Guppies vs Mosquitofish, What's the Difference?

[@TheRosswise]

Mosquitofish also multiply explosively. I was given a few in a plastic cup, in a couple of weeks my pond had hundreds. My pond also dried almost 100% this last drought, only had a little puddle of water in a shady spot. As soon as we got a big rain and my pond filled up, low and behold I still have mosquitofish.

[@FOWLR4NOW]

You have hands down one of the absolute best, most thorough aquarium channels on KZbin. Keep up the great work :)

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate that! 🙂

[@edchoi2428]

Wonder if they can hybrid

[@sharonjack7239]

About 8 months ago, I brought home a pregnant female Gambusia fish. I thought she was a guppy so I put her in with other guppies after she had her babies. I think she came from the wild as she was very predatory and took to fin-nipping. I put her in her own clear-plexiglass 'tank' by herself in the guppy tank. She likes to watch some of the boy guppies, lol and seems to have one in particular that she really likes. Her babies were raised with baby guppies. Her offspring, born in my tank, so far, have been very mellow and non-aggressive. If I see any fin-nipping, then they will be separated. Lots of personality, like their bossy mom. Her babies are now adult size, and don't seem to be breeding with each other. Like I said, aggression won't be tolerated. I am hoping they will stay mellow since they have been raised in captivity with guppies. Maybe they think they are guppies, lol. I have them (male and female mosquito fish offspring) with male guppies only, no female guppies. Their bossy mom seemed to go after the female guppies as well as a few of the male guppies. USA

[@TobiasHolenstein]

These fish can really be characters haha. Glad to hear everything is working out well with your fish!

[@ProFF77]

Can attest to that. I retrieved about a dozen mosquitofish from a large pond in spain, brought them home and we have a lot of fun watching them. they have really silly, grumpy and funny character, remember me of Kobolds.

[@jeremycaraway6432]

Hey. Nice video. I have 3 mosquitofish that live with my angelfish and a pleco. My son caught them in a creek about a year ago thinking they were minnows lol. I knew they werent minnows but researched them myself. Cool little fish.

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you! and that's awesome! Mosquitofish are fun little active fish

[@DMike54]

WOW!!! Really good research. I had to watch this video 4 times before I fully understood all of it's content. Another great informative video. Thanks Tobias.

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thanks so much Michael! I appreciate that! 🙌🙏

[@ravensunn]

They can and do breed together also with the endler i have 7 tanks full it started with a female mosquito fish that was breed with a yellow endler male then the females from that litter were breed with male guppies i now have 11 generations and they are hearty and more disease resistant then plain guppies

[@4thGloryMonday]

you have given me hope, been trying to breed a super guppy that couls survive year round in mt garden pond in harmony with my gambusia's

[@quaaquatics9416]

@@4thGloryMonday won’t work

[@quaaquatics9416]

Why are you lying

[@lpmoron6258]

@@4thGloryMonday one year I was over run with make goes and 8 put one in my outdoor pond. Or little fella didn't stand a chance and I instantly regretted what I had done. The mosquito fish killed him and ate him in no time. I will never do that again!

[@erickborling1302]

Mosquito fish are also free! Since they are so tolerant of various temps, water qualities, they're a great way to start a low cost fish tank.

[@ProFF77]

Yes, they are of the few fishes I wouldnt mind to put in small water containers. They are small and extremely hardy. Perfect for a small balcony micro pond

[@vertigoone-one-722]

Great info bro, didn't know any of this info! Keep the vids comming!

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you man! Neither did I until I made this video haha 😅

[@vertigoone-one-722]

@@TobiasHolenstein and thanks for adding the °C it makes it way easier for me to follow the vid

[@TobiasHolenstein]

@@vertigoone-one-722 Oh yeah no problem man! I realized that it's important to put because pretty much only Americans use ºF

[@mrtings]

We can tell you put a lot into these videos and we appreciate it! Really, they’re really really good!!!

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thanks so much! I appreciate it! I'm glad you like the video 🙂

[@livingthedreamshutup]

Holy cow. I bow to your research and delivery skills. ✌

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you 🙌

[@franniebowden8487]

I was looking up mosquito fish because I thought that the fish that I got out of a pond were guppies. They do favor each other. Glad to see that you done research because now I know NOT to put anything in with them. So far they eat flakes, pond pellets and reptile sticks. Oh and freeze dried blood worms. I just subscribed and I'm looking forward to watching more of your videos. Educational. Thanks

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you so much for subscribing Frannie!

