NANFA-- Alternative Mosquito Fishes
Jeffrey Fullerton (tcmajorr_at_westol.com)
Sat, 01 Sep 2001 00:12:13 -0400
> Holyoak said his farm has shipped out about 5.5 million mosquito fish
> > > since
> > > > the West Nile outbreak in New York two years ago, and he plans to
> > produce
> > > > millions more this year.
> > > > The fish, which can grow up to 2 inches long, are sold for about 4
> cents
> > a piece.``People are putting them in puddle holes, in fish ponds,'' Holyoak
> > said.
>
Why not a campaigne to substitute other species that do a better job.
There are several types of native fishes that do a better job than
Gambusia - Topminnows are probably the best followed by Enneacanthus
sunfishes , Fliers (Centrarchus macropterus) and Mudminnows (Umbridae).
Another bonus is that most of the areas where Nile Virus is a concern
support indigenous populations of these fish so it would be an easy
matter for the states or licensed fish culturalists to propagate and
distribute stocks from local genotypes. This would help conserve local
species and minimize the chances for introducing new diseases and
foreign genes into wild populations.
Jeff
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org