Eastern Mosquitofish Facts

Transcription

1 The Eastern Mosquitofish is a small fish (growing to less than 2 inches long) that lives in slow moving freshwater ponds and swamps. The Mosquitofish s favorite location within these slow-moving swampy locations is in the shallow parts where they are safe from larger fish. The Eastern Mosquitofish is native to the Southern and Eastern United States. This common name, Mosquitofish, comes from the fact that they eat mosquito larvae. However, Mosquitofish are hungry fish that eat just about anything smaller than them, including aquatic and terrestrial insects, worms, tadpoles and algae. Mosquitofish are hardy and aggressive fish that often displace native species when introduced outside of their native range. For this reason, the Eastern Mosquitofish is now considered a pest species in some areas of the world where they were introduced to control mosquitoes. The Eastern Mosquitofish has brownish green scales on top with silvery sides and black spots on its fins. Both male and female Eastern Mosquitofish use their fins to move around in the water, but the male fish has a differently shaped fin under its belly that is longer than that of the female. The interesting thing about the Eastern Mosquitofish is that it gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs. This kind of fish is called a livebearer. The baby fish are called Fry. Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Cyprinodontiformes Family: Poeciliidae Genus: Gambusia Species: G. holbrooki Sources: "Eastern Mosquitofish." Fairfax County Public Schools. 24 May < "Eastern Mosquitofish." Wikipedia. 24 May < Spottybanana.com 1

2 Activities Setup a fish bowl to keep and observe Mosquitofish Supplies You can get these supplies at your local pet store 1-gallon fish bowl Aquarium gravel Plastic aquarium plant Chlorine remover Dip net Small plastic container to fill with pond water and a tight-fitting lid for transporting fish Goldfish Flakes 4-5 Eastern Mosquitofish* *Catch Eastern Mosquitofish in swampy or slow moving ponds/ditches in the shallows using a small aquarium dip net. Be sure to get permission if the pond is on private property. These fish live where there are also snakes and mosquitoes, so be sure to take proper precautions. Before adding the Mosquitofish to the fish bowl, let the fish remain in the plastic container for an hour or until the water temperature matches that in the bowl. Also, make sure to add a dechlorinator to the bowl before adding fish. Research Help the student learn more about Eastern Mosquitofish by searching online and checking out the public library. Have the student learn about what happens when Mosquitofish are introduced to areas outside of their native range. Writing Assignments + Have the student write an essay about the fish catching expedition. Have the student write an essay about what he/she learned about the Eastern Mosquitofish. Have the student also include drawings of Mosquitofish. Optional. Have the student practice typing by also typing the writing assignment on computer using word processing software. Spottybanana.com 2

3 ACROSS 2. Fish use these to move in the water 4. Mosquitofish's favorite food 7. A baby fish 8. Favorite Mosquitofish location 9. phylum 11. The type of water where mosquitofish are found DOWN 1. A type of fish that doesn't lay eggs 3. Protective covering on a fish's skin 5. Depth of water Mosquitofish prefer 6. genus 10. species Spottybanana.com 3

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5 Try to fill in the missing numbers. The missing numbers are integers between 0 and 9. The numbers in each row add up to totals to the right. The numbers in each column add up to the totals along the bottom. The diagonal lines also add up the totals to the right. Spottybanana.com 5

6 Solution Spottybanana.com 6

7 Tip: Cross out each word in the list as you find it. K Y U Q Y M S W N C Z W F Y R I Q Q A F I V D C E Y Q Q X Y H Y R G N U H H A B Z Z R R D B C P V R L O I N F C V B U C Y S C S A X N O U H T A L K Y R C T H Q L H C F V H B F V O M M M B E C K T O P F T K B X B V G J X Y G Q L R H E Z H M J R N K R H U D K W C F L D H O P H H A T H Y I F W L W A F H Z W K U O O S K W P I V C F L W C B L H X T L E O I K C S U H C C I N D W I P V F M B X F W D I L C Q V Q X H B U G X F D V P O B S E K I D Z E L D X W B J I L B J T G H M R M F P O N D Z J B Q L E H H I Q A K L L Q J L I V E B E A R E R A U R L M K S H D N F J P I P E H X Y Z Q Q L Y B Z W H F H U V M S X R S A I S Q O J Q U C X Z C T A N M N L O T Y O R W K N S S J Q T K U C O F N N T Q M V L B W S F I P I X D R I S X V K X C G O N I K P D A D U M J D B E Z I M B C V Q Y Q A D P N Y P S C Y 1. DITCH 2. FRY 3. GAMBUSIA 4. HARDY 5. HOLBROOKII 6. HUNGRY 7. LIVEBEARER 8. MOSQUITOFISH 9. POND 10. SHALLOW 11. SWAMP Spottybanana.com 7