ive got a private pond at the lower end of my property, its only about 15-20 feet around, and rarely has water flow in it unless its raining very hard, right now the pond is at the summer shallow, about 10 feet around and about 1.5-2 feet deep, its COMPLETELY full of mosquito's tadpoles and crayfish of all things, im wanting to put some gambusia that i have in my 90 gallon aquarium in the small pond to keep the mosquito's down alittle, i know they arent the best fish for mosquito control, but they will do the job i guess, my problem with that is:
if it rains ALOT the water can flow over the overflow in the pond and about 1/4-1/2 mile down stream is a larger creek that flows year round with a good flow. i dont want to populate the stream with gambusia, i feel that would be unethical if there are no native gambusia in WV anyway.
let me know what you guys think, if gambusia seem unethical, then im going to put some blacknose dace in the pond in hopes they will help with the control, or any other native fish you guys think might work.
eventually the pond will become about 1/4-1/2 acre in size, but for now the small drinking pond for the deer will have to do.
matthew
Are there gambusia in WV? if not, is this ethical?
Started by
Guest_macantley_*
, Jul 28 2008 08:36 PM
16 replies to this topic
#3
Guest_fundulus_*
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Posted 28 July 2008 - 09:00 PM
No Gambusia species are native to WV, and luckily there are few if any reports of introduced populations. So putting Gambusia in your pond would give you the dubious distinction of possibly introducing the species to WV. Follow Dustin's advice....
#4
Guest_macantley_*
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Posted 28 July 2008 - 09:59 PM
No Gambusia species are native to WV, and luckily there are few if any reports of introduced populations. So putting Gambusia in your pond would give you the dubious distinction of possibly introducing the species to WV. Follow Dustin's advice....
will do, my gambusia were brought here to be used as feeders, and breeding population for feeders, however they dont appear to be breeding at all, so im going to feed them to my sunfish, i guess ill put some dace in the pond.
matthew
#7
Guest_daveneely_*
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Posted 29 July 2008 - 11:54 AM
Mudminnows aren't native to WV (at least according to Stauffer et al. 1995's Fishes of WV, though central mudminnows come really close in OH). Introducing fish of any sort to this pond is likely to reduce its suitability as breeding habitat for various amphibians, and depress populations of aquatic insect predators that prey on mosquito larvae... I'd be tempted just to wear a little bit of extra bug juice when I'm around it.
Dave
Dave
#11
Guest_ashtonmj_*
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Posted 29 July 2008 - 04:00 PM
You really do want a fish in there to eat the larvae.
Mosquitos can carry all kinds of nasty diseases.
You could also stock some dragonfly larvae.
While he may want fish in there to 'control' the mosquito's I think you missed the point of Dave's post. Putting fish somewhere for the sake of putting fish has consequences, whether they are native or not. For that matter, altering the hydrology, or chemical treatment could accomplish the goal of getting rid of mosquitos, again with consequences.
#12
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 29 July 2008 - 05:51 PM
While he may want fish in there to 'control' the mosquito's I think you missed the point of Dave's post. Putting fish somewhere for the sake of putting fish has consequences, whether they are native or not. For that matter, altering the hydrology, or chemical treatment could accomplish the goal of getting rid of mosquitos, again with consequences.
Exactly. Which is why I was thinking that Mosquito Dunks might be a good option. They contain Bt, a bacterium that kills the mosquito larvae, yet is safe for fish. Not entirely without environmental consequences, sure, since having mosquitoes around is a natural part of the ecosystem, but it keeps the chemicals out of the water. I have bought them at Home Depot before, but found a website that has a good description
I have also been told by a friend that they work against fungus gnat larvae in potted plants if a chunk is left to float in the watering can. I haven't tried it yet; thankfully haven't had a fungus gnat problem in a while. Tenacious buggers...
#13
Guest_daveneely_*
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Posted 30 July 2008 - 08:10 AM
You really do want a fish in there to eat the larvae.
Mosquitos can carry all kinds of nasty diseases.
You could also stock some dragonfly larvae.
As someone who's experienced the fun and enjoyment of malaria (twice!), I think I've earned the right to comment on mosquito-borne diseases.
The risk of West Nile in WV or most of the eastern US is relatively low (CDC website reports only 2 documented cases in WV- 1 this year and 1 in 2006)... Your chances of winning the lottery are higher. If you're that worried about the skeeters, then take nativeplanter's advice and Bt them. That said, if you're that worried about communicable diseases, remember that you're probably at greater risk from your human neighbors than you are from ticks, birds, rodents, or skeeters...
Dragonflies (and damsels) have likely already colonized the pond - they're usually one of the first organisms to find temporary pools. I sincerely doubt that stocking them would be necessary.
That type of shallow, fish-free temporary pond often provides critical habitat for lots of neat critters. As much as I like fish, some places just don't need them.
Dave
#14
Guest_mander_*
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Posted 03 August 2008 - 11:44 AM
You could also stock some dragonfly larvae.
I'm sorry, I thought I read somewhere that dragonfly larvae will attack fish. Is that only certain types of dragon flies, or only certain types of fish?
Gambusia was introduced into Oregon with the thought they wouldn't winter over. HA! Someone forgot to tell that to the Gambusias. We are allowed both carp (Goldfish/Koi) and Gambusia in our ponds because these species have reach the level of invasion that there just is no turning back, they are almost considered natives at this point.
My experience with Bt floats is, they only work sometimes. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the size of the pond. I don't know if it has something to do with manufacturing, the chemical isn't distributed well enough so some floats don't have any, if it gets "old" and won't work, or if the population has developed an immunity to it. They don't work in my ponds anymore, I don't use them.
To the best of my knowledge, no species has developed an immunity to being eaten. Gambusia are hardly the only fish in the pond that will eat mosquito larvae. I'm sure you have plenty of other native fish to chose from. People think I'm nuts, but I don't feed any of my fish in my outside ponds, barrels. When I feed them, they get lazy and won't eat the larvae. When I don't feed them, I don't have any mosquitoes. The fish are healthier and the water is cleaner when I don't feed them. No body feeds them in nature.
You say you have crayfish.. I thought crayfish ate fish. So it seems like there would be little point to adding fish unless you have lots of plant coverage to hide in.
Anyway, if not fish, than salamanders and frogs. Salamander larvae love mosquito larvae. Tadpoles, not so much, but the adult frogs, if they escape the crayfish, will eat the adult mosquitoes the salamanders miss.
#15
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 03 August 2008 - 01:16 PM
To the best of my knowledge, no species has developed an immunity to being eaten.
Mander you've been around long enough to take some good natured kidding, so I thought I would argue the point with you a little... there are actually a lot of species that have "developed an immunity to being eaten"... at least at the species level... Monarch Butterfly catepillars come to mind... they eat milkweed and taste so bad that birds don't eat them... and they advertise such with their bright colors... poison dart frogs seem to be another example... in fact, there is a whole strategy of being brightly colored and bad tasting so that you don't get eaten... and then I think there are some animals that mimic others that, but really taste good... but I can't think of any right now... but the rest of your advice was right on!
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#17
Guest_macantley_*
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Posted 05 August 2008 - 09:17 PM
figured id let you guys know that my pickerel are having a great gambusia meal twice a week, the gambusia are still in tanks, and actually have a couple that have went ahead and had their babys.....
im going to leave them in the 20 gallon tank i put them all in (about a dozen or so gambusia) its PACKED with plants so hopefully they will have alot of babys.
matthew
im going to leave them in the 20 gallon tank i put them all in (about a dozen or so gambusia) its PACKED with plants so hopefully they will have alot of babys.
matthew
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