Larvivorous Fish
Larvivorous fish in mosquito control has been well-known for more than 100 years. In India, as far back in 1904 larvivorous fishes were utilized in Mumbai City for the control of
malaria vector An. stephensi. Larvivorous fishes Poecilia reticulata (Guppy), a native of South America and mosquitofish (Gambusia), a native of Texas were imported in India in 1908 and 1928, respectively for the control of
malaria vectors. Soon then use of
larvivorous fish became a standard practice in India, e.g. in Bengaluru and Kolkata cities and during the construction of Sharda Canal in Uttarakhand. During mid-1980s National Institute of
Malaria Research demonstrated the utilization of
larvivorous fish as a part of an integrated
vector control strategy. Though use of
larvivorous fish is a crucial component of
vector control within the urban
malaria schemes in India, use of
larvivorous fish on top of things of rural
malaria was shown for the first time in India. Fish fauna surveys have been undertaken at different NIMR field units which revealed that there are several indigenous fish like Danio rerio, Esomus danricus, Badis badis, Chanda nama, Puntius ticto, Rasbora daniconius, Colisa fasciata, etc. which are commonly found in Indian fresh waters. These fish were found to possess significant larvivorous potential in various conditions. However, they either can not be mass produced or are not hard enough to withstand transportation, variation of water quality,
turbidity and temperature. Also these fish produce smaller broods than the exotic fish.
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