Releasing goldfish into the toilet is destroying the planet.
Well, maybe not the entire planet, but it is absolutely decimating American lakes, rivers,
and wetlands.
But how in the world could these tiny 1-2 inch fish possibly be causing unchecked destruction
across American wildlands?
And what other invasive fish species are you under direct orders from the US government
to kill on sight?
In Burnsville, Wisconsin, local residents were complaining of a goldfish infestation
in one of their favorite lakes.
Known for its abundant fishing, catches in the last few years have been steadily decreasing
in frequency and size, and residents thought they knew the culprit: goldfish.
Wildlife officials know well the danger of releasing goldfish into American waterways,
but what they found in Burnsville would shock them to their core.
Goldfish the size of a football, weighing in at just under five pounds.
And not just a few, but bucketfuls of them, proving that the lake had a breeding population.
And this population of one-time household pets was now responsible for major habitat
destruction.
In the pet store, goldfish don't seem like very threatening animals, and who hasn't had
one at some point in their life happily swimming around in a bowl?
But goldfish are actually voracious eaters, and while they typically remain very tiny
in home aquariums, they can grow as big as 18 inches and 10 pounds in the wild.
The reason why they stay so small in a home aquarium is actually quite depressing.
Most fish are indeterminate growers, meaning that they continue growing until the day they
die.
The more successful a predator the fish is, the longer it'll live and the bigger it'll
get- which is why there just might be some element of truth to even the most outlandish
fish tales you've heard.
However, when kept in poor conditions, fish's growth will become stunted- including a goldfish.
A home aquarium, unless specifically suited for the healthy growth of a goldfish, is actually
a terrible home for these quickly-growing fish.
Aquariums typically suffer from very bad water quality- the water may look crystal clear
to you but that doesn't mean it has everything a fish needs to be healthy.
Poor filtration and not changing the water in your tank will lead to stagnation and a
lack of aeration, which puts oxygen back in the water.
A small tank also does not allow for dilution of waste, forcing your cute little goldfish
buddy to swim around in his own poop all day.
A lack of the right kinds of bacteria also make it impossible to keep water quality levels
healthy enough for a goldfish to thrive.
In the face of all these terrible living conditions, goldfish actually become stunted and stop
growing.
The old myth that a goldfish only grows as big as its enclosure is false, a goldfish
only grows as large as its enclosure allows for healthy water.
Once at that point, the goldfish becomes stunted leading to physical deformities.
All this time you thought little Nemo was perfectly happy swimming around the tiny castle
at the bottom of his fish bowl next to your bed, but in reality you've turned Nemo into
a Quasimodo who's so physically deformed he'll die very young.
If he doesn't try to commit goldfish suicide first- goldfish are commonly reported leaping
out of their bowls, and some researchers believe this is due to a desperate attempt to find
healthier living conditions.
We here at the Infographics Show know better- your goldfish is just trying to end its horrible
existence.
Don't believe us?
In the wild goldfish can live up to 30 years.
While a goldfish kept in a home aquarium can live only 2-3 miserable years.
In the right conditions, like an American lake or river, Goldfish can live for several
decades.
And the entire time that they are living they continue to grow, until becoming potential
ten pound monsters.
While many people believe goldfish are herbivores, they're actually omnivores and eat both plant
and animal material- and this is what makes them so devastating to American waters.
Goldfish often hunt out and eat other fish's eggs, as well as any fish smaller than them.
This has a devastating effect on both the eggs and fry of native American fish, who
also have to deal with native predators.
Once a goldfish reaches a certain size, it has few if any natural predators in an American
lake, and coupled with a lifespan of up to three decades, this can mean disaster for
native species.
But the goldfish isn't just devouring red-blooded American fish, it's also destroying plant
life critical for the health of our waterways.
Due to their bottom-feeding habits, Goldfish uproot plants and stir up sediment, leading
to algal blooms and an adverse impact on the oxygen content of the water.
As more plants are destroyed, water becomes less filtrated, leading to a drop in water
quality, but the lack of plants leads to an explosion in algae which can block out sunlight
for other underwater plants and also sucks the oxygen out of the water.
That's no problem for the goldfish though, because goldfish can hold their breath for
months at a time.
Well, not exactly, but goldfish can live without oxygen for an entire winter.
That's because they have evolved a specific set of enzymes that allows them to convert
carbohydrates without oxygen.
Humans can also do this, but it very quickly leads to a toxic buildup of lactic acid which
is fatal.
Goldfish however convert carbohydrates into alcohol, which they then release through their
gills.
This adaptation helps explain how goldfish survive even brutal North American winters,
with their adopted home waters freezing over for months at a time.
But thanks to the interconnected nature of American waterways, one goldfish infestation
can quickly turn into a regional infestation, as goldfish reproduce out of control.
In Minnesota, the goldfish are working their way through city storm water ponds and into
lakes and streams, and continuing to spread to other connected bodies of water.
