Why Releasing Your Pet Goldfish Into Your Local Stream or Lake is a Bad Idea

Goldfish may look small and cute in your home, but in the wild, it's a different story. Releasing them into your local stream or lake is a bad idea. Following is a transcript of the video.

Right now, Washington State is fighting of an invasion! The culprit? Goldfish.

Thousands of goldfish have infested the West Medical Lake and are crowding out the native fish population. How did this happen? The Department of Fish and Wildlife thinks a few irresponsible pet owners are to blame. And while the goldfish may have cost the owners a few dollars, this mess is going to cost the state an estimated $150,000 to try to remove these feral fish.

But this isn't the only place this is happening. Goldfish are invading lakes and streams worldwide, and it's our fault.

If you think you're doing the goldfish a favor by releasing it, you're not. Instead, you're setting the stage for an ecological disaster, which could threaten hundreds of other species. Turns out, goldfish are one of the world's worst invasive species.

Goldfish were first selectively bred in China 2,000 years ago for food. By the 14th century, goldfish had been promoted from our meals to our entertainment. It wasn't long before pet owners helped them spread across the world, eventually reaching North America by the 19th century.

They may look small and cute in your home, but in the wild, it's a different story. Given enough time and resources, these little orange monsters will grow into giants, reaching as much as 4 pounds (2 kg), about the size of an American football!

These big fish are also big eaters. Feeding on plants, insects, crustaceans, and other fish. But they're not just consuming what other fish rely on to survive, they're voracious feeding time actually kicks up mud and sediment which can lead to harmful algae blooms that choke the ecosystem.

If that's not enough, they also introduce foreign parasites and diseases that wreak havoc on the delicately-balanced ecosystems wherever they go. And they aren't content to stay in one place. Goldfish are a rapidly-reproducing fish and will migrate across multiple bodies of water. Case in point, when a few were dumped in a local Australian river in the early 2000s they eventually migrated to the Vasse River, where they're still a major problem today.

There are similar accounts of goldfish invasions in Epping Forest, London, Alberta, Canada, and Lake Tahoe, Nevada. In fact, invasive fish species accounted for over half of the total fish population in Lake Tahoe Basin. Besides causing fiscal and environmental disasters there are other reasons you should keep that goldfish in its tank.

Goldfish are smarter than you might think. They have a memory span of at least 3 months. They also can tell the difference between Stravinsky and Bach.

So, consider the wildlife, and think twice before tossing that goldfish away.



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According to Researchers at Australia's Murdoch University, Dumping Your Pet Goldfish in a Local Lake Can Cause Serious Ecological Sabotage

As tragic as it may be to watch Bubbles roam around the tank with nothing but a plastic treasure chest for entertainment, the truth is he wasn't meant to be in a bigger pond.

According to researchers at Australia's Murdoch University, giving in to your temptation to set him free in a local lake won't just leave you without a pet — it'll kick start some serious ecological sabotage. As revealed in a study published by their Freshwater Fish Group & Fish Health Unit, "introduced freshwater fishes are one of the major global threats to aquatic biodiversity."

And this isn't just some fish story. When dumped into a larger environment, those innocent little koi or goldfish grow at an exponential rate, introduce parasites that harm other species, and have the potential to decimate an ecosystem.

"They are eating up the food resources and using up the habitat that our native fish would otherwise be using,"research fellow Jeff Cosgrove told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Even worse? They can be "extremely difficult to eradicate," says Cosgrove. In other words, they're not going belly-up anytime soon.

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Someone Dumped Four or Five Pet Goldfish in a Boulder Lake About Two Years Ago: They Have Now Multiplied to Over 3,000 to 4,000 Fish

Colorado wildlife officials say they believe someone dumped four or five pet goldfish in a Boulder lake about two years ago, and they have now multiplied to over 3,000 to 4,000 fish.

Because the goldfish are a non-native species, they threaten Teller Lake #5's entire aquatic ecosystem, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill told ABC News today.

"Dumping your pets into a lake could bring diseases to native animals and plants as well as out-compete them for resources," Churchill said. "Everything can be affected. Non-native species can potentially wipe out the fishery as we've put it together."

Wildlife officials are seeking information on anyone who may have released the goldfish into the lake, she said.

CPW is currently considering two solutions -- electroshocking the fish or draining the lake.

"With electroshocking, you go in the boat and stun the fish to paralyze and collect them," Churchill said, adding that the shock doesn't kill the fish. "The fish could also be collected if the lake is drained."

Either way, wildlife officials will likely take them to a raptor rehabilitation center, where the fish will be used for feeding, Churchill said.

Although a few residents have expressed interest in collecting the goldfish to keep them as pets, Churchill said she doesn't want to encourage the practice.

"I'm going to talk to Boulder County, who owns the lake to see what they think, but I don't want to send the message that collecting fish for personal fun is okay," Churchill said. FOLLOW US!

Did You Know That It's Illegal to Keep Hedgehogs As Pets In Some States?

These quilly animals require less maintenance than cats and dogs. They're not smelly. They're hypoallergenic. And objectively, they're really, really cute.

Yet African pygmy hedgehogs—the species most commonly sought-after by pet owners—are illegal to keep as pets in Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and the five boroughs of New York City. That's because, while hedgehogs may look cuddly and unassuming indoors, the animals can wreak havoc on local ecosystems if they get out, experts say.

State fish and wildlife officials say the 17 different known species of hedgehog can disrupt native communities if they are released into the wild. A budding population of hedgehogs would compete for food and habitat with species naturally found in those areas. Other exotic pets, such as sugar gliders and Quaker parakeets, are banned in some states for the same reason.

Some hedgehog species can also carry foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious virus that affects cloven-hoofed animals, such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. The most devastating outbreak of the disease in the U.S. came in 1914, when more than 170,000 farm animals became infected. There hasn't been an outbreak since 1929, and government officials want to keep it that way.



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