Giant Goldfish Problem in US Lake Prompts Warning to Pet Owners
upstart writes:
Giant goldfish problem in US lake prompts warning to pet owners:
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.
[...] 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".
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.
[...] 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.
Wikipedia entry for goldfish.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.