Mosquito fish / gambusia

kane chisholme

Hey guys, well I'm not sure if any of you have heard of the Gambusia aka "mosquito fish" but I just have a few questions about them. I'm from Australia and here it is illegal to keep, breed or sell mosquitofish and thats for the reason that there are freakish amounts of them in the wild and they are taking over by eating native fish and frogs because they're quite aggressive. So to my questions:
1. Is it common to keep mosquitofish in the aquarium in other parts of the world?
2. If so, how much do they cost each from a pet shop?
I'm just wondering since their are so many here in Australia and they don't seem like bad aquarium fish even though i wouldn't keep them (because they're illegal to have.) Thanks anyone.

Byron

I've not kept this species myself, and it is not in our profiles as a distinct species, but I thought you might be interested in the information on it that is included in our blurb on the Livebearers, mentioning the disastrous effect this fish had in Australia and why it is illegal. In our profiles (second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top of this page), click the underlined word Livebearers to see the blurb.

MyLittlePleco

I've never seen this fish for sale in any LFS, although here in Malta they are released into open-topped reservoirs to keep mosquito populations down.
They do in fact multiply like crazy, and I'd imagine they can tolerate a range of conditions since the temperature here can fluctuate from 37C in summer to 0C in winter sometimes. I can see why they're illegal in Australia.

All I can say is that there are literally hundreds of small shoaling fish you can choose from, and that Mosquitofish aren't particularly colourful or pretty. Quite frankly I don't see why you'd want to keep them when you can choose another fish species which is much more attractive, although to each his own, I guess.
I don't see any reason why they'd be expensive. They're in short demand in the fishkeeping hobby and they multiply like there's no tomorrow.

kane chisholme

Yeah their are just billions here.. They're so successful though because they can withstand temperatures from -3C to 41C, and can live in nearly any body of water whether it be freshwater, brackish and I've even caught them in saltwater. I would never want to keep them though because they're ugly, aggressive and when you get one, they will not stop breeding and eventually take over anything.. Ponds, creeks, drains, estuaries, dams, fish tanks, puddles, rockpools... ANYTHING they get into, they takeover. Everyone Hear hates them and different poisons have been used to wipe them out but when you think they're all gone, you come back a few weeks later and they're everywhere again somehow. So anyway, I can't think of a use of having them in an aquarium either.. Besides they're really hardy. But anyway I was just wondering if they WEREN'T illegal, would anyone buy them and for how much.
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kane chisholme

Thanks alot for your answers though guys, they were s help
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ghostgirl

Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums for $1.29 USD

I just googled it.

kane chisholme

So they're $1.29 each? Wow, i wonder if anyone actually would pay for them, thanks alot by the way

ghostgirl

no problem.

Mikaila31

yeah gambusia are not all that common. Those that like rare livebearers do buy these fish. Not a lot of people keep them. I know there are some kept in our local aquarium society with a lot of the other less common ones and wild types. Gambusia are not the most sought after, mainly do to their aggression. They have been introduced here in the US as well. Mosquito fish is used for mosquito control.

kane chisholme

Mikaila31, When you say they're not common, do you mean as in the wild or in the aquarium?
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