GOLDFISH 



451 



roe, meat, etc. Dried bread crumbs are frequently recommended 

 as food for goldfish, especially when whole-wheat bread is used. 



Goldfish in an aquarium should be fed every day in summer and 

 every other day in winter. Natural foods, such as small Crustacea 

 (Entomostraca) and insects and their larvae, are most desirable, but 

 many useful substitutes for these foods are available. While such 

 substances as fish roe, fish, ant eggs, rice and pea flours, etc., are 

 recommended in complex fonnulse, 

 it should be remembered that the 

 essential requirements — animal and 

 cereal foods — can be simply sup- 

 plied. For the former lean meat 

 scraped fine, chopped earthworms, 

 fresh or dried liver will serve ad- 

 mirably, while a satisfactory source 

 of the latter is embodied in a flour 

 paste or dough, ground oatmeal, or 

 corn meal. If it is desired the 

 mineral content may be supple- 

 mented by the addition of a little 

 table salt or Epsom salts. 



Prepared foods containing many 

 of the ingredients mentioned are 

 for sale in the market, and their 

 use can be recommended to the 

 amateur aquarist. The main thing 

 to guard against is the giving of 

 more than the fish will consume at 

 one feeding, as any excess allowed 

 to remain in the water will eventu- 

 ally pollute it and produce diseased 

 conditions. 



Daphnia, popularly known as 

 " ditch fleas," are an excellent live 

 food for goldfish. The same may 

 be said with reference to the larvae 

 of the mosquito, which can be had 

 in large quantities during the 

 summer months and may be found 

 in rain barrels or stagnant pools, 

 the common name being "wrig- 

 glers." 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 



Fig. 6. — Ludwigia (Ludicigia glcmdulosa). 



r^^■^ „ „,^^,,^ ^^1 ic^l l „„ ,^ ^ Natural size. Prized for its beauty in 



illness among goldfish becomes the aquarium ; grows from cuttings 



ai:)parent in many ways, but as a 



usual thing the fins are bloodshot, the dorsal fin droops, and the 

 affected fish is inclined to rest on the floor of the aquarium, with 

 little or no desire for food. Where only one fish is diseased the cause 

 may be attributed to overfeeding or constipation, but if a number are 

 ill it is an indication that something is radically wrong, either with 

 the food, the water, the oxygen supply, or the temperature condi- 

 tions. 



