Do You Have This Problem?

If you have a DIY aquaponic system at home, you can host a nasty little creature. Not only looks ugly, but is responsible for thousands of deaths every year; not to mention itches and annoyance. I’m talking about the cheerful mosquito. This insect has been around for millions of years and, despite our best efforts, remains as one of the top annoying insects, maybe just a little below the cockroach.

In commercial aquaponic facilities there are some measures to stop mosquitoes from breeding in the tanks, but in your backyard there is a good chance that you don’t have any of these. Maybe you haven’t even thought about it.


Well, that’s not a problem everywhere, but I do have it. Since there is a chance that those mosquitoes can provide you with a nasty bug, better to get rid of them. When the fish in the aquaponic system are small enough, they will take care of anything on the tank, but when they are bigger, they tend to forget about little critters and grow fat with supplied food.

My solution for this is to use a pest to get rid of another pest. And this pest is the Gambusia fish, also called the “Mosquito fish”. These guys are small and stay small for their whole life, so there they will never outgrow your “good” fish or the tank itself. Of course they can compete with the other fish for food, but I don’t think anyone will notice.

The Gambusias are very prolific and, since their young are born alive instead of hatching from an egg, the survival rate is very high, so they have colonized almost every place where it has been introduced. By the way, it was introduced as bait fish and to control mosquitoes. As always, they have joined the list of invasive species, but that's human nature for you.


They are not exactly handsome, but they do the job and, if you have a few in another tank, you can breed them to control mosquitoes and to give some fresh food to your fish. Although I’m sure that you are feeding your fish correctly, giving them some live bait will make them a little happier and its fun to watch.

These Gambusia fellows live almost everywhere, even sewers, so you will not have any trouble finding them. I always have some in hand and you should, specially if you are breeding predator fish.

They are also great for starting a biological filter for an aquaponic system, since they are more sturdy than other species used in aquaponics. I always try not to do this, since the water can get toxic if the filter is not already working, but it’s an option if you don’t have too many fish.

Aquaponics is fun, so try to spice it up a little.

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