The larvae of mosquitoes are a favorite meal of the mosquito fish.
The mosquito fish is a small species that bears live young and subsists on the larvae of mosquitoes. The mosquito fish has the ability to live in conditions, such as poorly oxygenated water or areas where the water has high salinity, that would kill many other types of fish. The two major species of the mosquito fish, the eastern and the western versions, have a wide geographic range throughout the United States.
Identification
The mosquito fish, especially a pregnant female, has what appears to be a "pot belly." The fish possesses a large head in proportion to its body and comes with big eyes. The head is flat, and the mouth turns upwards. The fins on top and below have a rounded appearance, and the scales of a mosquito fish have a diamond shape. The fish has a green-brown body with blue-gray sides and a silver-white belly region. Tiny black dots often exist on the body of a mosquito fish, as does a small dark area under the eye. The average length of a mosquito fish falls between 1.2 and 2.2 inches.
Geography
The western mosquito fish occurs from the Mississippi Valley to along the Gulf Coast States and southwards to around Vera Cruz in Mexico. The fish lives in states such as Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee. The eastern species of mosquito fish is native to the Mid-Atlantic states, from as far north as New Jersey to as far south as Florida.
Habitat
The habitat of this species includes such aquatic locales as the backwaters of rivers and streams, where aquatic vegetation flourishes. Other habitats where mosquito fish thrive are swamps, impoundments, ponds, ditches, brackish water, marshes and the lagoons that contain water from waste-treatment facilities. The mosquito fish can swallow air directly from the atmosphere when necessary, allowing it to survive in less than ideal conditions. Areas in which saltwater mixes with freshwater also will support this fish.
Diet
The adult mosquito fish can eat hundreds of mosquito larvae each day, giving this species its name. Other things that supplement the diet of a mosquito fish include tiny aquatic plants, algae, minute crustaceans and small larvae of other fish species. Many regions have introduced the mosquito fish into different ecosystems in attempts to control mosquito populations, although the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fishes" states that this is a futile endeavor, as the fish cannot possibly keep up with the large numbers of mosquitoes. However, this has increased the range of the species, with it now common in many parts of the world.
Considerations
The mosquito fish has such predators as herons, raccoons, opossums and other fish that can attack and eat them. The females are larger than the males and give birth to live young rather than lay eggs. A female can have as many as four broods in one year, with the gestation period for each brood lasting between three and four weeks, according to the Alabama Outdoors website. Mosquito fish have an average lifespan of about three years.
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