Attack of the Killer Goldfish

The Indiana Post-Tribune is reporting that the state's Spectacle Lake is infested with, of all things - goldfish (Cyprinus auratus). Concerned about the native (?) bass in the lake, local environmentalists are asking the state to remedy the situation by treating the water with rotenone, which will kill -all- fish, and then restocking with bass. This is actually the second time in fifteen years that Spectacle Lake has been overrun with goldfish, which perhaps explains why the state isn't exactly hurrying to fill it with piscicide. Goldfish can destroy bass nests when they kick up bottom sediments. When they reach critical population levels, they can also drop the dissolved oxygen content of the water to a point that is tolerable to them, but deadly to bass. That makes the idea that these folks had last year, to introduce bass to a lake to control goldfish, sound like a bad one.