What fish are these?

[Joshi83]

Hi everyone,

I have had these little fellas in my pond for about 1.5yrs now, but i have no idea what kind of fish they are.
The largest one (which i couldnt get on video, too fast) is about 2 inches long. and i noticed they have what almost looks like 2 fluro green strips going down their back.
Cheak out the video and see if you know what they are.

Thanks

 

[fishin4cars]

Common Mosquito fish (gambusia affinis) a small live bearing minnow, Or at least that's what they appear to be except one problem, They are not native to Australia, Did you get them in a shipment of fish or did they just appear and a local species?

 

[Joshi83]

They were added I believe by my sister in law, which I assume were bought from a shop.

One more question, if I add some mid sized comet goldfish, will the goldies eat the mosquito fish? Not that I'm really worried either way...

 

[Joshi83]

Woah... Did a search on Mosquito Fish and they are baad! What's the best thing to do here? Scoop them out and bin them? they are a toxic pest here in Australia, even more so in NSW, so I don't even want them in the pond.

And here I was thinking goldfish would eat them, seem like it would be the other way around!

Are we totally sure they are Mosquito fish?

 

[fishin4cars]

very unlikely, If they are true mosquito fish usually they will have babies faster than anything will eat them, Goldfish aren't normally cannabalis once they have reached the size of about 1" now the babies will eat them selves as some grow faster than other but as far as ating the mosquito fish I don't think you'll have a problem at all.

 

[fishin4cars]

Not sure what you have puuled up and are reading, Toxic? Never heard of that, prolific breeders yes they are, I'm just not sure if that is what they are or not considering where you profile says you are located, Could be a big difference between the US and Australia.

 

[Joshi83]

Oh sorry, I just ment pest! Dont know were the toxic bit came from lol
I googled their name in wiki and yeah, they are a major problem here on the east coast of Australia.

Also of note is this section on wiki:

Gambusia has harmed native fish populations in many ways. By consuming algae-eating zooplankton, they increase the chances of algae blooms in the water, reducing the water quality. They are very aggressive, and tend to attack other fish and nip their fins, leading to infection or death.

Iv wanted larger fish for a while now anyway, so might get rid of them. I just counted them again and theres actually about 30 and some really small babies. Might be time to eradicate especially as spring will soon be here...

 

[addy1]

If you want to do it gently, put them in ice water.

 

[Joshi83]

Thanks for the tip Addy, i dont think i could bring myself to just let them suffocate...

 

[addy1]

I have read of people using clove oil, it like puts the fish to sleep, to work on them. You could use that than the ice water.

 

[gelmore54]

Please use the clove oil first. If you use enough that will do it by itself. Putting them straight into ice water is not a humane way to euthaniize fish.

 

[Joshi83]

Well I couldn't bring myself to do it so I moved them to the small preformed pond out the backyard.
Since I have now removed all the little guys from the main pond, which was an effort, fast little guys, I have got 2x medium sized comets and 3x smaller gold comets. Much nicer to look at too

 

[addy1]

Very nice, I can get rid of any either, i.e. purging, but have given some away to others with ponds.

 

[Sunshine]

Nice fish. Glad it all worked out for you.

 

[j.w]

I'm happy you saved them and now you can enjoy both ponds