But just how bad can letting a few goldfish loose really be?
Well, in one attempt to remove goldfish from Grace Chain of Lakes in Minnesota, officials
netted 100,000 goldfish, and they are confident that thousands more remain.
The bad news is that there is no easy solution for removing goldfish once they've infested
a waterway, and any methods that remove goldfish can also harm native species.
The latest attempt includes the release of two dozen Northern Pike into the area, in
the hopes that they will feast on the abundant goldfish population.
While goldfish are a serious problem to American waterways, another invasive species is so
devastating, that every American citizen has orders from the government to kill them on
sight.
They can grow over 3 feet in length.
The females can lay 50,000 eggs at a time.
They eat anything smaller than them that gets in their way.
And they can breathe air while they crawl across land to invade new habitats.
It's the Snakehead fish, native to Africa and Asia, and now slowly but steadily moving
across the United States and leaving devastation in its wake.
And we don't just mean swimming either- snakeheads have the special adaptation to breathe air,
and can even wriggle across land to invade a new body of water.
They've been known to survive for up to 4 days out of water, and move 400 meters by
wriggling their fins and body.
If that wasn't bad enough, they also mate as much as five times a year, with females
producing up to a quarter of a million eggs every single year.
And one of the largest snakeheads was caught right here in the United States,
What's most devastating about the snakehead is the fact that it has no natural predators,
which automatically makes it an apex predator in any body of water it invades.
As juveniles, about the only time snakeheads are vulnerable to American predatory fish,
a snakehead will feast on zooplankton, insect larvae, and eventually, the fry of other fish.
Once they become mature, a snakehead will eat literally anything smaller than it, from
other fish, to birds, and even small mammals.
As if an apex predator that can crawl across land to new waters wasn't bad enough, not
only do snakeheads lay a quarter of a million eggs every year, they actually viciously protect
those eggs.
Most native American fish leave their fry to grow up on their own, however snakeheads
have very strong protective instincts.
Snakehead fry will hatch within 24 to 48 hours of their eggs being laid, and then the young
cluster together.
Dad and mom snakehead will then patrol the waters around their nest, chasing off any
would-be predators.
They will protect their young for up to 4 weeks, when the young fish are finally fully
developed and able to fend for themselves.
The fact that the parents protect the young during the only time in their life cycle they're
truly vulnerable only makes snakeheads that much bigger threat to native fish.
Not as widespread as invasive goldfish, snakeheads for the most part are currently limited to
the eastern United States- though sightings of this fearsome predator have recently popped
up in California.
Snakeheads are believed to also inhabit Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Virginia, Rhode Island, and New York.
While fish and game authorities continue to battle the spread of the snakehead, they have
conceded defeat in the Potomac River, where a population of 21,000 individuals was recorded
in just one 120 mile stretch.
This is likely a sign of things to come, and the snakehead has firmly established its first
foothold in America.
Currently, every US citizen is under orders from the government to immediately kill any
snakehead that they catch.
Fish and game authorities recommend that if you catch a snakehead, you don't throw it
onto the bank, as the fish could easily wriggle away and back into the water.
Also, it may slip between rocks, where it can survive for days by breathing oxygen.
Instead, decapitate the fish, or ideally, throw it into a cooler thus lowering its body
temperature and killing it.
Then take a photograph of the fish and contact your local fish and game agency.
Before leaving the lake, then wade into the water holding the decapitated body of the
snakehead while painting your face with its blood, as a clear warning to other snakeheads
watching from the waters below that Americans will fight for every inch of water against
these foreign invaders.
It's not known exactly how snakeheads entered our local waterways.
While goldfish were likely released by pet owners dissatisfied with their lame choice
of a fish as a pet, snakeheads could have been introduced to the US in a number of ways.
The snakehead can't tolerate much salinity, so it's known that they didn't simply migrate
here from across the sea.
They are a known foodstock, with snakeheads raised in captivity in Africa and Asia for
food- so it's believed some people may have attempted to breed the fish here in the US
to use as a foodstock.
Due to flooding, poor management, or just the snakehead's ability to walk across land
to other bodies of water, these foodstock fish eventually got loose and into our waters.
Prior to 2002 though, snakeheads were also sold in pet stores and live fish markets.
Growing too large for its tank, an owner may have dumped his snakehead into a local waterway,
thinking he was doing the humane thing.
A fish from a live fish market could also have easily escaped, or simply been tossed
out after not being sold.
Even more strangely though, it's believed that some snakeheads were introduced by a
religious ritual practiced by some cultures known as “prayer animal release”.
This practice involves buying an animal and then setting it free, in hopes of earning
favor with some deity.
However snakeheads got into American waterways, it's clear that action needs to be taken now
before they decimate native fish populations and cause irrevocable harm.
Now continue learning about man's war on fish with Why is Caviar So Expensive?
Or click this other video instead.