Foot-long gold fish now being found at Lake Tahoe
Submitted by Editor on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 9:22pm
Giant goldfish have been found lurking in the waters of Lake Tahoe, and researchers say the monster fish has not been a welcome addition to the freshwater lake.
According to a report by NBC affiliate KCRA-TV, the mega-goldfish — which can grow to be almost 1.5 feet long — are not native to the lake and may have been dumped there by aquarium owners.
However, the goldfish seem to be thriving and are said to be breeding at a rather quick pace. Experts now worry that the invasive species could adversely impact the Lake Tahoe ecosystem.
"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 the University of Nevada, Reno, told KCRA.
Aquarium dumping is a widespread problem in the United States and around the world.
In January, Becky Oskin of OurAmazingPlanet.com, citing a University of California, Davis, report on California's aquarium trade, wrote that numerous invasive aquarium species are dumped in the wild every year.
Go here for the full story.
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