Re: Fish (sorry to continue an off-topic topic...)

John Taylor (rphjt@minyos.xx.rmit.EDU.AU)
Sat, 21 Jan 1995 12:14:45 +1100

>> In California they use a Mosquito fish (looks a lot like a non-fancy
>> guppy)
>
>
>The genus is probably _Gambusia_ or maybe _Heterandria_ (both are
>called Mosquito fish in different areas of the US). They are in the
>same family (Poeciliidae) as the Guppy (_Poecilia reticulata_), the
>Platy, Swordtail, etc. The family is live-bearing and the majority of
>the fish are voracious eaters of Mosquito larvae. Because they bear
>live fry, and reproduce quickly, they are very useful at lowering
>Mosquito populations and have even been planted in pools in areas where
>they previously did not inhabit. BTW, the females can store sperm in
>their bodies for a long time and it's not uncommon for baby fish to
>appear from 'no where'.

Here's food for thought about Mosquito Fish from "In The Spotlight - News From
The Victorian Frog Group Vol.1 No.1" (which just arrived!)

"Do not release Mosquito Fish (_Gambusia affinis_) into any water body!
It is illegal to be in possession of this foreign pest species in some
parts of Australia, and although it occurs in many areas in the wild,
all efforts should be made to reduce and halt its spread. Although very
small this fish will eat vast quantities of tadpoles and is capable of
killing tadpoles several times its own size by simply ripping pieces off
them! This species could easily decimate a backyard frog population."

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| John Taylor [Catweasel] | Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |
| rphjt@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au | Department of Applied Physics |
| | Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+