Gigantic goldfish wreaking havoc in local lakes may sound like something out of a throwback sci-fi flick, but it’s all very real.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is sharing pics of “massive” goldfish whose owners released them into the wild in an effort to call attention to the problems the fish can create in lakes and other waterways.
“Your pet store goldfish after two years in the wild: ‘Call me Megalodon,'” the federal agency wrote Feb. 25 on Facebook alongside a pic of a USFWS ranger holding a football-sized goldfish caught in Presque Isle, Pennsylvania.
“This goldfish isn’t supposed to be here. But someone released it, thinking they were being kind. Instead, they created an invasive problem that can last decades,” the agency explained.
The USFWS, who shared the information in recognition of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, said goldfish can grow to massive proportions in the wild, where they disrupt local ecosystems and harm native fish.
The goldfish can “turn lakes and waterways into murky messes, steal food from native fish and wreck water quality,” the USFWS wrote.
The USFWS shared a second pic in the comments of its post that showed another of its rangers using two hands to hold an enormous goldfish. “From cute to brute,” it captioned the snap.
The official USFWS website explains that although goldfish in pet store tanks may look harmless, “in the wild, they don’t stay small.”
“Without a tank limiting their size, goldfish that once fit in the palm of your hand can balloon into giant, football-sized invaders that compete with native species for food and habitat,” the agency wrote.
In addition to disturbing delicate ecosystems, which harms native fish and plant life, goldfish in the wild also harbor harmful parasites and diseases that infect native fish.
Goldfish multiply quickly, too. Without any natural predators in the wild, their populations can “explode,” the agency explained.
The USFWS asks goldfish owners who can no longer keep their pets to rehome them or return them to a pet store — or even consider reaching out to a local aquarium or fish rescue group for help — rather than releasing them into local lakes or waterways.