Benefits of the mosquito fish

What's the mosquito fish can do?

I read several posts and news items about the importance in human health of the mosquito fish not only here in the Philippines but in the global context. I laugh at it because its almost seven months where I had been seeing these little fishes in my ponds and aquariums, as part of my study on how to raise kois and tilapias. These little fishes were intended to be part of the system so as to know how well the kois and tilapias will adapt with it.

Mosquito fishes used to be the favorite food for my Flowerhorn fish when I ran out of feeds for it. I usually bought them in a pet shop for a price of US$ 0.23 per oxygen-filled plastic. It is not only my first time of having Flowerhorn as my aquarium pet and I knew from the time I started having fish as my pets long before, these mosquito fishes easily multiply within any containers or aquariums.

I used to see rainbow fishes from the local shallow streams, rivers and canals, but as of now, I can only find mosquito fishes dwell in the said watery areas.

The scientific name of mosquito fish is Gambusia affinis.

The name "mosquitofish" was given because the diet of this fish predominantly consists of large amounts of mosquito larvae (as well as other invertebrate larvae); an adult female can consume hundreds in a day. Hardy to a variety of temperatures, salinities and oxygen levels, mosquito fish have spread through many parts of the world in introductions attempting to reduce mosquito populations. Although this biocontrol did play a major role in containing malaria in South America, Russia and the Ukraine in the 1920s, they are now recognized the Global Invasive Species Database as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species. This voracious, aggressive predator has extirpated and eliminated many native species, is extremely hard to eradicate, and is now a pest in fresh and brackish waters around the world. Mosquito fish are small; females reach an overall length of 7 centimeters and males at a length of 4 centimeters (1.6 in). Like all other New World members of this family, G. affinis gives birth to live young. (Image and text via eol.org)

Latest news update

MOSQUITO-EATING FISH Students take part in the release of thousands of mosquito-eating fish in canals on roads near schools in Dagupan City. (Image and text contributed by WILLIE LOMIBAO via newsinfo.inquirer.net)

The mosquito fish, locally known as “tuyong” and which was introduced to the country in the 1920s to control malaria, feeds on mosquito larvae and can survive in both brackish and fresh water.

At least 20,000 mosquito fish were set loose in several canals in Barangay Tapuac here, said Westly Rosario, chief of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC).

“This is where several schools in the city are located, so we chose this area for the launching of the activity,” Rosario said. (Reported by Gabriel Cardinoza and Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon)