EFFICIENCY OF BRAZILIAN NATIVE ORNAMENTAL FISHES AS MOSQUITO LARVAE PREDATORS

Abstract

Fish are an alternative in mosquito biological control. Some species are proven to be effective in many countries, but are Brazilian native. Brazilian species may be larvivorous but this lacks information. Therefore, the widely used exotic species, Poecilia reticulata and Betta splendens, were compared with the Brazilian species Hyphessobrycon eques and Pterophyllum scalare for their efficiency as Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae feeders. Fifty mosquito larvae were offered to the fishes (n = 20) and after five minutes the remaining larvae were counted. Betta splendens ingested the largest larvae amount but when this value was divided by fish weights, P. reticulata was the species with the highest intake per gram. Brazilian native species did not differ from B. splendens in the ingestion per weight rate. Thus, it is concluded that the most efficient larvivorous fish was P. reticulata, but the Brazilian species showed a larvivorous potential, with fewer impacts on biodiversity.