Teller Lake, Colorado is experiencing some major upheaval in its ecosystem. It is literally being taken over by goldfish. There are approximately 3,000 to 4,000 fish that have overrun this lake. This is causing a lot of problems for the environment that can greatly affect the future of this lake and the native fish.
Teller Lake Colorado
Teller Lake, Colorado, as seen here at Colorado Parks and Wildlife, is being currently overrun by thousands of goldfish. There is much concern from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife that the lake will not be able to last much longer in this current situation. The lakes native species of fish are currently suffering from the invasion of the goldfish and are unable to populate the lake or survive properly because of them.
Teller Lake Colorado’s Ecosystem
There are many species of goldfish that are currently living in the Teller Lake in Colorado, as seen here at Animal World, that are threatening the native fish species of the lake. The goldfish are taking up valuable space and resources from native fish and are proving to be too much for the lake to handle.
Goldfish are actually descendants of carp fish, and are regularly found in schools. They have been known to inhabit anywhere that they possibly can, and can easily wreak havoc on lakes and rivers ecosystems if not handled properly. One of the previous experiences that have been recorded in Boulder, Colorado is a similar situation that occurred at Thunderbird Lake back in 2012. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife hopes to educate more people about the dangers of releasing goldfish into the native lakes so that they don’t see any more of these incidences in the future.
There are currently fisherman who go to the Teller Lake in Colorado regularly that have been catching and releasing the goldfish. Many of them did not realize that the ecosystem was endangered because of these goldfish and are considering helping the removal efforts when it comes time to do so.
Solution for Teller Lake Colorado Goldfish Issues
There are many proposed solutions right now that will help the lake to come out from under the current problems. One of them is to use a special boat that has electric tips sticking out at the front. These will stun the fish and make them easier to collect. The other options are to just kill them all and then remove them or to take them all out and feed them to raptors at a raptor rehabilitation reserve.
There have been many news reports on this topic in an effort to raise awareness both in Colorado and across the United States so that people are aware of what happens when you put this kind of fish in a lake or river where they normally do not inhabit it. It is also upsetting a lot of local pet stores as they know the risks associated with this kind of behavior and do not sell the fish to people so that they can be mistreated in this way.
There is much hope from the community and from the Colorado Wildlife and Parks that a solution will be found soon. Whatever the solution that is agreed upon, the Teller Lake in Colorado will once again be able to resume rehabilitation for its damaged ecosystem soon and it will soon be thriving once again.
For more on Colorado’s beauty featured in this visual treat by Bryan Long:
https://youtu.be/_THhkCR7S0c
