Lost all of my Gambusia's

[Big Lou]

May not seem like a big deal yet the only fish we had in our pond were Gambusia's (mosquito fish). I think I put in a wrongly calculated, much too powerful, application of algeside. That or the last sudden freeze got them. Will be replacing them as soon as possible. Since they are in such demand here in North Texas I may have to use bull head or rosy red minnows. They are all fourth, fifth or sixth cousins.

 

[jmajid]

Sorry to hear that.... I made a very similar mistake a few months back - lost a lot of fish.
I have vowed never to use algaecide (in my case it was algaefix)

We has rainbow dace - they were doing a good job i think with the flying insects... but we have noticed their numbers have gone down drastically after their spawned a few weeks back... we have some fry which we think (and i hope) are dace....
But i heard that rosy red minnows are just as good too... just expect a large percentage not to be that healthy and die soon after you purchase them.... due to the conditions they are raised in.
Anything that comes out of your quarantine should be healthy enough to live for a 2-4 years - which i think is the average lifespan for these smaller fish?

 

[j.w]

Very sorry Lou and hope you find some nice new ones soon

 

[Big Lou]

Possibly wonderful news! During my morning restip by the pond I spied at least one adult male and two fingerlings. Now hope to discover a female. I had not seen a single Gambusia for at least two weeks. Great Monday! Will still add more.

 

[j.w]

Wonder if little birdies,frogs or something might have had a snack instead of it being the algae killer?

 

[bettasngoldfish]

That's great that you spotted a few fish Lou. For some reason I didn't think you had any fish in your pond?

I was always told to steer clear of the algae killing chemicals. Not worth the risk of killing your fish to get rid of a little green water.

I have been debating getting some rosy reds for my stock tank. I'm going to keep some plants in it and a few fish. Either going to be a couple fantails I already have in the house or I'm going to buy some rosy reds.

 

[Big Lou]

Wonder if little birdies,frogs or something might have had a snack instead of it being the algae killer?

I'm wondering that myself for several reasons.

1. The algeside did not harm the water bugs or plants.
2. In all the years I've used algaecide there has never been any problems.
3. The pond area is bird haven. They do go to the pond to drink and do land on a middle of the pond big stone. Frogs are another usual suspect.

Thanks for spurring me to put my grey cells to work.

 

[Big Lou]

That's great that you spotted a few fish Lou. For some reason I didn't think you had any fish in your pond?

I was always told to steer clear of the algae killing chemicals. Not worth the risk of killing your fish to get rid of a little green water.

I have been debating getting some rosy reds for my stock tank. I'm going to keep some plants in it and a few fish. Either going to be a couple fantails I already have in the house or I'm going to buy some rosy reds.

No showy fish just mosquito eaters to eat larvae. North Texas is or was the leading area in the US for West Nile Virus. Gambusia's are used in conjunction with the mandatory mosquito larvae pesticide donuts.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

well they don't have to be showy to enjoy I'm going to have to look them up when I"m done with my water change.

The city sprays for mosquitoes here. I always hate to hear the truck coming down the street. I find myself holding my breathe lol I guess it's necessary though/

 

[Big Lou]

well they don't have to be showy to enjoy I'm going to have to look them up when I"m done with my water change.

The city sprays for mosquitoes here. I always hate to hear the truck coming down the street. I find myself holding my breathe lol I guess it's necessary though/

Each city here sprays.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Yea, I'm pretty sure every city in the county I live in sprays. Not sure once it gets beyond that though. Living right by the Lake we get lot's of skeeters.

I looked up the fish you posted about and they look a lot like the "feeder" guppies I have in one of the house aquariums. I mentioned one time to my husband about taking that tank down and he wouldn't hear of it. He enjoys watching them.

 

[Big Lou]