96 _^ GOLDFISH VAEIETIES AI^D 



much air surface as he can and indeed it is difficult for the newly-hatched 

 young to escape from the air-bubbles, as they are held there by the 

 attraction of cohesion. Within the next three days they become independ- 

 ent and scatter from the nest, whereupon the male fish must at once be 

 removed. The female should be removed as soon as she is observed to 

 have finished spawning and has been driven away from the nest by the 

 male. The temperature must be kept high — mid-summer temperature 

 as in a hot-house — for at least two or three months after the young hatch 

 out. The young fish being microscopic must be well supplied with Infu- 

 soria — the microscopic dust-like form of living creatures native to most 

 old, standing water, which in turn must be cultivated. See page 57. Do 

 not disturb the young fish. They must remain in the aquarium in which 

 they hatch at all events until they are plainly recognisable as fish of their 

 ozun species and at least a quarter of an inch long. As soon as they 

 seem to have assumed solidity, i. e., dark, round bodies, which they should 

 have at ^-inch long — they must be fed with finely-strained young cyclops 

 and daphnia and from that time on the growth is rapid. All young fish 

 — of whatever kind — which outgrow their fellows, must be separated into 

 other aquaria or compartments, as otherwise they starve or eat the smaller 

 ones. 



B7a GROUP 

 LABYRINTH FISH WHICH BUILD NO NESTS but deposit 

 their spawn loose and floating in the water. This class includes the 

 Snake-heads (Ophiocephalidse) and the Climbing Perch (Anabantidse). 

 Hardy fish, generally accustomed to living in cooler water than the Nest- 

 building Labyrinth Fishes — though at the breeding season the temperature 

 should be raised to at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit and kept high for the 

 first two or three months of the existence of the young fish. Parent fish 

 both to be removed as soon as eggs appear — if they do appear — for it is 

 difficult to get these fish to spawn. Care of young fish same as that 

 indicated for the young of Nest-building Labyrinth Fish. 



B8 GROUP 



TOOTH CARPS (Oviparous or Egg-laying Group) — These include 

 the Haplochilus Group, the Fundulus Group or "Top-Minnows" native to 

 our American streams, Cyprinodons, Lebias, Cynolebias and Rivulus. 

 The Haplochilus mostly spawn at or near the surface on floating 

 bushy plants. So do the Rivulus, and most varieties of the Fundulus. 

 Lebias and Cynolebias bury their eggs separately in the bottom and they 

 take seven to eight zveeks to hatch, so not much success can be expected 

 from these last two species. Others again spawn nearer to the bottom 

 and like Haplochilus and Rivulus, eggs adhere to plants separately. 



