Rainbow Dace ( Red Shiner) minnows.

[Deepfork]

Anyone else have these little guys in your pond? The pond store we go to recommended them for mosquito control, I'm impressed! They patrol just below the surface in a pack, anything touches the water they are on it in seconds. I doubt a mosquito could lay eggs without being eaten. No way a squigler could survive.

 

[bagsmom]

I wonder if they are similar to rosy red minnows? I think the rosy reds are the kind that do well in my area. When I finish my backyard pond, I am hoping they will do as good a job as your minnows. There are many mosquitos here!

 

[Deepfork]

Not the same, but both are native to large portions of the US.

They are aggressive at feeding time too, fun to watch. Some say they can be aggressive towards other fish, fin nibblers. I have not seen that at all. They are very small minnows, never bother my goldfish and koi.

 

[Jhn]

Had some years ago, for a few years…. if I remember correctly they don’t live very long. Got them just to add something other than goldfish and koi to the pond.

Recommending another fish for mosquito control seems like they are getting you to spend more money, when goldfish and koi will eat them just fine.

 

[Deepfork]

Had some years ago, for a few years…. if I remember correctly they don’t live very long. Got them just to add something other than goldfish and koi to the pond.

Recommending another fish for mosquito control seems like they are getting you to spend more money, when goldfish and koi will eat them just fine.

You are probably right, never noticed mosquito larvae in my ponds before I got the Dace, bird baths and any other pools of water are full of them in a few days if not cleaned out. I still like them! Also they reproduce very quickly. Had tiny minnows darting around within a month of stocking them. The adults are only 1.5 inches long.

 

[brokensword]

pretty sure it's fact that mosquitoes don't lay eggs in moving water, so unless you have no pumps/wfalls/streams/aeration, mosquitoes should not be an issue. Can't remember anyone on GPF with mosquito problems.

 

[bagsmom]

I like the idea of something a little different to observe in the pond. And although the main areas of the pond are in motion because of the skimmer and waterfall, I do think there are some little nooks and crannies and shallows in between rocks and plants that the goldfish are too big for. Here, we have tons of mosquitos that live down in the invasive English Ivy that has taken over many back properties. I hate that stuff!

 

[GBBUDD]

Had some years ago, for a few years…. if I remember correctly they don’t live very long. Got them just to add something other than goldfish and koi to the pond.

Recommending another fish for mosquito control seems like they are getting you to spend more money, when goldfish and koi will eat them just fine.

i just put 100 Cardinal tetras in the pond Hoping they will school which they are in a big way and they are not only blue they are all shades of the rainbow as they shimmer by. vey cool but the 100 could have been two or three hundred for a very cool look. But alas they will not survive the winter here.

 

[Deepfork]

i just put 100 Cardinal tetras in the pond Hoping they will school which they are in a big way and they are not only blue they are all shades of the rainbow as they shimmer by. vey cool but the 100 could have been two or three hundred for a very cool look. But alas they will not survive the winter here.

Sitting at the table pond now. I can see the Rainbow Dace patrolling the top of the water in the lights, no sign of the Kio or Goldfish. They are able to make it through the winter. Some are brightly colored, blue with red tips (the males) The females are rather dull.

 

[Jhn]

Yep, when I had rainbow dace they did fine over the winter. They might have been the only fish, fat bastard ate, since they disappeared eventually.

@GBBUDD Ill bet those tetras look pretty cool schooling around your pond.

 

[Criscar]

pretty sure it's fact that mosquitoes don't lay eggs in moving water, so unless you have no pumps/wfalls/streams/aeration, mosquitoes should not be an issue. Can't remember anyone on GPF with mosquito problems.

I have found mosquito larvae in my marginal plants where they drape into the water by running a cup just under the plants, the plants make the surface stiller than it is in the middle where the waterfall ripples are still spreading. The fish seem to eat them, though, because there's not been any dramatic increase in the number of mosquito bites anyone is getting.

 

[GBBUDD]

Unfortunately cardinals and neon's are one of the most popular fish for aquariums. And the one fish that rarely lives more then a few months. While the Cardnals may not be able to survive the winter they will certainly have a better life in the pond then they will in a glass bowl fish tank. Any fish that can't winter over the cold will slow down fall asleep and never wake.

 

[Deepfork]

Not a great pic but you can see how the rainbow dace glow blue under the lights.

 

[gimpy]

Where do you get these rainbow dace? Sounds interesting to me.

 

[Deepfork]

Where do you get these rainbow dace? Sounds interesting to me.

Pond store here in Oklahoma.