View Full Version : common mosquito fish X fancy guppy?
hello
Have some common mosquito fish in my pond wanted to add color with fancy guppy males.
Imagine no reason why it cant be done ?
The mosquito fish are great mosquito eaters but dull as can be color wise.
oddball_freak
04-28-2008, 8:05 PM
never heard of it
jakeca77
11-09-2008, 12:11 PM
Try it.. I've never heard of it but it would be nice to have a cold hardy livebearer with some nice color like a guppy.
Potts050
11-09-2008, 12:16 PM
Wont work...the mosquito fish will shred the guppies in time.
Yes it didnt work the mosquito fish only wanted to fight with the way way more timid guppies.
Be it male mosquito fish with larger female guppies and vice versa .
Even 1 M mosquito fish with several F guppies was to stupid to mate prefered to chase and fin nap rather mate.
I found it unreal that fish so close wouldnt breed
Try it.. I've never heard of it but it would be nice to have a cold hardy livebearer with some nice color like a guppy.
That was my objective but after months didn't work .Very hardy with some color.
Finally just put the guppies in guppy pond and mosquito fish in cichlid pond where they are actually breeding very well.
Mosquito fish as little work fish to keep ponds mosquito free are great or as feeder breeders but gram per gram are violent and live to fight and harrass other fish unless considerably bigger
jakeca77
11-10-2008, 4:22 AM
Did you use fancy guppies or the wild/feeder type?
Wont work...the mosquito fish will shred the guppies in time.
I agree. Regretted trying them with my guppies and they were really more abusive than I had seen some small fish although they still haven't matched the skunk loaches.:D
Mosquito fish as little work fish to keep ponds mosquito free are great or as feeder breeders but gram per gram are violent and live to fight and harrass other fish unless considerably bigger
Yes, this is why their introduction in some local ecosystems has led to the destruction of the native flora and fauna. It's really impressive how these little creatures can attack.
jrpatter
11-10-2008, 7:18 AM
Ummm mosquito fish arent a guppy type(peocolid), they are a gambusia they wont cross.
John
jrpatter
11-10-2008, 7:25 AM
Yes, this is why their introduction in some local ecosystems has led to the destruction of the native flora and fauna. It's really impressive how these little creatures can attack.
Actually gambusia are very poor mosquito eaters. Studies at UNCW show that they prefer almost everything else before mosquitos. The advantage is they can survive in conditions that most fish cant. If you want something for mosquito control I would suggest looking into some of the native killies in your area.
John
MN_Rebel
11-10-2008, 11:55 AM
Actually gambusia are very poor mosquito eaters. Studies at UNCW show that they prefer almost everything else before mosquitos. The advantage is they can survive in conditions that most fish cant. If you want something for mosquito control I would suggest looking into some of the native killies in your area.
John
Actually so are other native fish prefer eat almost everything else before mosquito larva....gambusia aint very poor mosquito eaters, in fact they do eat mosquito larva and so are the rest of fish. Try find a mosquito larva in fish infested waters. And you're derailing the thread...Louie want to cross guppy to the mosquitofish, so let him try this cross out.
make sure you use male gambusia breed with virgin female feeder guppy. I tried this cross but then i dont have enough space for this project. It would be awesome to have cold tolerant colorful live bearer, suited for unheated aquariums.
MN_Rebel
11-10-2008, 11:59 AM
I agree. Regretted trying them with my guppies and they were really more abusive than I had seen some small fish although they still haven't matched the skunk loaches.:D
You spoken too soon, I have some skunk loaches in my gambusia tank and the loaches dont well very good in fact the gambusia ate all of their fins.:D
jakeca77
11-10-2008, 12:55 PM
Ummm mosquito fish arent a guppy type(peocolid), they are a gambusia they wont cross.
John
If you are talking about the fact that they are not of the same genus, that means nothing. There are many examples of fish, mammals and birds that are not the same genus or species but they can interbreed. Whether mosquito fish and guppies can or will hybridize either naturally or artificially is obviously yet to be seen.... On paper it seems just as possible as crossing cichlids to make flowerhorns.
Did you use fancy guppies or the wild/feeder type?
I used the fancy long finned guppies
If you are talking about the fact that they are not of the same genus, that means nothing. There are many examples of fish, mammals and birds that are not the same genus or species but they can interbreed. Whether mosquito fish and guppies can or will hybridize either naturally or artificially is obviously yet to be seen.... On paper it seems just as possible as crossing cichlids to make flowerhorns.
