Christine Ngai, of the University of Nevada, Reno, was among the researchers who found the first goldfish during a survey of invasive fish in the lake.
“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,” Ngai said of the initial discovery.
Ngai had heard stories from fishing guides about large goldfish, but they were the first to document the species.
“Then when I saw it — I was like, oh … it exists,” Ngai added.
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It's not certain how the goldfish first got into Lake Tahoe, Chandra said, but he suspects it's the result of aquarium dumping.
Policies are already in place to limit live-bait fishing, and boat inspections to limit the introduction of invasive species.
Now, some believe a new campaign to curb aquarium dumping may be necessary.
“Those small little things that people do can have a large impact when you consider that it's probably not just one person doing it,” said Ted Thayer, of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
Monster goldfish are breeding in Lake Tahoe