as broodlings food. It is considered evident today that plankton is nothing more than ^n 

 occasional and emergency foodstuff. 



Remarkable is the often high intestinal content of detritus and vegetable matter, 

 especially in summer (observed by V.undsch), and which is characteristic for pond carp, 

 according to the observations of other authors. This, of course, does not make the carp 

 an outspoken detritus and plant feeder. 



Smolian examined the bov/el contents of 2 and 3 years old carp during the months of 

 June, Aug\ist, and November. The counting out of these contents gave the following figures 

 (in decreasing order) from /+24.0 to 420 items: 



Chironomus, Tanypus, Eurycercus, Daphne, Alona, 

 Trichoptera, Ephemeridae, Sialis and Sida. 



The following chart gives the pro rata (procentuale) composition of the intestinal 

 contents of 300 gram carp during various times of the j-^ar. The pond, used for these tests 

 was so heavily over-stocked, that the carp could just maintain their original weight 

 (weight at time of stocking of the pond). The chart shows that the most preferred food, 

 i.e. insect larvae vfere eaten up at the beginning of smmner. Until September, the qualit- 

 ative composition of the intestinal contents is more or less stable. In October, when the 

 most preferred foodstuffs begin to lack, the carp consumed less palatable nutrients (such 

 as Sayomyia and Cypris) as a kind of emergency diet. This may also apply to other pond 

 fish. Altogether, v;e may assume that only a very small amount of all available aquaties 

 is consumed by the fish, perhaps 90 per cent and even more reiuain unconsumed. 



7f.X 



Cladocaro 



■ Insect Larvo* 



Fig. 3. Composition of the stomach contents of a two-year-old carp, out 

 of sijcteen overstocked pools, taken at four different times in the summer. 



Tench . Tench are typical shore-life feeders. It follows that their food is extra- 

 ordinarly similar to that of carps. Examination of tench from known carp ponds revealed 

 little difference in this respect. 



Only Dobers affirms that tendi compete, in regard to food far less with carp than do 

 perch and stone-perch. 



In lakes, tench are less bottom-life feeders than carp, but have a marked preference 

 for small mollusks. Their good existence is especially guaranteed wherever Bithynia 

 tentaculata and Valata piscinalis are plentiful. 



12 



