Friday Smorgasbord: Monster goldfish, fish stripes, swimming with sharks and more

This edition of the Friday Smorgasbord kicks off with the discovery of monster goldfish in one of California’s most recognized lakes. The ginormous goldfish have mysteriously found their way into Lake Tahoe alarming researchers and raising questions about the invasive species’ long-term effects. The alien fish weighed as much as 4 pounds and measured up to 1 1/2 feet.

[via Reuters]

Ever wonder why reef fish are colored and striped the way they do? As hobbyists, we tend to think we do but some interesting research was just released that studied butterfly fish and why they had eye spots and stripes. The research team recently used a “comparative approach” to try to unravel the mystery behind the evolution of spots and stripes in butterflyfishes in the research, published recently in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

[via the Conversation]

On Valentine’s Day, GoPro released an amazing (and startling) video of freediver Ocean Ramsey swimming with a Great White Shark. Not only does Ocean get up close and person with the GWS, but she grabs the dorsal fin and takes a quick ride. The shark video was shot to raise awareness for sharks and their conservation. For more information on shark conservation efforts, visit waterinspired.com

A Fall River, Mass., pet store owner is outraged after a burglar hit his business, smashing the front door to steal the store’s computer. The most disturbing part of it? The burglar also decided to smash a 180-gallon aquarium killing all the fish and coral in the display. If you happen to know anything about this robbery at Animal Instincts, contact the local police. Karma is a bitch.