When goldfish go feral . . .

Otago Museum natural science curator Emma Burns admires the view on the museum's stairway, where two large goldfish have been put on display next to the existing sunfish.

The orangecoloured goldfish weighed 2.4kg and the blackcoloured goldfish weighed 1.9kg when they were both caught in a stream near Wanaka last year.

Otago Museum staff were so impressed with their size they decided to have them taxidermied and put on display at the museum to highlight the environmental damage the fish can cause in New Zealand waters when they go wild.

The installation marks the completion of the freshwater fish stairwell display.