Unsuitability of Cnesterodon decemmaculatus (Jenyns, 1842) for mosquito control in Uruguay: evidence from food-preference experiments.

We analyzed the feeding preference of Cnesterodon decemmaculatus, a small-bodied poecilid native from the Rio de la Plata and proximate Atlantic Basins in South America. This species has a wide distribution in Uruguayan water bodies but its effectiveness as a predator of mosquito larvae has not been tested. In laboratory trials, five aquatic invertebrates were offered simultaneously as potential prey to fish: Daphnia pulex (Cladocera), copepods, two different instars of mosquito larvae (Culex pipiens), and the 4th instar of Chironomidae larvae.