# Mosquito Fish?



## PiranhaMike661 (Jul 9, 2010)

I know that goldfish and minnows contain large amounts of thiaminase, and are carriers for internal/external parasites. I heard that livebearers do not have those high amounts of thiaminase.....but my question is: Does anybody know any specifics about mosquito fish? I am currently feeding my p's frozen shrimp and tilapia, but would still like to get some live foods so I am thinking about breeding mosquito fish, since I've read that they're the easiest to breed. Anyway, please leave some thoughts!!!


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## Rugged Child (Oct 3, 2006)

Mosquito fish are from the same family as guppies (poeciliidae) and probably have much of the same breeding habits as guppies would. I would imagine that they are much hardier than guppies since they are a somewhat wild species in comparison. That being said, where would you be getting your fish from? I wouldn't recommend catching them from the wild as you may risk exposing your pets to disease. But mind you even store bought feeders potentially carry disease, so you would want to quarantine and perhaps medicate them first. Outside of that its totally feasible, but if you have the room..lets say a spare 30 gallon you could probably breed some convicts which may prove to be more prolific than the mosquito fish. In the end success with providing your Ps a good live source of food comes down to husbandry. The better you take care of your feeders the better they will be for your Ps.


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## PiranhaMike661 (Jul 9, 2010)

Well I would be getting my fish from a breeder out here, and I would definitely quarantine them for about a week before feeding. But I really would like to start breeding them, since I've heard how easy it is to breed them. Also, I've heard great things about the convicts...but too beautiful to sacrifice, although they breed like rabbits (or so I hear). My main concern was thiaminase levels in the mosquito fish species, but you've kinda eased my nerves about it.....Thanks for posting!


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