Monster goldfish breeding in Lake Tahoe up to a foot and a half long after dumped from aquariums Monster-sized goldfish up to a foot and a half long are being pulled from Lake Tahoe in what officials are calling a case of aquarium dumping. The massive bright red and orange fish are feared to be steadily multiplying in the waters of Sierra Nevada after managing to survive after released into the wild by humans. Christine Ngai, a researcher who frequents the lake hunting invasive species, notably the largemouth bass, says the numbers found are astonishing and potentially devastating to the lake's ecosystem. Big catch: Monster-sized goldfish up to a foot and a half in length are being caught in Lake Tahoe in what officials are calling a case of aquarium dumping Dangers: The invasive species could potentially damage the ecosystem due to their diseases, effect on food quantity and their knack for stirring up the soil that clouds the otherwise pristine water 'One day they caught 15 in just this one corner in the Tahoe keys,' she told KCRA. An exact idea of their numbers, and for how long they've managed to survive, is still unknown. In an effort to protect the lake's delicate ecosystem that's threatened by invasive fish, Ms Ngai visits the lake with a team who use electric prongs to stun fish for collecting from the water. 'You can get 200 fish in one scoop,' she told KCRA of their method. But lately the results in that scoop have been far from ordinary. Invaders: The lake, pictured, already is under attack by the bigmouth bass which Christine Ngai, a researcher who frequents the lake, is trying to clear out Capture: Ms Ngai uses electric prongs like this one to shock fish in the water for capture, sometimes getting 200 fish in each scoop 'You can just see these bright, golden orange things start to float up and you're like what is that? and then you take a net and you scoop it up, and it's a gold fish,' she says. To Ms Ngai and others who work to protect the lake, the surprise is far from pleasant. Among environmentalists fears are that the fish will damage the ecosystem by eating other native animals" food and even by spreading a koi herpresvirus easily transmittable to other fish. Another major fear is that the fish will damage the water's pristine clarity. 'Those small little things that people do can have a large impact when you consider that you know, there's probably not just one person doing it,' Ted Thayer of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency told KCRA. Competitors: In 2010 this fisherman in the South of France showcased a 30lb koi carp captured after a described ten minute battle to lift the huge fish out of the water before returning it Fish tails: A woman in Kansas City Missouri reeled in a massive goldfish seen left in 2011 as well as a fisherman in Lake Clair, Michigan, right, earlier this month And people aren't just dumping goldfish in in Lake Tahoe. Sightings of the domestic fish have been in Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, the U.K., and France where a man claimed to capture one weighing more than 30lbs. In Tahoe, officials say the immediate threat to the lake is still the growing population of largemouth bass. But with the spike in goldfish numbers, they say it's an upcoming threat that can't be ignored.