Animals that eat other animals are called carnivores . Animal plankton are eaten by larger animals such as insects, frogs and fish. Small fish or frogs may be eaten by larger fish. Larger fish may be eaten by a turtle or a garter snake. Some food chains are very short.
Mosquito fish serve a very useful function in a pond.
They eat the larvae of mosquitoes that grow in the pond when they come to the surface of the pond to get air. This reduces the number of biting and disease-carrying mosquitoes that emerge from the pond. The larger bluegill eat the smaller mosquitofish as well as other animals of the right size, such as baby fish, frogs, worms, and insects. A largemouth bass will eat the smaller bluegill and anything else that is smaller than it. Carnivores keep the smaller animals from becoming too numerous and crowding the pond.