[@bailywhiting5207]

great video! taught me alot mate keep up the awesome videos

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you Baily! I'm glad you liked it! Happy New Year!

[@Grayman_WWJD]

🔥 this helped out tremendously, Thank you 🔥

[@TobiasHolenstein]

You're welcome! Glad it helped!

[@bobdroidsky225]

Thanks for clearing this up! I was also under a false impression that the guppies and mosquito fish can interbreed! In fact, I was going to try and have them do that! LOL Great informative video!!

[@LSeymour]

Well done! Two of my favorite species I keep!

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you! Yes they are both awesome fish 🙂

[@kristenbrown1]

Mosquito fish are free from the city here in Tampa to help combat mosquitos. I have a patio-pond of them ❤

[@bobdroidsky225]

In CA they only offer them to businesses with outdoor facilities now for some reason... And we have been having hordes of mosquitoes!!!

[@Pancho-gato]

I really enjoy this video, is the second part out already

[@4thGloryMonday]

thats awesome u shouted out ur mom!!! moms are the greatest

[@tehutimes1]

Guppies are Poecilia reticulata & Mosquitofish are Gambusia affinis they're 2 different species of fish. A male mosquito fish can mate with a female guppy having traits of both parents.I've kept in the same tanks for 3 years.

[@jeremypierreakajproject6750]

facts 💯 I have mix the two breed together successful already 👍

[@construct3]

A few notes. You got the genus right the first time. Mosquito fish are in the genus Gambusia, not Heterophallus. Where did you run into Heterophallus? Now as for the differences. Unlike the guppy, the female mosquito fish has two or three rows of tiny black dots on the dorsal fin and tail. Unlike the guppy, the mosquito fish's scales have black edges. Unlike the guppy, the mosquito fish often has a black teardrop marking under each eye. Finally unlike the guppy, the mosquito fish is an aggressive fin-nipper completely unsuitable for community tanks. And mosquito fish are a little bigger. I'd also mention that mosquito fish are very difficult to breed in aquariums because they are voracious about eating their fry. By the way, are you sure you showed a picture of a molly? I've never seen an orange molly. It looks for all the world like a platy. It's good to see a KZbinr giving mosquito fish the attention they deserve. They're great fish. You really can't beat a fifteen or twenty gallon tank with a bunch of mosquito fish. They're very active chasing each other, and they learn that you're the one who feeds them, so they come to see you when you come close. When the light hits them just right they have an iridescent sheen, so they're not really as drab as they seem at first glance. Thanks for the video.

[@construct3]

@@VSOP300blkout Congratulations on your breeding success. What kind of setup did you give them? Did you do anything special to avoid cannibalism? What kind of fish were you keeping them with? I'm guessing from your having to move them that they were no match for the mosquito fish.

[@construct3]

@@VSOP300blkout You're definitely doing the right thing. I really don't think there's anything to put with them. They don't care how big other fish are. They go after them all. Even a father largemouth bass can't keep them from snacking on the eggs in his nest. But a 65 gallon full of mosquito fish must be a sight to behold!

[@sharonjack7239]

About 8 months ago, I brought home a pregnant female Gambusia fish. I thought she was a guppy so I put her in with other guppies after she had her babies. I think she came from the wild as she was very predatory and took to fin-nipping. I put her in her own clear-plexiglass 'tank' by herself in the guppy tank. She likes to watch some of the boy guppies, lol and seems to have one in particular that she really likes. Her babies were raised with baby guppies. Her offspring, born in my tank, so far, have been very mellow and non-aggressive. If I see any fin-nipping, then they will be separated. Lots of personality, like their bossy mom. Her babies are now adult size, and don't seem to be breeding with each other. Like I said, aggression won't be tolerated. I am hoping they will stay mellow since they have been raised in captivity with guppies. Maybe they think they are guppies, lol. I have them (male and female mosquito fish offspring) with male guppies only, no female guppies. Their bossy mom seemed to go after the female guppies as well as a few of the male guppies. USA

[@eat_avertical_tortilla_chip]

i have mosquito fish both in a pond and a tank, both the tank and pond had lots of fry swimming around

[@construct3]

@@eat_avertical_tortilla_chip I would have expected there to be no difficulty breeding them in a pond. I'm a little surprised about the tank, but you are not alone in having success. Congratulations! How big is your tank? How many adults do you have? I've never asked anyone who had success about their set-up, and I'm a little bit curious.

