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The New York Times has a story that describes just how devastating it can be to an ecosystem to dispose of goldfish, "the most invasive aquatic species" in a river or stream.
Two decades ago, someone dropped a handful of unwanted pet goldfish into a creek in southwestern Australia. Those goldfish grew, swam downstream, mucked up waters wherever they went and spawned like mad. Before long, they took over the whole river.
Researchers from Murdoch University believe this scenario, or something like it, is the cause of a feral goldfish invasion in Australia's Vasse River. Since 2003, they have been running a goldfish tracking and control program that involves catching fish along the length of the river, freezing them to death and studying them in the lab. Despite this program, goldfish in the Vasse are thriving, with some fish growing as long as 16 inches and weighing up to four pounds — the size of a two-liter soda bottle.
The article contains some insightful information as to how to get rid of unwanted goldfish:
The best strategy is to give healthy fish away, to a responsible aquarium, pet store or hobbyist.... In Florida, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission takes unwanted exotic pets off people's hands on regularly scheduled amnesty days.
If your fish is sick, the most humane way to kill it is probably to put it in an ice slurry. As for whether you should flush your fish down the toilet, experts recommend against it. Not only is there a slight chance your fish could survive a journey through the septic system and end up in the wild, but, in general, it's just not a very pleasant way to say goodbye to Bubbles.
I have a couple alternate solutions. First, tropical lion fish love goldfish, as I learned in a middle school science class. Second, goldfish are edible. Think about that the next time you complain about the price of fish!
(Score: 2) by Knowledge Troll on Friday September 23 2016, @07:37PM
One spring I bought 100 feeder gold fish from a pet store for a song and a dance then poured the whole thing into a new 4ft x 12ft x 2ft deep decorative pond. Not all of them survived the first winter but about 15 of them did and they grew for another 5 years until a blue heron decided to stop by for lunch. At that point they were about a foot long and that damn bird stood in the pond and plucked my fish out of the water like they were going by on a sushi conveyor.
I didn't feed the gold fish once and the water froze over every winter though I don't think it ever froze solid. I ignored those fish and I think the only reason any of them lived is because they were the lucky few that could figure out how to feed off the top of the pond and they ate insects that landed. I don't believe that is normal carp behavior.