BajaNomad
Not logged in [Login - Register]

Go To Bottom
Printable Version  
Author: Subject: Catavina fish
Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
******


Avatar


Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 1-13-2007 at 02:13 AM
Catavina fish


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??
View user's profile
Al G
Ultra Nomad
*****




Posts: 2647
Registered: 12-19-2004
Location: Todos Santos/Full time for now...
Member Is Offline

Mood: Wondering what is next???

[*] posted on 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 down:lol::lol::lol:




Albert G
Remember, if you haven\'t got a smile on your face and laughter in your heart, then you are just a sour old fart!....


The most precious thing we have is life, yet it has absolutely no trade-in value.
View user's profile
Don Alley
Super Nomad
****


Avatar


Posts: 1997
Registered: 12-4-2003
Location: Loreto
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 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.
View user's profile
David K
Honored Nomad
*********


Avatar


Posts: 65304
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline

Mood: Have Baja Fever

[*] posted on 1-13-2007 at 09:17 AM


Sounds almost like the desert pup fish of Borrego Springs area...?



"So Much Baja, So Little Time..."

See the NEW www.VivaBaja.com for maps, travel articles, links, trip photos, and more!
Baja Missions and History On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bajamissions/
Camping, off-roading, Viva Baja discussion: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vivabaja


View user's profile Visit user's homepage
Summanus
Nomad
**




Posts: 481
Registered: 10-15-2006
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 1-13-2007 at 09:50 AM
pupfish, dace, etc...


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]

- Baja - scenery - Catavina pool.jpg - 43kB
View user's profile
Bajalover
Nomad
**


Avatar


Posts: 227
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: The Cottage at Ocotillo Hills
Member Is Offline

Mood: Strongly - Missing Baja

[*] posted on 1-13-2007 at 11:20 AM


Please don't laugh toooooo loudly. What is a Mosquitofish?



Sometimes you really do question; why you are and where you are.
View user's profile
Don Alley
Super Nomad
****


Avatar


Posts: 1997
Registered: 12-4-2003
Location: Loreto
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 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.
View user's profile
Bajalover
Nomad
**


Avatar


Posts: 227
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: The Cottage at Ocotillo Hills
Member Is Offline

Mood: Strongly - Missing Baja

[*] posted on 1-13-2007 at 11:26 AM


Okay - does that mean any NON Native fish (element) is considered a Mosquitofish?



Sometimes you really do question; why you are and where you are.
View user's profile
Taco de Baja
Super Nomad
****


Avatar


Posts: 1913
Registered: 4-14-2004
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain, CA
Member Is Offline

Mood: Dreamin' of Baja

[*] posted on 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......:o





















In reality, they are small fish that eat the larva of mosquitos. They are also known as guppies.
View user's profile
Summanus
Nomad
**




Posts: 481
Registered: 10-15-2006
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 1-13-2007 at 12:07 PM
mosquitosfish


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.

- mosquitofish.jpg - 24kB
View user's profile

  Go To Top

 






All Content Copyright 1997- Q87 International; All Rights Reserved.
Powered by XMB; XMB Forum Software © 2001-2014 The XMB Group






"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen. The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez

 

"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt

 

"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes

 

"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn

 

"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law







Thank you to Baja Bound Mexico Insurance Services for your long-term support of the BajaNomad.com Forums site.







Emergency Baja Contacts Include:

Desert Hawks; El Rosario-based ambulance transport; Emergency #: (616) 103-0262