Indigenous fish species for the control of Aedes aegypti in water storage tanks in Southern México

Because of inadequate supply of water, inhabitants of five villagesclose to Tapachula, Chiapas, México, store water in cement tanksthat support large populations of Aedes aegypti. Biologicalcontrol using indigenous fish species were studied to control A. aegypti larvae in thosecontainers, since other organisms used as biological control agents areexpensive and unfamiliar to inhabitants of those towns. Other measures(chemical or physical control) are expensive and time consuming. Fiveindigenous fish species, Lepisosteus tropicus (Gill)(Lepisosteiformes: Lepisosteidae), Astyanax fasciatus (Cuvier)(Cypriniformes: Characinidae), Brycon guatemalensis (Regan)(Cypriniformes: Characinidae), Ictalurus meridionalis(Günther) (Cypriniformes: Ictaluridae) and Poecilia sphenopsValenciennes (Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae), currently used asmosquito control agents in the area were tested. Container indexes (ameasure of disease transmission potential) in the tested area werealways zero during the year of the study, independent of towns and fishspecies; this was significantly (P < 0.05) different from containerindexes prior to the test as well as from controls without fish. Nosignificant (P > 0.05) differences were recorded in the efficiency ofthe tested fish species feeding on A. aegypti larvae. Our resultsshow that all tested fish species can be considered as good biologicalagents for controlling A. aegypti larvae in Southern Mexico.