Guppy Love

“I have been breeding guppies at home and using them to prevent breeding of mosquitoes in different localities ever since I was in college. When I was studying,I was attracted to this species of fish and more so after I learned about its qualities,” said Indulkar,who is now 45 years old.

“I have lost count of the number of water bodies I must have released guppies into. I generally look for stagnant ponds as mosquitoes are known to breed there,” he added.

Guppy or Poecilia reticulata is known to eat mosquito larvae,thereby slowing spread of malaria and other diseases it spreads. Mosquito larvae feed on algae and bacteria,and are hence found in stagnant water bodies.

“It feels good to know that my guppies also get to eat and at the same time I am doing something worthwhile,” Indulkar said.

Indulkar has done a course in fisheries management from the Central Institute of Fisheries Education in Andheri and has also been on short-term research assignments in Nigeria and Egypt. He earns a living running a business of making prawn pickle,bottling and selling it in markets of Mumbai.

Indulkar’s 11-year-old son Abhisht and his 16-year-old friend Aniket help him with the task of dispersing guppies into water bodies.

Abhisht goes out with Aniket in search of water bodies that can do with some guppies for mosquito control,gets back and reports the location to his father.

“They are more enthusiastic than I am about the task these days,” Indulkar said. “I have never really tried naming the guppies that I breed,but Abhisht and Aniket give them names of Pokemon characters that I don’t really understand,” he added.

At times,during monsoon,workers of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation go to Indulkar and take some guppies from him to disperse them in water bodies as part of the civic body’s mosquito control drive.

Careful breeding of guppies is not difficult,time-consuming or costly,said Indulkar.

“I don’t have to make any extra efforts. All I need is make sure there are no polluting substances such as oil in the water the guppies are kept in,and I have to feed them on time. Guppies thrive on biscuit or prawn powder,” he added.

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