Don't Flush Goldfish!

Gold fish are multiplying rapidly and growing far bigger in the wild.

18:15 25 June 2015

The government in Alberta province, Canada, has made an appeal to its resident to not flush their gold fish into the toilet after giant gold fish have invaded ponds. 

 

The domestic fish are multiplying rapidly with some growing in size of dinner plates in the wild, invading ponds in the area. Officials are concerned that these gold fish will threaten other aquatic animals. 

 

In one case, 40 of the domestic fish species were pulled from a stormwater pond.

 

"It's quite surprise how large we're finding them and the sheer number," said Kate Wilson, aquatic invasive species coordinator at Alberta Environment and Parks. 

 

"That's really scary because it means they're reproducing in the wild, they are getting quite large and they are surviving the winters that far north.

 

"Approximately a third of invasive species out there that threaten native aquatic environments are from aquariums and the ornamental trade."