Ripple: Reduce Invasive Pet and PLant Escapes

08/27/2025

🍀 Water clover may look like a lucky charm, but this four-leaf clover is on Michigan’s Invasive Species Watch List. Its popularity in aquariums and water gardens increases the risk of accidental release into the wild.

📍 If you spot it outside of cultivation, report it at www.misin.msu.edu
🚫 Never release unwanted aquarium or water garden plants oranimals into natural waterways.

08/26/2025

Great ID tips about invasive European Frogbit from our friends at Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Take note - this pesky plant looks similar to some floating plants popular in the aquarium trade.

08/25/2025

🐸💔 Don’t let the cute name fool you—European frog-bit is no friend to Michigan waters. With its tiny heart-shaped leaves and dainty white flowers, it looks like a mini water lily... but it’s actually a prohibited invasive species.
🌊 Seen it floating around? Report it at www.misin.msu.edu
🚫 And remember: never release unwanted aquarium or water garden plants into the wild.

08/22/2025

🎣🐟 Think you’ve spotted a snakehead in Michigan waters? Think again! It’s probably the bowfin—a native fish with ancient roots and a serious cool factor. ✅ Thankfully snakeheads have never been found in Michigan, but bowfin are alive and well, often mistaken for their invasive lookalikes. 🎥 Check out this video from Michigan Out-of-Doors TV to learn more about telling them apart.

Michigan DNR and Michigan Out of Doors T.V. discuss Snakehead identification and Bowfin identification.

08/20/2025

🦜💦 Don’t be fooled by the fancy foliage—Parrot feather is no tropical treat! This feathery former favorite of water gardens is now a prohibited invasive species in Michigan. It grows up to a foot above water and spreads faster than gossip at a garden party.
🌱 Spot it? Report it 👉 www.misin.msu.edu
🚫 And remember: never release unwanted aquarium or water garden plants into the wild.

08/18/2025

🌿💦 Don’t be fooled by the frilly leaves—Carolina fanwort is no friend to Michigan waters! This invasive aquarium escapee is banned from sale.

👀 If you spot this fan-shaped troublemaker, report it at www.misin.msu.edu
🚫 And remember: never release aquarium or water garden plants into the wild.

Let’s protect our waterways together! 💚

08/15/2025

Aquarium Pets Aren’t Wildlife

Goldfish may be cute, but they don’t belong in lakes or ponds.
🚫 Releasing aquarium pets like goldfish can harm our waters.
✅ Rehome them through hobbyist groups or connect with a local retailer if you can't keep them.

08/14/2025

Great reminder from our US Fish & Wildlife Service Friends. Learn how to break up with your goldfish (the right way): https://www.fws.gov/story/how-break-your-goldfish

Your pet store goldfish after two years in the wild: ‘Call me Megalodon.’

This goldfish isn’t supposed to be here. But someone released it, thinking they were being kind. Instead, they created an invasive problem that can last decades.

Goldfish grow massive in the wild, where they can turn lakes and waterways into murky messes, steal food from native fish, and wreck water quality.

If you can’t keep your fish, rehome it. Just don’t let it loose.



Photo of Corey Ketchum/USFWS holding a goldfish found during an electrofishing survey in Presque Isle, PA. Photo by Matt Basista/USFWS

08/11/2025

Protect Your Pond, Protect Michigan’s Waters!
Your backyard pond can be a beautiful oasis and a tool for protecting the environment—if managed responsibly. Quick tips:

✅ Keep your pond contained—never let it overflow into natural water bodies.
🌼 Plant native species to support local ecosystems.
🐟 Love your fish - just don’t release them! Trade extras with hobbyists or retailers instead.

08/08/2025

🦞 Spot the Invaders—Protect Michigan’s Waters! 🌊 Learn how to identify Michigan's least wanted invasive crayfish with our Great Lakes Almanac to Invasive Crayfish guide 👇👇👇

This pamphlet provides detailed descriptions and illustrations of four invasive crayfish species: rusty crayfish, marbled crayfish, Australian crayfish, and red swamp crayfish).

08/04/2025

Are your plants flourishing in the summer heat 🌞? Noticing a few extra fish then you were expecting 🐟? Releasing plants or fish from ponds into lakes and streams is never an option.

10/26/2024

Thrilled to see SO many fish and plants today at our event!