Collecting Mosquito Larva, Culex spp.

It’s summertime and with the fine weather we have access to mosquito larva which should be a welcomed treat for your fish.

 

I have heard arguments about not using these as a food source due to pollution and bacteria in the water but I have personally never had any problems deriving from the use of these.

The fish love them and it’s nice to see the fish’s natural hunting instincts kick in when they are added to the aquarium. They are also very good for conditioning fish prior to spawning.

Regarding the pollution issue it’s really up to each aquarist to decide on if they want to use them or not. I personally harvest mine from plastic containers filled with rainwater and believe this to be a safer option than collection from a pond (depending on location).

A shallow preferably dark plastic container filled with water and placed in a shaded area should be enough to attract female mosquitos to lay their eggs on the surface of the water.

Depending on the temperature the mosquito larva can be harvested on a more or less regular basis by using a fine meshed net. I do rinse them under running water after harvest and place the larva in a glass container filled with clean water or tank water (as seen above). The larva can then be fed to the fish with a baster.

Just make sure to harvest regularly and discard any larva you don’t use as otherwise you will have a mosquito problem on your hands.

Happy hunting!