I agree like kingsnake with a cornsnake but in my case I did assume they were in same genus as certainly look very similiar esp the females
Actually so are other native fish prefer eat almost everything else before mosquito larva....gambusia aint very poor mosquito eaters, in fact they do eat mosquito larva and so are the rest of fish. Try find a mosquito larva in fish infested waters. And you're derailing the thread...Louie want to cross guppy to the mosquitofish, so let him try this cross out.
make sure you use male gambusia breed with virgin female feeder guppy. I tried this cross but then i dont have enough space for this project. It would be awesome to have cold tolerant colorful live bearer, suited for unheated aquariums.
5 months later it didnt work out. I had one 20 gallon with few f fancy gupies and couple black/white male gambusia and same size tank with few male fancy guppies and female gambusias.
All put in as small and guppies purchased from local fish farm that keeps them seperated as soon as they can be sexed and only acheived the gambusia beating the guppies .
If they would have wanted to mate the guppies from what I gather would have done so but the mosquito fish only wanted to nip and harass.
Maybe bigger tank with more guppies would have worked who knows. I do have 3 gold fleck male gambusia in one of the ponds which I hope breed with the gambusia females there and get more gold flecks .
They are just common black/white males but they have large gold spots .
Potts050
11-10-2008, 2:19 PM
Louie,
Try breeding fancy guppies with endler's livebearer's. You get some interesting colour and finnage patterns...
Louie,
Try breeding fancy guppies with endler's livebearer's. You get some interesting colour and finnage patterns...
I wanted to get cold resistant mosquito eating pond fish with color thus went with fancy guppy and mosquito fish from what I understand endlers require close to same temp as fancy guppies.
Perhaps few degrees lower is fine but more or less same temp ?
Actually gambusia are very poor mosquito eaters. Studies at UNCW show that they prefer almost everything else before mosquitos. The advantage is they can survive in conditions that most fish cant. If you want something for mosquito control I would suggest looking into some of the native killies in your area.
John
I find them to have 3 things going for them which is why used as mosquito eaters
They can live in HOT waters that many other fish can not, breed in it also
They can live in dirty water and breed in it
They can get in tiny areas like floating plants that other fish like platys-swordtails which I find eat more mosquitos can not.
Some of the canals here have vats of floating anachris,etc and the mosquito fish get right ontop with what looks like 1/4 inch water and eat those mosquitos
Potts050
11-10-2008, 7:31 PM
You might be further ahead just breeding a large population of mosquito fish and gradually subjecting it to cooler temperatures untill you get a cold tolerant population of fish. It may take 20 generations but eventually you will get there.
MN_Rebel
11-11-2008, 10:45 AM
Or theres cold tolerant mosquitofish already existed, I heard someone's working on cold tolerant spotted and albino mosquitofish project.
Mosquitofish/guppy hybrids do existed.....in perserved bottles in the labs.
Cichlaholics Anonymous
11-11-2008, 10:30 PM
Ummm mosquito fish arent a guppy type(peocolid), they are a gambusia they wont cross.
John
Ummm, mosquito fish sure are Poeciliids. Not in the same genus obviously
Louie
11-11-2008, 11:12 PM
You might be further ahead just breeding a large population of mosquito fish and gradually subjecting it to cooler temperatures untill you get a cold tolerant population of fish. It may take 20 generations but eventually you will get there.
They are cold tolerant for most part what I wanted to do was add color to them .
Thus cold tolerant mosquito fish but with color . It was just an idea for fun that I went for but it didn't work out and I gave it over 5/6 months .
ausarow
11-14-2008, 6:02 AM
man, john was right, they dont cross. ive had guppy ponds for years now, the guppies and gambusia never ever cross bred.
and they are already cold tolerant. they handle our winters here down to a few degress no worries. near everyyear all the guppies will die out bar a few.
if you get some gambusia in your guppy ponds none will live the winter but the gambusia.
what will kill them is ferocious bubbling in cold water but they aure are strong. ive seen em rip at tadpoles in groups and they will chew the fins of goldfish if kept with them.
as for developing cold water strains of guppies. ive found it dont work well. i can keep one strain through a winter and breed the next year and you dont get much more surviving that winter but you do get a lot of undesirable colour and badly shaped tails so you need to introduce new stock to beat this. its not like a winter kill out results in much to select from in way of breeding colours and good tails see.