mosquito fish - should I be worried!!

10 years ago

I have a very small man-made pond that is well inhabited with perennial water plants and over the years has become almost like the real thing (in nature) - except for the pump. :-) Most years I purchase a half dozen tadpoles (usually they are leopards) and am ecstatic when/if they make it to adulthood (none have remained over the winter though). Because of the density of the water plants I noticed this year some areas of the pond were not getting any water movement and some mosquito larvae had moved in. I contacted my local mosquito commission and they gladly brought over about a dozen mosquito fish for my pond. Of course, there are no mosquitoes/larvae any more. But there are now dozens, if not hundreds, of mosquito fish fry!! So far, the tadpoles (leopards are big frogs so tadpoles are not like the little black ones you normally see - but about 3-4" in length and are in various stages of leg development) are living in harmony with the fish. But the fry are really over-populating the pond. Once they grow into fish will the frogs eventually keep them under control or will I have to do that? So far, the tadpoles do not seem to have any interest in the fry, but I understand at this stage they only eat algae. Your thoughts and expertise are appreciated.

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Comments (3)

chas045
10 years ago
I don't know about tadpole habits. However, here is a link about some of our experiences with fish population. I could see your particular situation might call for intervention, but might be solved by natural causes instead. It would be useful to know where you are and garden zone and what 'small pond' means to you. I am surprised that you need to buy tadpoles!
akarinz
10 years ago
I have hundreds of mosquito fish too. I do have koi that I see "accidentally" eating them when I feed them. I don't know if they eat them in other scenarios. I do notice that the population goes down during fall/winter. But sometimes during the year there are tons, but I've never worried about them.
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dvd94
Original Author
10 years ago
@akarinz: guess we'll see. :-) that's encouraging. I understand they only live about a year or so -- but still, 100+ fish in a tiny area could get serious! :-)

@chas045: thanks for the info regarding your experiences with the goldfish. yes - my 'pond' is really tiny. :-) It is about 2' x 2' -- and now with all the of the beautiful water iris (I guess) and a thick layer of mud that has 'accumulated' over the years (broken down vegetation) there is probably only about 4-6" deep of water. The pollywogs do love the mud and I attribute this 'keeping it natural' (I used to clean the pond of winter debris every spring) as the key to my success, at least in part. For years I would get 'free' toad-poles from friends ponds or any place I'd find them (little black ones) -- and, for years, they would always 'just vanish' - all in one night. I would put a netting over the area and only giving them water that had aged (I have city water) -- but like clockwork -- they'd be healthy for weeks and then one night - all gone. No floating bodies; no disturbances in the area -- just gone. I live in-town - so predation is almost non-existent. Then one year I saw these big old tadpoles (bull-frogs) at a nursery and tried again. That was the first year that frogs actually developed into adults. They disappeared in late fall (I live in northern NJ), but I was ecstatic to see real frogs, finally. So, from then on, I only purchase my tadpoles (now leopards) and I have been successful since - last year I had 6 turn into frogs - and 2 remained in my yard until late fall. But shall see what effect the mosquito fish have on this success!