2in in length."
Yeah no, a goldfish kept in a BOWL that dies within a year gets that big. Give one an actual proper-sized tank (55 gallons+) and you'll see how big they can truly get. It's easy to forget sometimes, but at the end of the day these guys are essentially fancy carp, and grow accordingly.
Yeah that bit really stood out to me. They get HUGE in captivity if you take care of them. I had several over 10" in a large cold water aquarium and I know they can get even bigger than that.
Re: Giant goldfish problem in US lake prompts warning to pet owners
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gio
This is 20 Minutes from where I live. I'll be curious to see if they handle our sub-zero weather here over the winter months.
I don't know enough about the species to know if they require warmer temperatures year round.
We have Asian carp here and some other invasive river species that have no issues in the freezing months.
That lake will easily get 2.5 to 3 feet of ice cover over the winter.
They are in the carp family. Ice won't hurt them as long as it can go deep. Old story is each inch of ice adds five years too its life.
Up North people have gold fish an koi ponds that ice over an the fish are fine.
The fish caught could also have been from a pond. Buddy has a koi pond that the ducks an hawks raid all the time. One day a neighbor came over with a fish in a bowl. Seems something dropped it in her pool. So anything is possible.
Re: Giant goldfish problem in US lake prompts warning to pet owners
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gio
I’m wrong on the ice there. I’d guess 2 feet is a stretch. Maybe 15” or a bit more or less is closer estimate.
Either way the carp family can handle that it appears.
There have even been instances where goldfish and koi have been outright encased in ice from a frozen over pond/lake, and sprung back to life by Spring's thaw.
