giant goldfish?

[paco33]

Thought this was interesting

Move over, Jaws—huge goldfish invade Lake TahoeBy Mike Krumboltz | The Sideshow (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/) – 5 hrs ago












Goldfish the size of canned hams are turning up in Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border.
A group of researchers from the University of Nevada at Reno discovered and documented the oversized fish, including one 18-inches long. Others had apparently spotted the fish in the waters of Lake Tahoe, but Christine Ngai and fellow researchers were the first to document their existence.
Ngai told KCRA.com (http://www.kcra.com/news/Monster-goldfish-are-breeding-in-Lake-Tahoe/-/11797728/18442498/-/11mxwo5z/-/index.html?absolute=true), "You just see this bright golden orange thing starting to float up, and you’re like, what is that? And then you take a net and you scoop it up, and you’re like, it’s a goldfish."


Experts believe that people dumping the contents of their aquariums into the lake is to blame for the problem. And it is a real problem. Researchers believe the large fish, which aren't native to the lake, could have a significant ecological impact, including creating a food shortage for native trout. Also a worry, according to Dr. Sudeep Chandra of the University of Nevada, is the goldfish's tendency to spur algae growth in a lake known for being crystal clear.
When Ngai and her colleagues examined the fish, they found that some were pregnant, meaning the problem is likely to get worse.
This isn't the first case of abnormally large goldfish showing up in a strange spot. In 2010, a fisherman in France reeled in a goldfish (http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/archive/7916645/goldfish-big-big-dog/) the size of a large dog.


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/move-over-jaws-huge-goldfish-turning-lake-tahoe-172803403.html

[baitstealer]

hey there is a link in that article did anyone check out this big monster? unreal!

A goldfish as big as a (big) dog
Mike Krumboltz, Yahoo!7September 10, 2010, 11:03 am

http://l.yimg.com/ea/img/-/100910/giantfish100910file257_168iprv-168iptl.jpg (http://l.yimg.com/ea/img/-/100910/giantfish100910file257_168iprv-168iptl.jpg)

This just in from the "strange but probably true" files. Fisherman Raphael Biagini reeled in what is believed to be a 14 kilogram koi carp in France, where the fish are quite popular. The fish, a vivid orange, looks a great deal like a giant goldfish. The photo is several months old, but it's buzzing right now, thanks to an article from the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
Not surprisingly, Yahoo! searches on "giant goldfish" are currently soaring. However, it's important to remember that this guy only looks like a super-size version of every child's first pet. And, for the record, Mr. Biagini, who has caught many a giant carp in his day, returned the orange fish to the water after having his photo taken.
Of course, some people may look at the photo and scream, "Fake!" And, indeed, the Web is full of stories of altered photos. However, from what we can tell, a fish this size and this color is possible. According to Ken Peterson, communications director at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, this isn't out of the realm of possibility. If a koi has the right amount of food and enough space to grow, he says, there's no telling how big they can get.
Indeed, koi carp have grown a lot bigger. John McCosker of the California Academy of Sciences points out that, according to FishBase.org, the largest koi on record weighed almost 90 pounds (like the orange fish, it was caught in France).
While it is a bit odd that the fish doesn't appear to be struggling, McCosker explains that this kind of fish isn't among the most wild. And the fish's color, while striking, isn't all that unique.
Still, there are those who don't believe the photo is real. Many commenters to the Daily Mail story point out that the fish appears to weigh much more than 14 kilograms. One doubter writes that the fisherman is holding the fish the way somebody would hold a 1-pound package.
— Mike Krumboltz is a Yahoo!US (http://www.yahoo.com/) writer. You can read more Y!News blogs here (http://news.yahoo.com/blog-newsroom).