Western Mosquitofish
My 15-year-old grandson Riley took me to see a project he has been working on. He has been changing a polluted, stagnant ecosystem to a healthy one. An area at a concrete culvert that goes under a road. There is a tiny stream of water that follows a cement channel thru fields between neighborhoods. There are several wide spots along the way with thriving ecosystems. But at the area under the road there was litter and grass clippings and it had algae choking the oxygen out of the water. Riley cleaned it up, removed the algae and transplanted aquatic plants from healthy areas to it. He took samples of water and silt from healthy areas and cultivated it in an aquarium at home, tested it on little native plants and small fish in the aquarium to be sure it was all good. Then took vials of it and added to his project. He is comparing it to another polluted area downstream left alone. His project area looks great now and has an amazing diversity of dragon and damselflies and fish, frogs, snakes, aquatic bugs, butterflies. Tracks in the mud of herons. We visited at 3pm on a very hot Father's Day. Got my lifer dragonfly sanddragon. I was able to take a few photos before we had to give in to hot conditions and cut the visit short. These mosquitofish had found their way there. There was plenty of vegetation surrounding the water to provide cover for them.
Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)
Forney, Tx
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com
Western Mosquitofish
My 15-year-old grandson Riley took me to see a project he has been working on. He has been changing a polluted, stagnant ecosystem to a healthy one. An area at a concrete culvert that goes under a road. There is a tiny stream of water that follows a cement channel thru fields between neighborhoods. There are several wide spots along the way with thriving ecosystems. But at the area under the road there was litter and grass clippings and it had algae choking the oxygen out of the water. Riley cleaned it up, removed the algae and transplanted aquatic plants from healthy areas to it. He took samples of water and silt from healthy areas and cultivated it in an aquarium at home, tested it on little native plants and small fish in the aquarium to be sure it was all good. Then took vials of it and added to his project. He is comparing it to another polluted area downstream left alone. His project area looks great now and has an amazing diversity of dragon and damselflies and fish, frogs, snakes, aquatic bugs, butterflies. Tracks in the mud of herons. We visited at 3pm on a very hot Father's Day. Got my lifer dragonfly sanddragon. I was able to take a few photos before we had to give in to hot conditions and cut the visit short. These mosquitofish had found their way there. There was plenty of vegetation surrounding the water to provide cover for them.
Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)
Forney, Tx
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com