224 WHOLESALE BREEDING 



fairly strong brine; about a pound of rock salt to 10 gallons of water. 

 "Strong enough to float an egg" is the usual standard. 



Fungus, while the most prevalent disease among parlor goldfish, is 

 not the chief offender on the farm. Here the culprit is an animal para- 

 site called 



Gyrodactylus. We describe this elsewhere under the heading of 

 "Flukes," which is due to a species which gets in the gills. The kind 

 we now have in mind lives on the body and fins. The fish becomes 

 emaciated and soon dies. The mortality from this parasite in the early 

 spring is sometimes extremely heavy. Salt solution will not rid the 

 fish of this enemy. A dip of 60 seconds into a solution made of 1 part 

 of glacial acetic acid to 500 parts of water rids the fish of most of these 

 parasites, but the treatment should be repeated a week later. 



A pound of permanganate of potash to 30,000 gallons of water has 

 been found effective in killing Gyrodactylus elegans, and other external 

 flukes. Fish need not be removed from pond, but if there is no vegeta- 

 tion, it might be well to reduce the strength slightly. The formula worked 

 out by Dr. Walter N. Hess for use in a tank without vegetation is a 

 two-hour treatment in a solution of 1 part of permanganate to 270,000 

 parts of water. This is approximately 1 pound of the crystals to 33,000 

 gallons of water, and is very efficient. 



Ichthyophthirius. Personally we have never found salt to be 

 effective against this parasite, but we are reliably informed that 200 

 pounds of rock salt in a pond 30 x 40 x l^feet cures ichthyophthirius 

 in a week. We have seen such wonderful results in aquaria with the use 

 of mercurochrome, 4 drops of 2 % solution to each gallon of water, that we 

 feel strongly like recommending it. At this writing apparently no fish 

 farmer has tried it on that basis. In bulk treatment this figures about 

 1 ounce of 2% mercurochrome to 1000 gallons of water. The fish may 

 remain in this solution indefinitely. 



Sunfish. This is not a disease, but an affliction, nevertheless. 

 Accidentally admitted into the rearing ponds through defective screens 

 or other source, they consume quantities of young goldfish, and what is 

 worse, pick the eyes out of developed Telescope goldfish. 



With regard to the many enterprising and efficient enemies of the 

 goldfish, it seems to be the universal opinion among fish farmers that 

 it is cheaper to accept the enormous losses they entail rather than use 

 screened ponds, which would need to be smaller, require more labor 

 and heavier cash outlay. The writer is not convinced that this con- 

 clusion would stand up under a careful test, especially in handling the 

 fancy varieties, which are both more vulnerable and more valuable. 



