A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Water Gardens Mosquito Fish

Gambusia affinis are great for your pond, they eat all the mosquito larvae, one fish can eat up to 100 larvae a day---warm water fish, but they always make it thru the winter in my pond. I thought I caught them all actually but I guess I didn't---the other day I went outside and seriously there were about 30 of them "sunbathing" in the warmth on top of the cinder block.

I didn't have my camera with me, but when I just went out I caught some on top of there again.





And don't mind the pond, it's starting it's lovely spring green algae bloom color.

BTW, these fish have live babies....lots and lots of live babies. I started with 7 about 3 years ago that I paid $20 for on Ebay(lots of government agencies give them out for free)......last summer I had probably several hundred at least. I gave some away to local ponders. They live 2-3 years and have up to 3-4 broods of fish a year. And the female is usually larger and fatter than the males, making them easy to ID.

wow! i need to get some. i say that every year, but i really do. they give them away in chatham county, but not here in effingham.

Well, I can always give you some next time you come up.

I always have plenty.

WOW loz - that is fantastic!!!

I'm not sure if my county gives them away to small house ponds - I know they offer them for larger ponds. I've never seen them for sale around here.

Cool pics.

There are many more in my pond than I expected there to be. After one year of breeding I probably had close to a thousand fish... I started with twenty. I performed a thourough cleaning of the big pond this last fall and man alive were there a gaggle of them. I gave MANY away to fellow ponders but sorry to say, many got caught in the sweep of the pond and ended up in my compost bins....to bad for the fish but way good for my flower beds...

They do reproduce fast, but I don't mind....they are so little--you know how soft hearted I am? I've had them fall out of the net when I was cleaning goop up and then get caught up with the goop. I'd see it flopping around and I'd be digging in the gross goop so I could pick it up and save it.

A big fat one got caught in my pond net I used in the fall to cover the pond up with to stop the leaves from falling in it.....Well you'd have thought it was a national emergency the way I was screaming for Mark to come help me rescue it......



I give away as many as I can.....I should see if I could give them to my local pet store.....