Mosquito Fish

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ally86ozzy

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Location
New York
Common name: Mosquito Fish

Scientific name: Gambusia affinis

Family: Poeciliidae

Origin: Southern and Eastern portions of the US

Maximum size: 1" (males) to 1.5" (females)

Care: An easy fish to take care of, they are hardy and can survive under many conditions, but thrive in brackish water. Temperatures range from 68- 80 degrees F. Mosquito fish can be kept in a tank as small as 5 gallons.

Feeding: They prefer live food, though I've gotton away with feeding mine freeze-dried bloodworms. They can also be fed flakes and will nibble on live plants and algae. They will eat their offspring if small enough to fit in their mouths.

Breeding: Like guppies, these fish are easy to breed, just put them in your aquarium and wait. They have a gestation period of about a month. The average brood is 20-40 fry. You can tell the female is pregnant by looking at her gravid spot, which is a spot near her anus that will darken as the fry grow inside her.

Sexing: Sex differs by the anal fin. If it is rounded, it is female. Close to the body and pointed, male. You can also tell the difference by color. Males have brighter colors such as orange and black, and females are a drab gray, like female guppies.

Comments: Mosquito fish live about 2-3 years, depending on the conditions they are in. You should keep 2-3 females per every male to divide the attention of the male, because if you only have one female, the attention will be directed on her and she may eventually die.

theaquariumwiki.com
Pregnant_Mosquito_Fish.jpg
Pregnant female mosquito fish. Notice her dark gravid spot and dull coloring.

pbrc.hawaii.edu/~taras/danger.html
Male_and_female_Msoquito_Fish.jpg
Not a good example of a male. I don't know if they're supposed to be colored or not, but mine is. See the size difference. The top one is female, bottom is male.

fs.sdsu.edu/pisces/ecosystems/Lesson04.htm
male_mosquito_fish.jpg
Again, not a good example of a male. I think mine might be a hybrid lol.

jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/aquarium/gambusia_affinis.htm
Lots_of_mosquito_fish.jpg
BTW, did I mention that mosquito fish are related to the Millions Fish? The Millions Fish are Guppies.
 
Here is a picture of the marbled variation of Gambusia Affinis...

DipnetCBsmith001.jpg
 
Gambusia Aggression And Keeping with Other Fish
Gambusia are aggressive fin nippers which often out compete other fish for food in the wild.It should be known that when keeping in home aquaria the fish will replicate its wild behavior and attack tankmates with long fins.If one decides to keep it with other fish then they should let the Gambusia get used to its tankmates by placing it in one side of a divider then with the tankmates on the other.From this the Gambusia will learn that it cannot get the other fish and will be more docile.
 
Well, if we're talking about the mosquito fish, two names should be mentioned and not just this one. There is a great number of Gambusia species in the wild. But the ones we are labeling being mosquito fish are the Gambusia affinis and the Gambusia holbrooki. Both come as pale colored and black spotted specimens. Females of both species will have a gravid spot (a bit different shaped than as wityh guppies) wether they're pregnant or not.
Looking at pale colored females, the Gambusia holbrooki shows a dark gravid spot while the Gambusia affinis shows a yellow-orange spot. This means that the females shown in the topic overhere are not Gambusia affinis but Gambusia holbrooki.
Gambusia affinis is also known as the western mosquito fish and the gambusia holbrooki is also known as the eastern mosquito fish.
 

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