Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Dec 1991)

Astronotus ocellatus (Cichlidae: Pisces) and Macropodus opercularis (Anabatidae: Pisces) as predators of immature Aedes fluviatilis (Diptera: Culicidae) and Biomphalaria glabrata (Mollusca: Planorbidae)

  • Rotraut A. G. B. Consoli,
  • Carlos T. Guimaräes,
  • Jacqueline A. do Carmo,
  • Delza M. Soares,
  • José S. dos Santos

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761991000400007
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 86, no. 4
pp. 419 – 424

Abstract

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Two fish species, Astronotus ocellatus (Cichlidae) and Macropodus opercularis (Anabatidae) were tested for predacious behavior toward immature mosquitoes (Aedes fluviatili9s, Diptera: Culicidae) and schistosomiasis snail hosts (Biomphalaria glabrata, Mollusca: Planorbidae), in the presence or absence of non-living food and laboratory conditions. A. ocellatus, a species indigenous to Brazil, was a very efficient predator of both organisms (alpha=1,05); M. operculatis, an exotic species, preyed well on immature mosquitoes, but small snails and snail egg-masses were ingested only irregulary. Both fish species seemed to prefer live to non-living food.

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