72 FISHFOOD 



LIVING FISHFOODS 



It may safely be said in general that fishes do better on living foods 

 than on an artificially prepared diet. The difference seems to be about 

 the same as that between canned and fresh food in our own experience. 

 The living foods which are really of practical merit and which are so 

 universally distributed as to make their mention here of value are few in 

 number. They are infusoria, daphnia, mosquito larvae, flies and earth- 

 worms. 



Earthworms. Also known as angleworms, gardenworms, rainworms, 

 and groundworms. It would be difficult to overstate the value of these 

 worms to aquarium fishes, especially to highly developed goldfishes. They 

 are a one hundred per cent, natural food and are somewhat laxative in 

 effect. Correspondents have many times asked the author to diagnose 

 their fish troubles when all conditions are apparently correct. The usual 

 advice is to try feeding earthworms if possible, and in a majority of cases 

 the trouble disappears. Worms from one to three inches long are best. 

 The large sizes become tough. Personal judgment will have to be used 

 as to whether to cut the worms, and to what sizes. The pieces should be 

 easily swallowed. It is unnecessary to wash or scald them, notwith- 

 standing some contrary theories on the subject. Fishes can apparently 

 eat more worms without injury to themselves than they can of prepared 

 foods, but this is also true of the other live foods. All they can consume 

 at a meal does not appear to be too much. The difficulty is more likely 

 to be in keeping up the supply, especially over winter. One should collect 

 as large a stock as possible in the early fall, storing in damp, loose earth 

 in a large box kept cool but not cold. Occasional bits of mashed potato 

 placed in the soil will be eaten by the worms. It should be without salt, 

 preferably. 



There are two principal kinds of angleworms, the earthworm or 

 gardenworm here referred to, which is of a solid pinkish red color, and 

 the dungworm, the body of which is marked with red rings, and which 

 exudes an unpleasant yellow secretion when handled or cut. These are 

 not so tempting as bait for wild fishes, and the aquarium fishes show the 

 same preference for the gardenworm. The dungworm is found in manure 

 piles and in heavily manured soil. It has the advantage of being more 

 readily obtained in winter. By placing in moist sphagnum or other moss 

 for a few days it is claimed they lose some of the unpleasant odor. The 

 writer cannot vouch for this. Earthworms form a satisfactory substitute 

 for daphnia in raising goldfishes if one has the opportunity of securing 

 a large and continuous supply, this of course meaning after the fish is 

 large enough to take finely chopped pieces, which should be in about 

 six weeks. 



