Biologists fear 'giant' goldfish will alter Lake Tahoe

[struggle4progress]

Emerson Marcus, Reno Gazette-Journal6:19p.m. EST February 21, 2013
Scientists are concerned that algae created from the fish's waste will reduce the lake's clarity.

... Goldfish have inhabited the water of the Tahoe Keys since the 1990s, said Sudeep Chandra, a biologist at the University of Nevada, Reno.

But it wasn't until 2011 that biologists found a 14.2 inch, 3.4 pound goldfish in the lake. More "giant" goldfish have been found since, he said.

It is not entirely known how the goldfish are being introduced to Lake Tahoe. Chandra said he thinks people who have goldfish as pets are disposing of them in the lake ...

According to the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit site, goldfish "strip waters of oxygen-producing plants which increases water temperatures and destroys habitat for native juvenile fish" ...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/21/giant-goldfish-lake-tahoe/1937223/

[ladjf]

1. Goldfish are carps that were "dwarfed" by keeping generations of them in small containers

of water. These dwarfs will, in a few generations , tend to revert back toward their original size. They are still going to be a problem in lake Tahoe. They are particularly bad about destroying fish egg laying areas.