Yes. Guppies are known to eat mosquito larvae. Not only that they like to consume those larvae a lot. Since they are pretty inexpensive they are often added to abandoned ponds and lakes to prevent mosquito larvae from hatching.
In this article, I’m going to go in-depth on the topic of guppies eating mosquito larvae and also share my personal experience with guppies and mosquito larvae.
Can you feed guppy mosquito larvae?
Absolutely. Guppies love to eat mosquito larvae. They contain lots of nutrients and energy which can keep your guppies healthy and lively.
In their natural habitat, these mosquito larvae are one of their main sources of food. They eat away the mosquito larvae and prevent the spreading of diseases like Dengue (I’ve got personal experience with this) and Zika.
A guppy can eat as much as its bodyweight amount of mosquito larvae in a day. Especially the first few days of getting those mosquito larvae.
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Is it safe for guppy fry to eat mosquito larvae?
Yes. It’s safe for guppy fry to eat mosquito larvae. Just be sure to not have an abundance of larvae in the tank as it can make the water blurry.
For the best results, your guppies should be 1 month old in order to eat mosquito larvae without any issues.
Is It Effective To Use Guppies To Eradicate Mosquitos?
Although you might have seen guppies in the fish tank or in your nearby pet store, guppies are a tough breed of fish. They can survive in rough conditions without any issues. That’s one of the other reasons they are often used to control the growth of mosquitos in the wild as well as in artificial waters.
So, yes, guppies can be very effective in eradicating mosquitos & their larvae.
In many parts of the world such as Malaysia, Colombia, etc. guppies are used to prevent the spread of Dengue and Zika spreading mosquitos.
My Personal Experience with Mosquito and Guppy
I live in a rural area it’s kinda surrounded by trees and a lot of still water here and there in the rainy seasons. There’s an outdoor fish tank my brother had for like two years and had lots of fish including guppies, redfish, angel fish, bettas, snails, sucker fish, etc. However, he decided to sell all of them and bring in some new batches of fish.
One thing led to another and the tank is fully empty for like a month. Then the rainy season came and water started to build up on swamps and ponds. As well as in the tank that was abandoned for like a month.
Mosquitos started to show up in the daytime as well as in the night. A few weeks go by and guess what Mom gets infected with dengue. So, when cleaning the surrounding of the house I saw small larvae swimming in the tank. Right at that moment, I knew exactly what happened here.
I cleaned it up and added a few dozen of guppies to the tank. I go and check for larvae in the tank each week now and there’s no sign of them. Mosquitos have reduced a lot too.
Conclusion
If you have still water around your house or inside of your house (this includes the pool) try adding some guppies to that water to eliminate the chance of having mosquito larvae. Trust me it’s not worth it to be admitted to the hospital for weeks due to some pesky mosquitos.
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