Larger fish to get rid of excessive mosquito fish?

[John123john]

Any suggestion how to kill mosquitoes so fast?

 

[Faebinder]

Mosquito dunks, rosey minnows and removing floating plants is what worked best for me.

Goldfish are alright but once they grow big they really don’t go after mosquito larvae.

 

[Spartamets]

I have four orfe. They're fun fish, but I haven't noticed them making much of an impact on the population of my other fish. My goldfish multiplied so rapidly this year, I don't know exactly how many new ones they made, so I don't know if the population has gone down from some previous peak due to orfe eating down the population. Maybe I had eighty fry and now I have 50; who knows. The fact that I can't tell suggests that they won't solve your problem. I do like my orfe, though.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

A little bit of nursery rhyme advice if you do decide to get some larger fish to eat the smaller fish.

 

[JamieB]

I’d love some misquito fish! I’ve got several spots I could put them, where water collects. If your county won’t take them, Craigslist will! Post them at like .25 each, see how fast they sell! Or you could post them free if they come catch them.

 

[JamieB]

I guess there aren’t many who pond in this area, I’ve only seen one post on Craigslist about decorative ponds trading stuff, and that’s where I got my big iris.

 

[Abe]

Legal and used here by county health departments to control mosquito larvae in bodies of water. I can see how they could be considered invasive.

Up here in BC Canada the Gambusia went out of fashion about 3 -4 years ago
and are banned for use in waterways , lakes etc.
It was than that I found out that the bird sanctuary at the edge
of the lake , just a city block away, is in fact a swamp.
And we are buying repellents ever since.
2 years ago a pond contractor told me that having a pond in my yard
will put an end to my misery , as the mosquitos are attracted to the water
and the goldies are attracted to them - so problem solved.
True or false - he did not get the contract , but I liked the promise
so I did dig the pond (myself) and now we'll have to wait for summer
to see if this works. I'm not getting rid of my repellent collection yet.

 

[Faebinder]

Up here in BC Canada the Gambusia went out of fashion about 3 -4 years ago
and are banned for use in waterways , lakes etc.
It was than that I found out that the bird sanctuary at the edge
of the lake , just a city block away, is in fact a swamp.
And we are buying repellents ever since.
2 years ago a pond contractor told me that having a pond in my yard
will put an end to my misery , as the mosquitos are attracted to the water
and the goldies are attracted to them - so problem solved.
True or false - he did not get the contract , but I liked the promise
so I did dig the pond (myself) and now we'll have to wait for summer
to see if this works. I'm not getting rid of my repellent collection yet.

Nope, you'll just get more mosquitoes as the goldfish grow older cant catch all the larvae.

 

[Lisak1]

We live in an area that is notorious for mosquitoes - the joke is that it’s our state bird. We do not have a mosquito problem in our pond or yard that is any greater than any of our neighbors who do not have a pond. The biggest prevention is to make sure you don’t have stagnant water - mosquitoes don’t breed in moving water. Watch for other potential standing water in your hard - buckets, flower pots, kids toys, trash cans, etc. if you are having mosquito issues. You will never eliminate them all, but you can control them in your yard.

 

[JamieB]

There are plants you can grow that they do not like. Some work, some don’t, it all seems to be up to the bug!

 

[brokensword]

what LisaK said; mosquitoes don't lay eggs in moving water, so keep it moving and you should be fine. As far as the pond is concerned. If you have swampland nearby though, just the lure of meeting you is enough to start a problem. Hence why I screened my pond in...!

 

[brokensword]

I guess there aren’t many who pond in this area, I’ve only seen one post on Craigslist about decorative ponds trading stuff, and that’s where I got my big iris.

@JamieB ; keep an eye on the classifies here at GPF in the spring as many divide and give plants away for postage (i.e. addy!) and you can get plants you can't find there.

 

[JamieB]

Oh I will be! And hunting for some new fish too. I’d like to add a lot of plants, but am kinda limited cause my set up. I need either fully aquatic plants good at 4’, or floating plants. I’ll have to see about repotting all the ones I have, and setting them up how I want them, so they’ll provide astetics and shade.

 

[brokensword]

you can always 'build' some sort of shelf, be it upturned milkcrate or stacking cinder blocks up (you get the idea) so your 'marginals can be near the surface and you have a stable perch for them. If you have the room. I put in some plant shelves but not enough (I like plants!) and currently have three pots 'suspended' by thick weed whacker line, secured to the bank and camouflaged (the lines). So, where there's a will, there's a way. I think Colleen has a 'floating' island of yellow flag iris, so that's another way to go (building a floating island).

And if you get any water lilies, they can grow in 4' depths but do better within 18" of the surface (hence the stackables, etc)

 

[JamieB]

My “pond” is a pool, and I tried to use the kitty litter buckets you see floating as planters/ shelves. It turned out not so nice... stinky. The mulm built up on top, fish mucked around in the dirt I had, and then wind decided to play and blow things around. If I fill them with rock for weight, and close a lid, I get stagnant water. No lid, fish play, I get a build up if mulm. No weight, the wind moves them around. Those were full of just water, to make an island for my plants...
I know I need a better filter to remove the mulm. It just hasn’t happened yet.