Thousands of goldfish found in Colorado pond

Goldfish certainly aren't native to Boulder, CO, and so it was definitely cause for concern when thousands of them were found in Teller Lake #5 in March.  It is assumed that the population was the result of an aquarium dump.  Some of the options currently being discussed for removal of this exotic species include electrofishing and draining the pond.

This isn't the first time that goldfish have become a problem for Colorado waterbodies.  In 2012, Colorado Parks and Wildlife stunned and removed hundreds of koi from Thunderbird lake.  While they didn't remove all of the koi, some are still being spotted, they are deemed to be at an acceptable population level.

goldfish (Carassius auratus) by U.S. Geological Survey Archive, U.S. Geological Survey, Bugwood.org

*Note: Image representative of a nonnative goldfish caught in the field, not from the current Colorado population.

Daily Camera Boulder News: Non-native fish may mean draining one Boulder lake, monitoring at another
Department of Natural Resources press release: Invasive goldfish dumped at Teller Lake #5 in Boulder