Comparing the Mosquito-Larvivorous Capacity of the Native Esomus danrica With the Exotic Gambusia affinis and Poecilia reticulata as Biological Vector Control Agents: An Experimental Study

One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the larvivorous capacity of the three fish species. The ANOVA revealed a significant difference in mean scores, <i>F</i> (2, 87) = 10.421, <i>P</i>-value < 0.001. Post hoc comparison was done using Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) test, which revealed a significant difference in larvivorous capacity of <i>G. affinis </i>with <i>P. reticulata</i> (<i>P</i>-value = 0.010) and <i>E. </i> <i>danrica</i> (<i>P</i>-value = <0.001) individually. However, no significant difference was found in the larvivorous capacity between <i>P. reticulata </i>and <i>E. </i> <i>danrica</i> (<i>P</i>-value = 0.292, effect size (Cohen's <i>d</i>) = 0.417 (small)). The mean larval consumption was 11.60 (standard deviation (SD) = 3.635) for <i>G. affinis</i>, 9.10 (SD = 2.771) for <i>P. reticulata</i>, and 7.83 (SD = 3.291) for <i>E. </i> <i>danrica</i>​​​​.​ Conclusions: Our native larvivorous fish (<i>E. </i> <i>danrica</i>) showed promising larvivorous capacity. There is a need for further studies that consider additional factors influencing larvivorous capacity, as well as field experiments to determine larvivorous efficacy.