Mosquitofish

Description:

This species, originally native to the Mississippi Basin, Texas, and Mexico, was introduced to California as an attempt to control mosquitoes. These small livebearing fish are extremely hardy, being able to survive in environments inhospitable to most other fish and are voracious feeders on mosquito larvae. Unfortunately, their voracious diets also include larvae of native fish and amphibians, many of which have faced serious problems due to this species.