Carassius auratus
Goldfish at Lawson, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Carassius auratus | MattBeitzel | 2 May 2022 | |
| Carassius carassius | MichaelBedingfield | 14 Mar 2022 | |
| Carassius carassius | MichaelBedingfield | 14 Mar 2022 | |
| Carassius Carassius (Crucian Carp) | LucaBiason | 13 Mar 2022 | |
| Carassius Carassius (Crucian Carp) | LucaBiason | 24 Nov 2021 |
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User's notes
Caught and released one last night, approx weight 500gr. Am positive it was not a common or mirror carp. Have caught many of these in Europe and it was definitely a large Carassius.
17 comments
25 Nov 2021
No, regrettably it did not occur to me that it may not have been a common catch in the lake, so I did not snap a pic but intend to do so if/when it happens again (I am assuming you are referring to the identification of the fish)
25 Nov 2021
Could potentially have been Carassius auratus as they are quite common and can be very similar looking to a Crucian, or even possibly a small Carassius auratus/Cyprinus carpio hybrid. Would be very interesting to see a verified Carassius carassius in our region. In saying this I’m not an expert moderator. Maybe try catch another and take some detailed photos. I have been told the number of scales along the lateral line can be important to confirm the species.
25 Nov 2021
Indeed, am now kicking myself for not having been more quick witted about it. We noticed the absence of barbels as soon as it was in the net. It did look very much like the one in this pic found online, but I do not want to create false expectations either:
https://www.123rf.com/photo_124354443_raw-fish-crucian-carp-species--carassius-carassius.html
https://www.123rf.com/photo_124354443_raw-fish-crucian-carp-species--carassius-carassius.html
25 Nov 2021
Carassius Carassius would be an unusual find here. We would welcome any photos of it or Carassius auratus
25 Nov 2021
What I can describe is a cyprinid with no barbels, plump body, large head and long dorsal fin, covered in medium-sized scales. Looked exactly like this: https://pescafacile.it/il-carassio/ As mentioned only as lateral reference, I used to catch heaps of them as a kid in Italy. Assuming it's one of them, the one caught the other day was unusually large (yet in that spot there's plenty of food and lots of good-sized carps). Now I am keen to get to the bottom of it: as they normally live in large groups there's a good likelihood that I may be able to land another one in the next few days. If I do, I'll snap a few pics and post them here straight away.
PS: exactly like the ones I used to catch, this one too - in spite of the relatively big size for its species - was reeled in almost as a dead weight, i.e. no fight at all other than a short rush when it saw the net. A carp of any size would have been a different story.
PS: exactly like the ones I used to catch, this one too - in spite of the relatively big size for its species - was reeled in almost as a dead weight, i.e. no fight at all other than a short rush when it saw the net. A carp of any size would have been a different story.
13 Mar 2022
Hi everyone, I have not had much time to go and try to catch another one, but today I went for a stroll with my kid along Lake Ginninderra, and came across a gentleman who had just caught what I am quite sure are three Carassius Carassius, near one of the bridges. He had never seen that fish before and just told me it was not a carp, and a quick look confirmed the sighting I reported above. He had them inside his net and I asked to take a few pics, which he kindly agreed to provided we did not take them out of it. Now I just need to find out how to upload them. Note here
https://pescafacile.it/il-carassio/ the line of black dots along the side of the fish, and no barbels, which is what you can see from the pics too. Still intend to catch one myself at Lake Burley-Griffin, where I am sure there are some big schools near Nara Park.
https://pescafacile.it/il-carassio/ the line of black dots along the side of the fish, and no barbels, which is what you can see from the pics too. Still intend to catch one myself at Lake Burley-Griffin, where I am sure there are some big schools near Nara Park.
14 Mar 2022
Very good, thanks Luca. To add the photos, load this page, then click on "Edit" at the top of the page. Then drag the photos into Media box. Then click on “Update sighting”.
14 Mar 2022
Thank you Michael, as soon as I catch one myself I'll post proper pictures but I am adamant we have a winner and it's now present in both LBG and Lake Ginninderra :)
15 Mar 2022
Im not entirely convinced its not Goldfish Carassius auratus. Scale and ray counts are going to be needed from a really clear picture. Im counting under 30 for the lateral count from the ones I can see which is more likely to be goldfish than crucian carp.
15 Mar 2022
Promise will do my best to catch one within the next two weeks, and take full pictures myself to best help with ID
1 May 2022
Good evening everyone, this was caught today at Gungahlin Pond. I hope the pictures will better help with the identification.
2 May 2022
Ill call it a Goldfish and note there is plasticity and hybrids in cyprinids and the synonymy of Carassius carassius is disputed somewhat.
Lateral line count is 29 there are more rows of scales below the line than above. These are characteristic of the Goldfish.
Lateral line count is 29 there are more rows of scales below the line than above. These are characteristic of the Goldfish.
2 May 2022
Thank you Matt, very much appreciated.
May I check whether they had been reported before in ACT waters? They have now been caught in LBG, Lake Ginninderra and Gungahlin Pond, and I have seen no mention of them in the ACT Recreational Fishing doc: https://www.environment.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/576672/RECREATIONAL-FISHING-IN-THE-ACT_ACCESS.pdf
Am I right assuming they are an introduced species, i.e. pest?
Cheers
May I check whether they had been reported before in ACT waters? They have now been caught in LBG, Lake Ginninderra and Gungahlin Pond, and I have seen no mention of them in the ACT Recreational Fishing doc: https://www.environment.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/576672/RECREATIONAL-FISHING-IN-THE-ACT_ACCESS.pdf
Am I right assuming they are an introduced species, i.e. pest?
Cheers
3 May 2022
Have’nt had a lot of experience with this species , would have to go along with the above .
3 May 2022
Goldfish are pretty common in all our lakes at times and the Murrumbidgee and Googong. The Gungahlin lakes Yerrabi Gungahlin and Ginninderra tend to have more of them than Tuggeranong and the Murrumbidgee. Most people mistake them for carp if they dont have the bright orange and white. Soon there will be an online lakes dashboard to show our lakes sampling results and stocking. While they are introduced (either from pets or contaminated stocking in the early days) they dont apear to have much impact on natives or water quality. For recreational fishing regulations they are the same as carp no bag or size limit but please dispose of appropriately. Regarding Crucian Carp - I'm also not an expert on them and don't think I've positively seen one. Given the plasticity in body form in cyprinids id be very dubious as to any that weren't properly taxonomically and probably genetically investigated. see https://www.environment.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/576660/fishintheuppermurrumbidgee9.pdf where Mark Lintermans considered them as synonyms with Goldfish.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.076617-35.228995
- Places Lawson, ACT
Sighting information
- At least 1 Abundance
- 1 May 2022 04:35 PM Recorded on
- LucaBiason Recorded by
- 1m - 3m Depth of sighting
Collections
Species information
- Carassius auratus Scientific name
- Goldfish Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Exotic
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 649.6m Recorded at altitude
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location