[@gustavusjohansson8688]

This taught me so much! Didn't even know about the pike kilifish! Also: I am a aquamigo ;)

[@TobiasHolenstein]

I didn't know about it either before haha. It's such a cool fish. I was looking up if you can buy them anywhere and they are really hard to find! and thank you for being an Aquamigo! I will shout you out in my next fish video 🙂

[@gustavusjohansson8688]

@@TobiasHolenstein anything for you man!

[@TobiasHolenstein]

@@gustavusjohansson8688 Appreciate you bro! 🙌

[@gustavusjohansson8688]

@@TobiasHolenstein ❤

[@DMike54]

I didn't know there are live bearing kilifish.

[@obryan240]

Fish Jesus

[@fadhilthevisionary1518]

Thanks for this, mosquito fish here have colour. Beautiful but underrated

[@emiljeki7912]

So it is not a good idea to mix mosquito fish and Neocaridina shrimp right?

[@TobiasHolenstein]

I'm honestly not really sure. I've never had shrimp, but I suppose a mosquito fish would most likely eat small ones. For the larger ones, I'm not really sure

[@emiljeki7912]

@@TobiasHolenstein Well, most people in Indonesia call the mosquito fish as guppy fish, which is a huge mistake. As far as I know, Guppy fish are peaceful tankmates for the Neocaridina shrimp and I also thought mosquito fish were a type of guppy fish. Thanks to your video, now I know they are a different type of species and it is really not a good idea to mix mosquito fish with Neocaridina shrimp.

[@isaiahnavarro8268]

I actually put a mosquito fish inside my tank with two other goldfish and it was doing fine for like a month and the funny thing is today I went to go feed them and the mosquito fish was nowhere in sight and here’s what I think happen 1: there is a hole on top of the tank to drop the flakes and it could of jumped out Or 2: one of the goldfish ate the mosquito fish

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Yeah if the mosquito fish could fit inside the mouth of one of the goldfish it is possible that it got eaten

[@royalspin]

They do like to jump just like swordtail fish do .

[@michaelreid8889]

Goldfish 100% eat them they have desimated 50% of my breading pond that I have for feeding my barramundi

[@carbrickscity]

Confirmed from my own experience too. Goldfish can eat anything that can fit in their mouth. They can eat any small fish like guppy, mosquito fish, molly, platy, betta, and so on.

[@julieb3996]

thank you for addressing the blemish ight away, it would have distracted me from the video, which I was really interested to know

[@Hookedbydru]

They can breed together I have been doing it for couple year now

[@salvatoreangius5338]

Mosquito fish are Gambusia Minnows. Red Rosys (feeder fish) are Fathead Minnows both eat mosquito larvae but rosys are more cold tolerant, much cheaper, do not eat your tadpoles, and way more hardy. If you have mosquitoes at 10 for a buck at fish stores, I recommend them

[@mattyMcLovinisbae]

i used to net and raise mosquito fish in texas as a kid

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Nice! I didn't know you lived in Texas before

[@MrBiloxifireman]

Thanks for all the information 👍

[@growingheart8039]

very helpful Great video! 🌞

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thanks so much! 🙌

[@kmsrbkekulandara1782]

Gappy vs mosquito fish inter breeding normally. Why it is?

[@TobiasHolenstein]

From what I understand, they can not interbreed

[@babygiant6362]

thanks for the comparison

[@landondosch7841]

Perfect video😀

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you! 🙂 🙏

[@fishlaw1]

You did a good job my friend... Thanks for sharing!!! LIKE#614

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thanks so much! 🙌

[@mattyMcLovinisbae]

good research

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thanks Matt! 🙂

[@Nigelaquaticsfish]

Endless are different too

[@疯狂兔]

Thank you

[@DragonCanyon]

nice, those fish are everywhere in my country

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Nice! Which ones, the guppies?

[@AnimalPapaStudios]

Like 21! How are you Tobias? They do look very similar! Great video and information my friend! Keep up the great work! Hope you had a great holiday and a Happy New Year 🎊! Take care and God bless! Animal Papa and Junior! 😎🎊🙏

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you James! I am doing good, how about you guys? and Happy New Year! I hope you all have a great year

[@stubbsaquatics6080]

Good info.. Thanks

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thanks Chris! glad you like it 🙂

[@chisaquaticvibe6524]

Very nice!

