Mosquito Fish Care, Feeding, Breeding, And Raising the fry
Another great native fish is the mosquito fish. Now, there are several fish that are referred to under the common name of mosquito fish. But this article is mainly about gambusia affinis.
Mosquito fish, or gambusia, are species of livebearer, meaning they give to birth to live fry instead of laying eggs. There are several species in the genus gambusia, but the most common is gambusia affinis. G. affinis is also the hardiest and most tolerant.
STATS:
Care level: easy
Breeding: easy
Minimum tank size: 10 gal
Temp: 65-75
Temperament: semi-aggressive
Scientific Name: gambusia affinis
The Tank
Mosquito fish need a bare minimum of 10 gallons, although it is best to provide them with as large of a tank as you possibly can, especially due to their ability to quickly over populate. They aren't really picky fish at all. The substrate an be sand or gravel, it doesn't matter, but if you would like to give the fry a better chance of surviving, it is best to go with gravel. They can hide much easier in gravel than in sand.
Decorations
They will do fine in planted tanks, although the may uproot or eat o plant on occasion. If you would like them to breed, it it best to provide dense plants or decorations for the fry to hide in. Plants such as hornwort and anacharis make great hiding spots. There are also many artificial plants nowadays that a dense and will provide adequate hiding.
If you don't wish for them to breed you can go with a minimalistic setup, or you can go all out, or anywhere in between. But if you don't want fry at all, it is best to go with all males, as female can store sperm from previous batches for up to six months!
Tank mates
Mosquito fish have a tendency to be aggressive and nippy. Therefore they should not be kept with slow moving fish or fish with long fins such as angelfish, guppies, bettas, gouramis, etc. They should be kept with fast moving fish of similar size, such as zebra danios.
Feeding
Mosquito fish like to eat a variety of foods. In the wild they eat insects and their larvae, small amphibians, eggs, fry, and small fish. They also enjoy mosquito larvae (hmmm, that's weird!). In the aquarium they will eat dry, prepared foods, but would much rather have live or frozen. They enjoy bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, scuds, and the like. In general, they'll eat just about anything that falls into the tank.
Sexing
Mosquito fish are relatively easy to sex. Females will have a fan shaped anal fin, where as the male has a rod shaped anal fin called a gonopodium. Females are also larger than the males. Females also have a dark spot by anal fin. This is called the gravid spot. The fry are in the gravid spot, making that area of the body darker.When the female is heavily pregnant you can see the eyes of the babies!
Breeding
Mosquito fish will likely breed without any special care or food. It is best to have a sex ratio of 1 male for every 2 females. This is because the males will harass the females to no end! The male or males will chase a female around the tank. When they get close enough the male will point his gonopodium at the female and fertilize the eggs inside her. If. The male harass the pregnant female to the point that she is stressed you may want to remove the male or even the pregnant fish. She will not release the babies until she is happy and comfortable. Females give birth to 10-100 fry at a time. They have a gestation period of 26-32 days.
The adults will likely eat the fry when they are small so you may want to remove the adults to another tank. If decide to leave the adults in the main tank, it is likely that many fry will survive if you keep the adults well fed.
Raising the fry
The fry are about 3/8 of an inch when they are born. They should be large enough to eat finely crushed flake. You can feed them baby brine shrimp, micro worms, first bites, and other small foods, although they will do fine on crushed flakes. You put them in a 2.5 gal tank when they are first born, but their tank needs to be upgraded as they grow. Make sure you keep up with water changes. Your should feed the fry multiple small feelings, as opposed to one large feeding.
If you are looking for a small, hardy, native fish that you can easily find, or if you want an easy to breed livebearer that not everybody has. Mosquito fish might be good for you.
Another great native fish is the mosquito fish. Now, there are several fish that are referred to under the common name of mosquito fish. But this article is mainly about gambusia affinis.
Mosquito fish, or gambusia, are species of livebearer, meaning they give to birth to live fry instead of laying eggs. There are several species in the genus gambusia, but the most common is gambusia affinis. G. affinis is also the hardiest and most tolerant.
STATS:
Care level: easy
Breeding: easy
Minimum tank size: 10 gal
Temp: 65-75
Temperament: semi-aggressive
Scientific Name: gambusia affinis
The Tank
Mosquito fish need a bare minimum of 10 gallons, although it is best to provide them with as large of a tank as you possibly can, especially due to their ability to quickly over populate. They aren't really picky fish at all. The substrate an be sand or gravel, it doesn't matter, but if you would like to give the fry a better chance of surviving, it is best to go with gravel. They can hide much easier in gravel than in sand.
Decorations
They will do fine in planted tanks, although the may uproot or eat o plant on occasion. If you would like them to breed, it it best to provide dense plants or decorations for the fry to hide in. Plants such as hornwort and anacharis make great hiding spots. There are also many artificial plants nowadays that a dense and will provide adequate hiding.
If you don't wish for them to breed you can go with a minimalistic setup, or you can go all out, or anywhere in between. But if you don't want fry at all, it is best to go with all males, as female can store sperm from previous batches for up to six months!
Tank mates
Mosquito fish have a tendency to be aggressive and nippy. Therefore they should not be kept with slow moving fish or fish with long fins such as angelfish, guppies, bettas, gouramis, etc. They should be kept with fast moving fish of similar size, such as zebra danios.
Feeding
Mosquito fish like to eat a variety of foods. In the wild they eat insects and their larvae, small amphibians, eggs, fry, and small fish. They also enjoy mosquito larvae (hmmm, that's weird!). In the aquarium they will eat dry, prepared foods, but would much rather have live or frozen. They enjoy bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, scuds, and the like. In general, they'll eat just about anything that falls into the tank.
Sexing
Mosquito fish are relatively easy to sex. Females will have a fan shaped anal fin, where as the male has a rod shaped anal fin called a gonopodium. Females are also larger than the males. Females also have a dark spot by anal fin. This is called the gravid spot. The fry are in the gravid spot, making that area of the body darker.When the female is heavily pregnant you can see the eyes of the babies!
Breeding
Mosquito fish will likely breed without any special care or food. It is best to have a sex ratio of 1 male for every 2 females. This is because the males will harass the females to no end! The male or males will chase a female around the tank. When they get close enough the male will point his gonopodium at the female and fertilize the eggs inside her. If. The male harass the pregnant female to the point that she is stressed you may want to remove the male or even the pregnant fish. She will not release the babies until she is happy and comfortable. Females give birth to 10-100 fry at a time. They have a gestation period of 26-32 days.
The adults will likely eat the fry when they are small so you may want to remove the adults to another tank. If decide to leave the adults in the main tank, it is likely that many fry will survive if you keep the adults well fed.
Raising the fry
The fry are about 3/8 of an inch when they are born. They should be large enough to eat finely crushed flake. You can feed them baby brine shrimp, micro worms, first bites, and other small foods, although they will do fine on crushed flakes. You put them in a 2.5 gal tank when they are first born, but their tank needs to be upgraded as they grow. Make sure you keep up with water changes. Your should feed the fry multiple small feelings, as opposed to one large feeding.
If you are looking for a small, hardy, native fish that you can easily find, or if you want an easy to breed livebearer that not everybody has. Mosquito fish might be good for you.
A male mosquito fish (bottom) trying to mate with a large female (top).