38 MAINTAINING FISHES 



diced, a small amount of water is added and then 

 liquidized in a food blender. The other constituents 

 are then mixed with the liver and heated sufficiently 

 to coagulate the liver. This mixture is refrigerated or 

 frozen until fed. 



DRIED SHRIMP: Dried, shredded shrimp is avail- 

 able from most tropical fish dealers. It is convenient to 

 use but probably should be supplemented with other 

 foods. 



Live Food 



In general fishes do better on live food than on 

 any other of the various foods recommended. Live 

 foods also cause less of a pollution problem but may 

 be a source of parasites and diseases. 



Various recommendations have been made for the 

 culture of protozoans as food for small fingerlings, 

 but the author favors spawning smaller fishes in large 

 tanks and permitting the fingerlings to forage until 

 they are large enough to feed on Daphnia, brine 

 shrimp or finely ground meals. In fact most fingerlings 

 can utiUze these foods as soon as they start feeding. 



Daphnia are excellent food for young fishes of all 

 species as weU as for the adults of many of the small 

 fishes. They are also an excellent supplement to use 

 when a dry meal is being fed. Daphnia can be ob- 

 tained from the wild by straining fertile, stagnant 

 water through fine mesh silk or nylon cloth. They are 

 especially abundant in temporary pools. They occur 

 during most of the year even under ice but appear 

 less abundant during mid and late summer. It is prac- 

 tical to culture Daphnia in small outside pools, as for 