[@charles1554]

Mosquito fish a massive pest in Australia, when I chuck my traps down in the river, always end up with 40+ mosquito fish in the traps

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Isn't Australia like one of the countries with the most mosquitos though?

[@user-br8lt9vn4v]

@@TobiasHolenstein maybe that’s why there’s many mosquito fish there 🤔

[@TobiasHolenstein]

@@user-br8lt9vn4v Yeah I imagine that is the reason

[@michaelreid8889]

But they make such good food for my bara perch and bass haha

[@michaelreid8889]

I spent hours as a kid catching them from my local pond and creeks now they just sit in my 2 ponds breading like rabbits

[@cryerciaa5297]

Can I breed Guppy to mosquito fish?

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Hi, no you can't

[@cryerciaa5297]

@@TobiasHolenstein that's sad

[@Mattman-ix8tt]

Thanks you for the information

[@TobiasHolenstein]

My pleasure!

[@-..l]

Accidentally introduced a female mosquito fish to my guppies. Needless to say, all the guppies died. Damn she was a murderer. I have offically named/titled her The Guppy Slayer.

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Oh no! Sorry to hear that!

[@juliorivera870]

I mix mosquito fish with a guppy and now I have a male mosquito fish with red dorsal fin.

[@1.4142]

Scientists recently made a robotic fish that resembles the invasive Mosquito fish's predators to scare them and decrease their reproduction rates.

[@TobiasHolenstein]

So I looked this up because I was so curious and I couldn't believe it's actually real haha. So cool what science can do

[@mariahbenson7037]

Wow best educational video

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you! 🙌

[@keeism8504]

Ok now that the main topic is over. Lets talk about the big pimple.

[@TobiasHolenstein]

😂😂

[@starrlove2289]

Thank you for making a video with something to do with mosquito fish... my 4 year old picked these fish as I guess we lost our beta & they look NOTHING like a beta ... Ok so I get home put them in there beautiful tank go online to learn about these fish too ..... Nothing really... like no one has these fish ... 😕 there what I read fin Nippers so I'm guessing any other fish is out of the question 🤔 & they eat my plants 🤯 I mean do they eat there young too? 😉

[@construct3]

Yes, they do eat their young. They're voracious about eating their young. So they're hard to breed in an aquarium. They breed like rabbits in a pond where the fry can hide and the adults have lots of room to forget about them. To breed them indoors, you have to put the female in a separate tank until she has dropped her fry, and then you have to move her back to the main tank before she has a chance to eat very many of them.

[@mlk08012]

Dang! That’s one hell of a pimple!

[@trumpyoung5563]

😂 😂 😂 😅🤣😆😄

[@TobiasHolenstein]

It really was lol

[@peterlynch1458]

I hear the word "Heterophallus"...and I giggle.

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Haha 😂

[@royalspin]

Hmmm I wonder what they meant when they named it this ?? 🤔😲🤣

[@juliorivera870]

You are wrong, mosquito fish and guppies do breed, i have mix guppies with mosquito fish, some mosquitoes fish are now blue with red dorsal fins, at first they attacked my guppies but the baby mosquito fish did mix, after they grew up.

[@camoeco3680]

I have kept them together. Doesn’t really end well. The mosquito fish single handedly killed all my guppies

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Wow that's intense. I will move him back to the pond then. Was it just one mosquitofish? I've had this one in there for like 2 months already

[@camoeco3680]

@@TobiasHolenstein mine was pregnant and may have just been anxious or something. Yes it was just one

[@camoeco3680]

@@TobiasHolenstein if there has been no problems with yours I don’t see a reason to move them. Very informative video by the way 👍🏼

[@TobiasHolenstein]

@@camoeco3680 Oh ok got it. I'll just keep an eye on it and make sure there's no aggression. Thanks! I'm glad you like the video! 🙂

[@camoeco3680]

@@TobiasHolenstein No problem. Gonna subscribe

[@juliorivera870]

Did the mosquito fish got you on the face?

[@BigTankHank4672]

I am a aquamego ! 💯👍🏾

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thanks Big Tank Hank! I will shout you out in my next fish video 🙂

[@BigTankHank4672]

@@TobiasHolenstein I really like your channel ! I was looking up guppy/ Gambusia crossing and found you .

