Wildlife experts in Alberta are cautioning residents from flushing their live goldfish pets down the toilet as they can pose a threat to Canada's aquatic life.

While most of these golden water creatures do not make it down the toilet alive, some do survive and even grow at a surprising size and even proliferate at an alarming rate.

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According to Toronto and Region Conservation Authority fish expert Rick Portiss, goldfish constantly turn up during Toronto fisheries surveys.

"They show up in the regular batches of fish, and every once in a while you get these big fat ones that look like pumpkins they're so big and orange," Portiss said, The Star has learned.

Several goldfish with the size of dinner plates were reportedly taken out from ponds in different parts of the Canadian province as far north as Fort McMurray and as far south as Lethbridge.

"It really is becoming an issue," Alberta's aquatic invasive species coordinator Kate Wilson told CTV's Canada AM. "Once released from your small aquarium, a lot of these species can get quite large because they're not constrained by the size of the tank."

Last summer, a few dozens of goldfish were removed from a storm pond in Fort McMurray indicating that the species were enduring the cold winters and even multiplying.

"We just really don't want to see them breeding in the wild like this," Wilson added.

Goldfish are not the only threat that the Alberta aquatic life has to deal with. As a matter of fact, the province is already enduring a battle against a couple of invasive species such as zebra mussels, Prussian carp and lampreys, CTV News reported.

The said creatures have reproduced abundantly and spread through the different waterways and lakes in Alberta.

When left uncontrolled, these invasive species could not only alter the delicate balance of Alberta's ecosystems — in the case of goldfish, competing with native fish species for food or eating fish eggs — they could also damage water vessels such as boats like in the case of zebra mussels.

Aside from the danger that the invasive species pose, it is also considered quite inhumane to dispose a living pet goldfish through the toilet.

And so, to prevent the people from flushing their goldfish down the toilet, Alberta officials initiated a campaign called "Don't Let It Loose" which intends to spread awareness regarding the dangers of releasing invasive species in the wild, according to RYOT.

Tagsgoldfish, Science, Aquatic life