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¹ Scott Christian College (Autonomous), Department of PG studies and Research Centre in Zoology, Nagercoil 629 003, Tamil Nadu, India Viewed : 4440 - Downloaded : 3964 Addition of pollutants changes the natural qualities of water. Pesticides in agricultural runoff affect fish and other aquatic organisms. Fish are common indicators of water pollution status. This study was done to check whether plant based pesticides are less toxic to fish and other non-target organisms, compared to chemical pesticides. Bioassays of a natural pesticide of plant origin (Azadirachtin) and a synthetic pyrethroid, deltamethrin were separately done on a freshwater teleost, Poecilia reticulata Peters 1859. Toxicity estimations were done following static bioassay and probit analyses models. The 96 h LC50 of deltamethrin is 0.0019 and azadirachtin is 0.011 mg/L. The plant based pesticide; azadirachtin is less toxic to fish compared to deltamethrin, a synthetic pyrethroid. Plant based pesticides contain easily biodegradable molecules which are more target specific than the highly persistent broad-spectrum synthetic chemical moieties. Use of plant based pesticides is less disastrous and more ecofriendly. This study is done to compare the non-target toxicity of a natural pesticide of plant origin (Azadirachtin) with a synthetic pyrethroid, deltamethrin on a fresh water teleost, Poecilia reticulata Peters 1859. Keywords : deltamethrin, azadirachtin, Poecilia reticulata, non-target toxicity, 96h LC₅₀