SOME IMPORTANT BAIT FISHES 



with yoiin^ fish. When the eggs 

 aie moved to clean ponds to hatch, 

 the uncrowded adults will spawn all 

 summer. 



Artificial feeding 



Goldfish pioduction can be in- 

 creased in most ponds by supple- 

 menting the natural food produced 

 by fertilizing with artificial food. 

 Soybean meal, peanut meal, poul- 

 try mash, and cottonseed meal are 

 good supplementary foods for 

 goldfish. The food should be fed 

 at the same time each day and 

 should be thrown into shallow 

 water in the same place each day 

 so the fish become familiar with 

 the routine. The fish should be 



fed all of the food they can con- 

 sume in 2 hours. 



Harvesting the fish 



Goldfish production will vary 

 according to the size and condition 

 of the brood stock, number of dis- 

 ease organisms affecting the adults 

 and the young, amount and kind 

 of fertilization, and the quantity 

 and kind of su])plementary feed- 

 ing. In general, ponds containing 

 both young and adults will pro- 

 duce up to 100,000 fingerlings to 

 the acre. Intensive hatcheries 

 where a heavily stocked brood 

 pond provides fry for 8 or 10 

 growing ponds, the production will 

 reach 200,000 to 300,000 bait fish 

 to the acre. 



PEARL DACE Margariscus margarita 



Also called Leatherback Minnow, 



LIFE HISTORY 



Description. — Robust minnow ; 

 snout blunt and head rounded; 

 small but visible scales; mouth not 

 extended behind eye; color a dusky 

 silver mottled by darker scales; no 

 large nui)tial tubercles, no black 

 pigment si)ots on Hus. The i)earl 

 dace grows to a length erf at least 

 ^1^ inches in 1 year, and reaches 

 ;i maxiinuni of 7 inches. 



Range. — The pearl dace prefers 

 cool lakes, bogs, and creeks. Its 

 I'ange is through all Canada east 

 of the Kockies and the northern 

 I'nited States to New York. 



Hireding hahff.s.—]h: T. H. 

 Laiiglois (V.yii)) reports that— 



tlu' Xortheni Dace were .seen spawning 

 in a dear water stream of 1 V^ to 2 

 feet deptli and !."» feet widtli, in or out 

 of the current, on sand or gravel bot- 

 tom, witli the water temperature from 



102 



