Can you guys help me out with an ID and a little info on this fish.

Thanks BGK

Gambusia?

I have no clue I went and visited a local fish farm kind of a smaller family operation and he said they popped up in one of his ponds maybe from some stock of other fish HE'D bought.. I told him I could prolly find out what they were..

Yes - Gambusia aka mosquito fish -female.

Any info? (Just scanned a couple threads stating good and bad seems like opinion driven info )

In Va. they show up in every pond I have owned. I keep them in a small pool to eat the skeeter larvae. They are a cool little fish that will eat catfish food. I love the little buggers.

I think they are as you mention a love/hate fish. Many on here like them as forage as other state they may eat some eggs. I put some in my pond before I read about them on here and was worried a bit. They must have been food for my fish as I have not seen any since.

They are a neat fish to have in a tank and watch feed. Plus they live bearers.

BGK,

Gambusia are great little secondary forage fish. No danger of them overpopulating or damaging other species. Predators will control their numbers, but never wipe them out like fathead.

Looks just like a female western mosquitofish (Gambusia Affinis) to me. I probably have about 30k per surface acre of Gams. Here is a pic of a female Gam from WIKI for you to compare.

Fry and egg eaters...DISLIKE

bobad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why so scarce these days???

BGK This can also serve a good purpose if your goal is to say raise some very large BG in a certain manner. The BG here readily feed on them as a forage base. (While I do not have the scientific proof) It appears Gams some what help control population by eating Fry and Eggs (as BobbyRice stated) before becoming dinner themselves. The Gams can serve a purpose when used in the right manner and with the right goal. The reason I grew some very large F1 HBG many years ago was partially because (my outside the box thinking) I stocked a large amount of F1's and tried to remove the HBG offspring. I am thinking it is a possibility the Gams may also help control some of the BCP population.

Like wise I would not recommend Gams for the same purpose for people that are wanting to grow X=large LMB and need all the BG forage they can get for the LMB. For that I would say use the larger free roaming FHM.

Like was stated before there are people that like and dislike Gams for their own reasons.

I dislike gambusia, there are other species out there that are better in my opinion. However, they tend to show up in a lot of bodies of water on their own. So, if you don't want them you may have no choice. They aren't the worse fish out there to have.

Why do you dislike them CJB

They are extremely aggressive. They attack and outcompete other fish even ones far bigger than them. Because of their habit of living in very shallow waters, I think they make poor forage as few fish really prey on them.

In colder weather, where ponds ice over for the winter, I think their numbers are limited by the cold weather. During the winter, they have to leave their shallow water haunts and become food.

I am sure that is what happened to mine.

MRhello, they will be back. My ponds will drop over 4 ft. and they are sand pits with no structure and the water drops off fast. However, they are there when the water gets warm. I don't usually see them for a couple of more weeks.

If all mine died or were eaten I do not think I will have any more as there is no way for them to get in the ponds unless I stock them.