Hi tweets,

I was just skimming (again!) through tweeters on the web and noted Jane
Westervelt's comments about mosquitofish. I studied these little critters in
Florida and really like them, but I've been informed repeatedly that it's
quite illegal to import them into the state and to release them anywhere.
Like so many other animals that aren't native, they have the potential to
outcompete (possibly uncommon) native species. And if you don't care about
fish, think of all the surface-living insects at risk!

There is, however, a thriving population of these very same mosquitofish in
the Yakima River at Horn Rapids, north of Benton City. The fish is already
out of the bag.

With several years of ponding now, I've discovered that you can either have
a large population of insects in your pond--and many of them are visible and
interesting--or a small population of fish. Most fish will eat insects,
obviously, so you can't have a lot of both. In some ways, the insects are
neater, because they can build up big populations, and you can sit and watch
them during the summer. The fish that stay at the surface and can thus be
watched seem to be destined for snacks for raccoons et al.

Don't get the idea that mosquitos develop in yard ponds. Their larvae live
at the surface and are fair game for either small fish or predatory insects,
whichever you have in your pond. That's a good reason as any to transplant
stuff from a nearby water body to your pond.

By the way, those of you especially interested in ponds should check out the
Internet Pond Society:

http://w3.one.net/~rzutt/index.html

Dennis Paulson
dpaulson at ups.edu