FOOD 37 



pelleted foods that sink are available or one may make 

 a paste of finely ground food and drop small balls of 

 this into the tanks. Another method of feeding food 

 in paste form is to force it through a potato ricer. This 

 procedure greatly reduces the tendency of these 

 foods to become dispersed in the water and cause a 

 polluted condition. 



The amount of food to be fed is of special concern 

 in the use of compounded rations. Overfeeding results 

 in polluted conditions that can cause the loss of fishes 

 by oxygen depletion. Most fishes will utihze daily a 

 quantity of food amounting to approximately three 

 percent of their body weight. One can start feeding 

 at this level and adjust the amount on the basis of the 

 amount that appears to be successfully utilized. In 

 actual practice one may measiu'e the volume corre- 

 sponding to the weight to be fed daily and then feed 

 by volume. 



DRIED FOODS : The wide availability of commer- 

 cial fish feeds has ehminated the necessity of com- 

 pounding one's own ration. The pelleted, commercial 

 rations have the added advantage of the components 

 being bound together during the pelleting process. 

 This avoids the problem of selective loss of compo- 

 nents by variation in solubiHty. The author prefers a 

 commercial trout pellet ground to a size appropriate 

 for the fish being fed. 



Gordon's liver-cereal ration: Gordon 

 (1950) suggests a mixture of a pound of beef Hver, 

 20 tablespoonfuls of Pablum, and 2 teaspoonfuls of 

 table salt mixed to a paste consistency. The liver is 



