10 replies to this topic

[and]

Hi Everybody,

 

We are in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York. Gets cold here, and air temperatures can fluctuate 40 degrees within 24hrs.

 

We have been looking on both AquaBid & EBay for some Gambusia that we'd be able to leave outdoors year round, or maybe put inside a cold (40 degree Fahrenheit) basement to winter over.

 

Apparently all of the online retailers are located down South, e.g. Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, etc. Can anybody point us in the right direction, strains kept outdoors in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes Region, etc. 

 

Thanks so much!

[and]

or some Macropodus ocellatus. Not a native, but certainly suitable for Northern climates. 

[Cu455]

Google pond stocking NY. They will sell Gambusia which were raised in NY. You might find a stocking place that will ship.

[gerald]

I think you will need to bring them indoors in winter or heat the pond to keep it (at least part of it) above 40 F.  Try mudminnows (Umbra) if you want something more cold-tolerant than Gambusia for mosquito control. 

[and]

Thanks for replies. We googled "pond stocking NY" and came across fatheads but neither Gambusia nor Umbra. Also, neither of those two species seem as if they would thrive in hot, stagnant, oxygen-deficient water as well as Gambusia. We may just go with Gambusia from Georgia and create our own cold-tolerant stock over the next few years. I had once read of it being done, sounded plausible, the strain might still be around somewhere. And seems as if there may be a market for them vs restocking ponds/pools after ice-out every spring. 

[JasonL]

I was under the impression that gambusia weren't really that more efficient at mosquito control than other native species you might find locally. Think there should be native minnows in upstate NY which could do the same thing without the hassle.

[and]

Yes there are, I'd imagine there in Kentucky as well. But how many of them can survive in a small (~few hundred gallons) body of stagnant water year-round? They all have higher oxygen requirements &/or a narrower temperature range. There's a reason why the common name for Gambusia is Mosquito Fish, they can thrive in bodies of water where normally only mosquito larvae would thrive. 

 

They are actually native not too far from here: 

http://explorer.natu...busia_holbrooki

 

So another 200 miles further north shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

[Michael Wolfe]

I was under the impression that gambusia weren't really that more efficient at mosquito control than other native species you might find locally. Think there should be native minnows in upstate NY which could do the same thing without the hassle.

 

I really want to second this... get a local fish... most all fish eat mosquito larva

[and]

yeah leavin now with the minnow traps, update in a day or two hopefully with pics for i.d.'ing 

[keepnatives]

Umbra, mud minnows are quite hardy and could probably handle those conditions as well as or better then gambusia.  But where are you planning on stocking these fish?  Random stocking even of native NY fish can be a bad idea even illegal.

[and]

yes I know, and well aware that DEC officials lurk forums like this (on the taxpayers's dime) which is why there won'e be any stocking of any fish. End of thread. Good bye.