A photo of a giant 15-inch goldfish lifted from a fish farm in Dongguan in 2002 has been making the rounds on many tumblr blogs over the past couple of days. Apparently it was named ‘Bruce’!

The size of this fish is impressive considering goldfish are traditionally considered relatively small members of the carp family (which include the beautiful Koi variety, so beloved in China).

It is worth pointing out that only a handful of similarly large goldfish have been reported.

In 2008, the BBC reported on a 19-inch goldfish in the Netherlands and a 15-inch one in England. Later, in 2010, a 16-incher was found in a pond in England, thought to have been abandoned after outgrowing its tank (also reported by the BBC).

It looks like Dongguan has another claim to its name: giant goldfish.

I just can’t help wondering if they ate it.

Photo credit: Bobby Yip / Reuters