Mosquito Fish

Mosquito Fish
"Gambusia affinis holbrooki"

This tiny tropical fish is named after the dreaded insect for its purpose to combat them (especially malaria). So if you are able to get your hand on this species, please be cautios coz you're actually handling some kind of biological weapon in your aquarium (just joking okay?)

Original Habitat:
Southern part of North America, Mexico.
Sex:
Male are smaller, with black spot and gonopodium. Most of the female are colourless.
Max Length:
Male - 3 cm to 3.5 cm
Female - 6 cm to 7 cm.
Temperature:
15 to 30 degrees Celcius. Best at 20 degrees Celcius.
Water:
This are truly hardy and tough tropical fish. Even more adaptable than the wild guppies (Poecilia reticulata). They do well in almost any water type and even breed there. They may survive in a cold water (as low as 10 degrees Celcius) and even in brackish water type.
Accommodation:
May fit in any small sized to medium sized aquarium. They are not demanding but prefer dense, feathery leafed vegetation surrounding.
Characteristics:
Very friendly towards each other. It may became aggressive towards other species though. It is very suitable to keep 1 male with 2 or 3 female as they mate very frequently. They use the whole aquarium as their playground but prefer the top zone most of the time for feeding.



Food:
This tropical fish is a gluttonous type which are happy to accept any kind of food. It will be very happy if provided with live mosquito larvae.
Breeding:
This tropical fish is ovoviparous type - they gives birth to their young. Once a female is observed as pregnant (watch out for her plumpy belly and a dark spot in front of her anal fin) it is best to transfer her to a solitary tank. The breeding tank should be accomodated with plenty of feathery leafed plants. Remove the mother once you are sure all the fry was born. This step is very necessary as the parents will surely eat all the fry should they are in the same tank. Mosquito fish are very adaptable and productive that it may be found throughout the world aside their original habitat.