View Full Version : mosquito fish
cas501
03-17-2008, 9:47 PM
what can anyone tell me about them mosquito fish?
Notophthalmus
03-17-2008, 9:49 PM
Easy to keep, easy to breed, impossible in community tanks. They are truly vicious fishes and will pester, harass, or kill almost anything that can't eat them.
leocom2000
03-18-2008, 4:05 AM
It is simply a feeder guppy. They were bread to consume mosquito larva in ponds, ditches and so on back in the days when malaria was around. Since then, they are everywhere. It reproduces quickly and is very hardy ( it was designed to be so).
Please, correct me if I am wrong, I am pulling the info out of my noobie head right know.
leocom2000
03-18-2008, 4:11 AM
NotophthalmusEasy to keep, easy to breed, impossible in community tanks. They are truly vicious fishes and will pester, harass, or kill almost anything that can't eat them.
I don't think they are vicious or kill anything, but could be pests.:) They are genetically engineered reproducing machines.:)
KarlTh
03-18-2008, 9:01 AM
It is simply a feeder guppy. They were bread to consume mosquito larva in ponds, ditches and so on back in the days when malaria was around. Since then, they are everywhere. It reproduces quickly and is very hardy ( it was designed to be so).
Please, correct me if I am wrong, I am pulling the info out of my noobie head right know.
The mosquito fish, Gambusia sp., is a separate fish altogether from the guppy. It is a naturally occuring species, and wasn't "designed" by anyone.
Notophthalmus
03-18-2008, 11:30 AM
KarlTH is correct. Gambusia look like guppies, but they are not guppies and don't act much like them. The two eastern US species G. affinis and G. holbrooki have been introduced around the world, and are responsible for the declines of native fish populations in many areas. They are a multiple-threat: they compete for resources, reproduce like mad, eat young fish, and harrass or kill larger fish. To cap it off, they're not actually all that good at mosquito control.
CAS501- Do you want to breed them for feeders, or do you want to keep them for their own sake? I hope I didn't scare you off of them too much; they are very active fish and can coexist well in some situations. In large heavily planted tanks with a few predators, they may actually become a semi-self-sustaining food source for the big fish.
Wat2Go
03-18-2008, 3:56 PM
If your third or fourth grader ever does a "closed ecosystem" (the one in which two bottle halves are used to create land/water/air with grasses, crickets and fishes living in it...) project in school: it is mosquito fish that are used. Which means it probably is one hardy little fish!
My daughters class had 15 fish survive with lots and lots and lots of babies...
jm1212
03-18-2008, 9:17 PM
IMO guppies or platies are better livebearers for community tanks...
You may be able to get mosquito fish free from your local vector control agency . They are pretty cool to keep in a pond, otherwise unsuitable for most aquarists.