I was amazed in November when I stopped to water the dog and the blue palms near the intermittent spring south of the hotel. As I was looking in the
crystal-clear pools of water I was startled at all the movement in there.
At first I thought they were frog tadpoles but soon realized that there were hundreds of little fish in there. I moved upstream to another isolated
pool in the sand. Hundreds more.
I am thinking about how these and the other freshwater fish in Baja do it in these climates of extended heat and dry weather. Those pools are dry
most of the year so the window of opportunity to reproduce and thrive is very narrow. The sand however is moist and the water is trapped below surface
much of the year.
I have heard others talk about seeing fish of substantial size in other placesin Baja. I wonder if these fish ever make it past the pool they were
borne in or do they go downsteam during flash floods. The fact that they are in many pools suggests they are transported but my question is whether
the actual fish moves or if the eggs(if they are egg-bearing) find pools to grow and hatch in. Also, do many of these springs in Baja have such
dwellers.
Ok experts, what says you??Al G - 1-13-2007 at 07:59 AM
I am no expert and certainly not on Baja. This occurs through out the world and the # 1 way is by eggs on bird legs when on flat land.
Flooding down stream from a hatchery would do it too.
I seem to remember there is a fish that lies dormant until the foods come annually. Now watch the real experts slap me downDon Alley - 1-13-2007 at 09:05 AM
There is a small stream that runs intermittently by the cave paintings on the Loreto-San Javier road. At times it is full of small fish, which appear
to be genus gambusia, which include the mosquito fish. How they got there, and why their presence is intermittent I don't know. Maybe they were
introduced as a mosquito control. Tadpoles and small frogs also appear and disappear here.
Farther downstream in a large pool I have seen much larger fish, some maybe 10 inches long. I don't believe this section dewaters, and I would guess
these fish may have been introduced.David K - 1-13-2007 at 09:17 AM
Sounds almost like the desert pup fish of Borrego Springs area...?
pupfish, dace, etc...
Summanus - 1-13-2007 at 09:50 AM
Most desert pools and streams, however small and shallow, all have their share of these small fishes. The pools near El Rosario area, Catavina, Sta.
Inez, Mulege valley, and several in the Giganta Mountains from Loreto to Conception Bay to name just a few. Mostly these are local dace or pupfish
variations. The same types of desert fish that are scattered throughout the US Southwest and into the Baja and Sonoran deserts. Many in the US are
considered endangered species. The fish and their environments are protected by law.
Mosquitofish - Note: introducing those to these pools will quickly eliminate the native fishes because of food competition or hydridizations. A
no-no.
The deeper permanent pools with regular streams have some larger species of trout. The goldens of northern Baja mountains in particular. Melings Sky
Ranch is in an area famous for these beauties.
Here is a photo of a pool and stream system near Catavina. Well worth a hike back into the boulders.
[Edited on 1-13-2007 by Summanus]
Bajalover - 1-13-2007 at 11:20 AM
Please don't laugh toooooo loudly. What is a Mosquitofish?Don Alley - 1-13-2007 at 11:24 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Summanus[/i
Mosquitofish - Note: introducing those to these pools will quickly eliminate the native fishes because of food competition or hydridizations. A
no-no.
So true!
I don't believe there is anything worse you can do to a native fish population than to introduce non-native species. They usually cannot be removed,
and they will spread, somehow even across drainages. Worse than pollution, overfishing, logging, grazing, roads, sedimentation, development, etc
etc.Bajalover - 1-13-2007 at 11:26 AM
Okay - does that mean any NON Native fish (element) is considered a Mosquitofish?Taco de Baja - 1-13-2007 at 11:56 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Bajalover
Please don't laugh toooooo loudly. What is a Mosquitofish?
Small fish that suck blood like a mosquito......
In reality, they are small fish that eat the larva of mosquitos. They are also known as guppies.
mosquitosfish
Summanus - 1-13-2007 at 12:07 PM
Right, guys, Dracula IS very popular in Baja, but NOT as a blood-sucking fish!
No, not all non-native fish are called Mosquitofish.
Mosquitofish are quite smallish, but have voracious appetites for mosquito larvae and eat large amounts of them daily..hence the name. Lots of places
around the US put them into areas where mosquitos are a problem. But that has been found to have dire consequences for the native fishes in that
system. Mosquitofish are competetitors for food and kill the native fish. Or can interbreed and hydridize the species.
All in all, it is a bad practice...and had led to the extinction and endangerment of several Southwestern desert fish species.
