Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking Mosquito Fish

Dear Pond Boss,
I have a 3/4 acre pond that is doing well. It is only one year old. We have an aerator that runs at the bottom center. We use barley straw to reduce algae growth. We have three 16" channel catfish from a friends pond, and 150 bluegill/crappie/sunperch mix. The problem is that last year when the pond was new, we put in 100 mosquito fish. They are multiplying VERY rapidly, to say the least. What kind of fish can we add to keep this population in control? Will the perch (now only 1-2")eventually help with this, or should we put a couple of small mouthed bass in too? If so, do you know where we might buy them? The pond has 2/1 slop on the sides and is 12' deep. Thank you for any help that you can give me. (We also swim in this pond and would prefer not to put in fish that will nibble our toes or any other appendages!

As a relative neighbor, I live about 100 miles from you, I would say that you don't have to worry about the mosquito fish. While they are quite prolific in our area, they are also prime prey for the other fish in your pond. You already have the nibblers in place - the Bluegills and the "perch" are the critters that will sample appendages when available. They CANNOT harm you in any way, so just relax about them. It would appear that the pond was not established with fishing in mind, otherwise there would be concern about the Crappies eventually taking over the pond. The catfish will continue to grow and will probably get to about 10 lbs at least. They are the ultimate predator at this point but will probably not reproduce. The large numbers of mosquito fish are doing their job and I don't think you should give them another thought.
Jim

Anyway they eat the pesky "Mosquito" larve. When you see the mosquito fish leave your pond you will also see an increase in Mosquitos. So it is a good thing to have alot of them.

Mosquito fish are very predatory and will eat all available fish fry they can find that are of similar size of mosquito larvae.

Where can mosquito fish be purchased in bulk?

We didn't have to purchase ours. The mosquito abatement program from Yolo County planted 100 in our pond to prevent the spread of mosquitos in our area. The mosquitos really weren't a problem, but they want to be cautious I suppose. :rolleyes:
OH well, now I'd like some feedback on the second part of my question. What type of fish (black bass, striped bass?) would be good to add in a limited number (one or two?) to keep the mosquito fish population in check? Will the blue gill/sunperch family of fish that we already have in the pond do this? Will the bass "bite" any swimmers?

The blue Gill should do a good job of keeping the mosquito fish in check. I would wait and add your bass in early spring after the Blue Gill have established themselves and created a good food chain. The Blue Gill will nibble when they feel that food is scarce, a good supply of mosquito fish should keep them full and happy. Sounds like you are off to a good start on your pond.

Don Stuart

I've heard from a few pHD level fisheries professors that bluegill eat more mosquito larvae than mosquito fish. Dont know it for a fact, just what I've heard standing around the water cooler.

The blue Gill should do a good job of keeping the mosquito fish in check. I would wait and add your bass in early spring after the Blue Gill have established themselves and created a good food chain. The Blue Gill will nibble when they feel that food is scarce, a good supply of mosquito fish should keep them full and happy. Sounds like you are off to a good start on your pond.

Don Stuart

Sahn -- similar to your thought, a common thought up here in the north part of the country is that our native fathead minnows eat a lot more mosquito larvae than the non-native mosquitofish. This seems likely to me, as the biomass (weight of fish per acre) of fatheads that can develop in a wetland is amazing.

Dave

Thanks Dave for that thought on fatheads. I havesold to a few folks concenred with West Nile. They did not want to encourage fishing ( go figure) thus did not want to stock bluegill. The gambusia are not as readly avail as are the fatheads, so good to verify they do actually eat mosquitoes, my search was unclear. Shan I actually read a research paper on juve bluegill eating more mosquito larvae than mosquito fish. I have always told folks if you they bluegill then the mosquitos are coming from another water source besides their pond.