[@TobiasHolenstein]

@@BigTankHank4672 Thanks so much I appreciate it! 🙌

[@Adventureisle_Jamaica]

Guppies and mosquito fish can breed I actually did it with a female mosquito fish n a male guppy but she ate her kids because I forgot to take her out

[@RobloxRedTroll]

I have guppies and I want to know if I can add my mosquito fish with my guppie’s what should I do

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Hi, I've heard of some people having issues where mosquito fish are aggressive towards guppies. I had one mosquito fish in my guppy tank for a little while, and it did seem to be a little bit aggressive, but nothing too crazy, however that was just one mosquito fish. It may have been more of a problem if I had several mosquito fish. So in my opinion, to be on the safe side, I would keep the mosquito fish and guppies separated.

[@RobloxRedTroll]

@@TobiasHolenstein OK thank you

[@Jdt2021]

he was covreing up that zit in the beginning and that BAM

[@erickborling1302]

Mosquito fish are a delight in a fish tank. Occasionally one or more of the males gets into harassing, so put it back. You really won't have too much trouble with "explosive" breeding if you keep the temps on the lower range. Which... down South means your ambient air-conditioned dwelling.

[@robertmiller4697]

Your worng they can cross breed i have done it a few times

[@aminsabatay8091]

I Meat many many mosquito fish in a garden for the first time

[@brookecampbell1008]

❤

[@mr.goodbass9445]

I am a aquamigoOoOooOo!!!!

[@TobiasHolenstein]

🙌 I will shout you out in next weeks video 😄

[@mr.goodbass9445]

@@TobiasHolenstein hooray!!!

[@TobiasHolenstein]

@@mr.goodbass9445 Thank you for the support! 🙌🙌

[@owa8609]

ive crossbreed these. git wild colors!

[@thcluky5547]

Where my lepomis macroachirus owners at?

[@amj.composer]

Great video! Thank you! It's pronounced pee-see-lia btw hehe.

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you! and thank you for the correction 😅

[@pk-pj4sz]

Big difference

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Definitely

[@tobiasbjornson2124]

mosquitofish are Gambusia bro

[@valentinvazquez7074]

Next time glue a goggly eyes on top

[@kregwithak]

I am an aqua amigo

[@JamesWilliams-ey5kn]

I am an aquameo

[@camtaylor4908]

I thought they we're the same. I have some living peacefully with a beta.

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Yeah they are really similar looking!

[@VEEZER1]

So guppies eat mosquitoes right? Lol

[@beastiemoddzgaming2757]

I am a teen fish breeder starting out hmu if you can think of anything you want I am up for a challenge

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Awesome, what kind of fish are you breeding?

[@beastiemoddzgaming2757]

@@TobiasHolenstein I am starting with guppy breeding nothing too fancy right at the moment:) but soon I’ll move from fish to turtles I have a couple adult females right now :)

[@mattstull4158]

I am a aquamigo

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Thank you for being an Aquamigo Matt! I will shout you out in this Fridays video!

[@mattstull4158]

@@TobiasHolenstein my kids and I catch black spotted mosquito fish. Have you ever seen them? We call them mollies but I'm positive they are mosquito fish. I will post a vid and pics tomorrow. Awesome very informative vid. My kids will like to listen and learn about these fish. We catch them and use them for feeders to our wild caught chiclids.

[@mattstull4158]

How do I share pictures or videos to you.

[@TobiasHolenstein]

@@mattstull4158 Oh yeah I've seen pictures of those mosquito fish. I think they are like regular mosquitofish but they have speckles on them. I'm not sure what causes the speckles, but I have some rosy red minnows and some of them also have speckles. I think mollies have kind of rounder bodies than mosquitofish

[@TobiasHolenstein]

@@mattstull4158 You can send me them on instagram @yt_tobias

[@ulfsaar3927]

Have you crossbreed them? If it works youre making a new species.. like the god does.. you remembering me with jesus somehow :))

[@TobiasHolenstein]

I haven't, I don't think it's possible to crossbreed them. Haha nice

[@michaelreid8889]

You can cross bread them I had a few what would you call them just gona day litters for the hell of it but there rate of reproduction was at like 20% of how they bread normally with out trying to cross bread the 2

[@seanpearson5749]

I am aqua La la lol

[@rubestheswiftie]

I just call mosquito fish “guppies”. 😅

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Close enough haha

[@zacharydevan4107]

I think your being Too Bias. JK. what I did there. 👀

[@TobiasHolenstein]

Haha I see what you did there

[@shikihonmakaixxv6542]

Just saying, woman get insecure after they saw your hair.