When humans dump unwanted goldfish into the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay (also seen in the Susquehanna river) and even Chesapeake Bay, the little fish with lineage from Asia prove to be prodigious reproducers who grow far beyond captive size, displacing native species. According to the Chesapeake Bay Program – “With enough food and room to grow, wild goldfish can balloon to a monstrous five pounds and reach lengths of over 12 inches–roughly the size of a football. Goldfish are rampant, destructive eaters and can easily outcompete the Bay’s native species for food. They dine on algae, underwater grasses, insects, tadpoles, crustaceans, fish eggs and smaller fish, uprooting vegetation, stirring up sediment and destroying native fish habitat as they go…” Please do not dispose of goldfish in open waters – they thrive in freshwater and brackish water. Thank you.