Re: RAIN
Aaron Hicks (ahicks@prism.nmt.edu)
Thu, 19 Jan 1995 21:18:26 -0700
For getting rid of 'skeeter larvae in shallow trays or dishes of
water, I would suggest going to your local pet store, and purchasing
a handful or so of "feeder guppies"; rather hardier than the fancy
kind, these little beasties will thrive in all but the harshest of
conditions, and reproduce mercilessly.
On the other hand, this requires absolute strictness in application
of any kind of chemical agents; obviously, most insecticides (including
insecticidal soaps and pyrethrins), will be fatal to them in even
ppm concentrations... If one only had a few shallow trays, the guppies
would probably do quite well; I have not attempted to raise them in
acidic water (and, alas, as I am not in possession of any quantities
of fish nor the facilities in which to raise them, with nary a pet
store for 70 miles in any given direction, I am not in the position to
attempt such an experiement). On the other hand, many fish do quite well
in "peat-water", or water that has (quite sensibly) been strained through
peat. Something to do with the tannins or humic acid or something like
that. :-)
-AJHicks
NMTech
Dept. of Entropy