Rice And Mosquito Fish

[demonmagus]

Hi, could anyone tell me what rice and mosquito fish are and where I can buy them

Thanks

 

[guppymonkey]

I know of at least a couple different species called mosquito fish but I am not sure what rice fish are. Mosquitofish are basically any fish that is known to eat mosquito larvae. Even guppies have been called mosquitofish sometimes. The two that are mainly known though are Heterandria formosa (sometimes called the Least Killifish for I have no idea what reason) and Gambusia holbrooki and its close cousin Gambusia affinis. All three of these species are from the south eastern part of the United States. I have found them online at a few sites, www.aquabid.com is one that I buy from all the time and I have seen these fish on there.

 

[wendywc]

I've seen moquitofish (Gambusia affinis) for $1.29.

EDIT: Ooops, just saw you're not in the US though... sorry.

 

[nmonks]

Ricefish are Oryzias spp., sometimes sold as "medakas". They look like killifish, but are actually members of the same large group of fish as halfbeaks, flying fish, and needlefish (the Beloniformes). They perform a variation of internal fertilisation, and though they lay eggs, the female carries them around on her anal fin for a while, rubbing them off, one at a time, on plants.

The common medaka, Oryzias latipes is a hardy, coldwater species. There are some tropical species, but oddly, they are very delicate and not often kept. Oryzias latipes is an important fish in science, being used for all sorts of experiments, from developmental biology to genetics.

http/www.fbas.co.uk/Ricefish.html

Cheers,

Neale

PS. Guppymonkey -- Heterandria formosa is called the least killifish because it is so small. "Least" is a rather obsolete way of saying "smallest" when applied to animal names, e.g. least rasbora, least puffer.

 

[guppymonkey]

I was just confused by the killifish since Heterandra formosa is not a member of the killifish family.

 

[nmonks]

Once upon a time, livebearers and killifish were all called toothcarps. Toothcarps because they looked like minnows (a member of the carp family) but unlike carp familiy fish, they have teeth in the mouth. Hence, in old aquarium books you will often see them as egg-laying toothcarps and livebearing toothcarps. Killifish was used interchangeably with toothcarp as a name for these fish, and so comes about the "least killifish" name.

Cheers,

Neale

I was just confused by the killifish since Heterandra formosa is not a member of the killifish family.

 

[diburning]

"feeder guppies" that are sold in pet stores that don't have much colors or just random splotches are usually some kind of mosquitofish and not a guppy.

 

[guppymonkey]

"feeder guppies" that are sold in pet stores that don't have much colors or just random splotches are usually some kind of mosquitofish and not a guppy.

I have never seen this in any store. Not to say that you are wrong but when stores sell feeder guppies they are usually either culls from breeders and basically wild guppies. Not actually taken from the wild of course but not specially bred to have the large size and color that domestic guppies have. Mosquitofish is just a term basically for any fish that eats mosquito larvae. It is applied to livebearers so much because they can be easily transported to new locale to try to control malaria. To the dismay of many areas around the world these "mosquitofish" generally eat just about everything and not just mosquito larvae. They are actually a pest in many areas such as Australia where they edge out local species because of their quick population growth. So feeder guppies can be mosquitofish but thats not because they aren't guppies (they are) but because they are one of many species that eat mosquito larvae.

To tell the truth just about every species of fish will eat mosquito larvae (just throw some bloodworms in a tank to prove that) but some of the small livebearers can be quite good at it and get the title.