I love my small water pond. When we move next year, we are building a bigger one. The main problem with having it near our deck was all of the mosquitoes that bred there and came right up from below to have their dinner on anyone sitting outside.
Well, I solved that. I had always heard of "mosquito" fish. Small, guppy-sized and rather drab in color. I knew they were an invasive, non-native species but being in my contained pool they couldn't "invade" any local pods or waterways. SO!!!! I recently purchased some and they are taking great care of my pond!! They do not eat my plants or other fish...just the mosquito larvae. They are a hardy species and will live through the winter in ponds where Koi also survive...ponds that don't freeze throughout.
Just thought I would post this here for anyone that might be interested in Gambusia and not mosquitoes.
deb
Those darn mosquitoes!!
Yup, they eat mosquitos all right. They have multiplied out of control in my 2500 gal koi pond. From 4 to over 1,000 in a year. Huge schools dart back and forth and drive me nuts. I'll have to drain my pond and trash my plants ( to get rid of the eggs) if I want to completely get rid of them.
Maybe you should offer them for sale on Craigs list?
"You Scoop"
Ha Ha Ha! Oh thanks so much for putting a little humor in here. Heaven knows I needed it.
I've had them in my pond for years and have lots of them but they have never become a problem. I think the Koi take a few every once in awhile and when we clean the pond a few bite the dust.
So far, they have worked miracles in my pond and will sure take a bunch with me to the shore when we move. It is mosquito heaven over there!!!
Deb
I have two sunfish in the pond now as predators to eat the gambusia. They aren't eating yet, as I don't think they liked being dipped first in PP to kill any parasites they might have brought with them. We'll see.
I have plain old "feeder goldfish" that I bought for ten cents apiece. A few from last year are pretty big. They seem to take care of the mosquito larvae just fine.
If not, what about the bt doughnuts? I haven't put them in my little water garden, but I was under the impression that it's ok to do so.
I've been searching all over for mosquito fish, last year one of the counties here in Florida offered them for free for your ditches, ponds, etc, to help control the mosquito population.
This year I can't find any, and have been using small feeder goldfish, but would rather have mosquito fish. I saw a guy on ebay last week that has some, but they're pretty expensive.
Don't know what he is asking for them now, but that is where I had to get mine. Nice large bag of fish arrived with all in good health but one that died in shipping.
debbie
Thanks! I like hearing from people who have done business with someone and can relay an opinion. I appreciate it! :)
Greetings from Costa Rica! I'm so glad I found this thread, so I don't have to start my own. A few weeks ago, I found a few water hyacinths growing in the wet sand beside a fast moving, boulder-strewn river. Somehow they had washed up there on the shore, but were growing in dense shade under a rock cliff. Naturally I couldn't resist bringing them home. I had wanted a few plants for a while, so now have some "freebies". I just stuck them in a large tub on my patio and they are going crazy, like they do when they're happy and have good light. The new growths are much more rounder now, rather than the elongated growths before. The aquatic roots are doing very well as well, but then I discovered lots of mosquito larvae. The last thing I want to do is breed mosquitoes, especially here where we have Malaria and also Dengue Fever, which mosquitoes can carry, although it's very rare up here in the mountains where I live. Generally, they're found further down by the coastal regions, where it's always very hot. Anyway, I bought 3 small "pet goldfish" for $3 a piece. They're basically "feeder goldfish", but wow are they expensive here. They call them "cometas" or "comets", but to me goldfish are goldfish. They're definitely not the more expensive Kois. Anyway, the mosquito larvae are now gone, so I'm assuming the goldfish did indeed eat them. Now I am very reassured by reading this post. I plan to eventually build a water garden so the water hyacinths and goldfish will be moved there. I'm not fond of the ordinary orange ones, so I got a couple of white with orange spots. I find them much more interesting, almost pretty!
Loved reading all the entries here - thanks for all the helpful info!
vm
Welcome to the watergarden forum VM! I have found that moving water and goldfish are a great combination to keep the skeeters down. They are horrible here when the weather warms up. Anywhere water collects will allow them to breed so I know it is a battle I will never win but I can at least try to keep the population down a bit.
Have you seen the blooms on the water hyacinth? They are just beautiful. A tall cluster of peacock eye flowers in purple blue and yellow.
Yes tetleytuna, I used to grow them way back when I lived in Canada. I love them for the flowers, but the entire plant is beautiful in my opinion. They were constantly filling my small water garden, so I get dividing them and throwing into my large ponds where they had lots more room. Then of course they died in the Winter there, lol!
Thanks for welcoming me here!
vm