Don't throw your goldfish
At first glance, goldfish
seem harmless, running around in circles in their tanks, waiting to be fed!
However, it is important
to know that under its passive appearance, the goldfish can turn into a real
voracious animal if it is released in the wild.
Also known as the golden cyprin,
it is usually bought as a back-up pet, less social than a dog or a cat.
Thus, it can happen that
you get tired of your goldfish and want to give it back its freedom... Except
that you should not do that!
Throw your goldfish into lakes: A common story
A family gets a goldfish,
but then their child gets tired of it - maybe soccer, guitar lessons or
homework is a priority.
The family wants to get
rid of the fish but doesn't want to hurt it, so they release it at a local
Waterway or flush it down the toilet.
A well-intentioned move,
to be sure, but it's causing environmental problems.
Last week, officials in Burnsville,
a Minnesota city south of Minneapolis, urged residents to stop throwing
goldfish into ponds and lakes.
"They get bigger than
you think and contribute to poor water quality by removing sediment from the
bottom and uprooting plants."
The city's official
account tweeted, "Groups of these large goldfish were recently found in Keller
Lake."
They included photos of
some of the fish they found in the lake that was bigger than you'd think.
Goldfish, a devastating danger for biodiversity
Indeed, releasing a
goldfish in a lake, a river, or a pond can be devastating for... the biodiversity
of the water body.
On the other hand, the
fish will live very well with its situation since it has a superb capacity to
adapt to all aquatic environments.
Notably thanks to its omnivorous diet.
The goldfish eats everything!
It uproots aquatic plants it ingurgitates buried feelings, eggs, insect larvae
and other fish that populate the water.
Thus, it endangers its
entire environment, not hesitating to devour the litters of rival fish.
An example was published
by environmental specialists in Minnesota, USA.
They photographed goldfish
with a size much more impressive than the one you can put in a jar.
They took the opportunity
to remind us of the danger of releasing a "golden fish" into the wild.:
"Please, don't release your goldfish into
ponds and lakes, they grow much bigger than you think!
As an alternative, it is
advisable to simply entrust your goldfish to someone else who can take care of
it.
Goldfish can also transmit parasites
Goldfish can also transmit
parasites, and they are an incredibly resilient species that cope with high
turbidity.
Also, they cope with
dramatic temperature changes and low oxygen levels.
So once they enter
streams, they can stay there for years.
Moreover, they have a very
fast reproduction capacity, can travel great distances, and thus colonize other
environments.
In short, a real scourge
for biodiversity!
Females produce up to
40,000 eggs a year, which is far more than most freshwater fish species.
Because they have no
natural enemies in American freshwater ecosystems, many of these offspring can
survive and run amok.
