Survival of larvivorous fish used for biological control of Aedes aegypti larvae in domestic containers with different chlorine concentrations.
The two fish species Betta splendens (Regan) and Poecilia reticulata (Peters) are known predators of Aedes aegypti (L., 1762) larvae. Both species have been used for biological control in northeastern Brazil. However, the feasibility of these fish for the control of Ae. aegypti larvae in domestic containers may be limited by their survival in chlorinated water, as supplied by the public water system. We exposed fish to three different concentrations of chlorine: 1, 1.5, and 2.0 mg/liter. All B. splendens survived at 1.0 mg/liter chlorine concentration; 72.5 and 39.3% of B. splendens survived chlorine concentrations of 1.5 and 2.0 mg/liter, respectively. In contrast, only 4.4% of P. reticulata survived at a chlorine concentration of 1.0 mg/liter. We conclude that B. splendens may be an appropriate species for biological control of Ae. aegypti in domestic water tanks.
Cavalcanti
Luciano Pamplona de Góes
LP
Department of Community Health, School of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Brazil 60.430-140. pamplona.luciano@gmail.com
de Paula
Francisco José Júnior
FJ
Pontes
Ricardo José Soares
RJ
Heukelbach
Jorg
J
Lima
José Wellington de Oliveira
JW
D000330:Aedes; D000818:Animals; D002713:Chlorine / Q000633:toxicity*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D007814:Larva; D009032:Mosquito Control; D010473:Perciformes / Q000502:physiology*; D011036:Poecilia / Q000502:physiology*; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014881:Water Supply
D014867:Water; D002713:Chlorine