Thanks for the info, Dennis! These fish were recommended to me for a
backyard pond, but then, I wasn't living in Washington. Can I
retract my recommendation?
jw

> Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 20:25:34 -0700
> Reply-to: dpaulson at ups.edu
> From: Dennis Paulson <dpaulson at ups.edu>
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: mosquitofish

> 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
>
*************************

Jane Westervelt, Sr. Secretary
University of Idaho
Sociology/Anthropology
(208) 885-2032
jwesterv at uidaho.edu

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