A goldfish measuring a foot and a half long has been found in Lake Tahoe.
Huge goldfish have been found by researchers studying invasive species in Lake Tahoe, on the California-Nevada border. Goldfish measuring up to 1.5 feet (0.5 meter) long have been found. Normally, this would just be an oddity, but the giant fish are apparently multiplying – scientists are finding more and more larger fish. The people responsible for these oddities of nature are likely well meaning pet owners who would rather dump the fish than keeping it until it dies or killing it, but the goldfish are actually a threat to the lake. Goldfish are bottom feeders who root in sediment – stirring up matter into the water and threatening the lake’s famously clear waters. Goldfish are a double threat, too, because of their mineral rich poop – which provides a better environment for algae in the otherwise clear lake.
According to an OurAmazingPlanet.com report, the global aquarium trade has contributed about a third of the world’s worst aquatic invasive species to the environment. Lake Tahoe is already dealing with a different invasive species, the large mouth bass, which decidedly outnumbers the goldfish – so no worries of the lake turning into a giant fish bowl. Whether or not the goldfish surviving and breeding is a threat to the lake remains to be seen. “We know that we have a giant goldfish, the question now becomes how long has it been there and how many others are there in the lake?” Dr. Sudeep Chandra, an associate professor at University of Nevada, Reno told local station KCRA-TV.
Source: Huffington Post
