Comments and Queries. 



(Ci)iif iiiuoil.i 



In conjunction with the Spring Flower 

 Show of The Horticultural Society of 

 Chicago, the Chicajjo Fish Fanciers Club 

 will exhibit goldfish and tropical fish. 

 The show will be held at the Art 

 Institute. April 1st to 5th. The officers 

 of the Institute and The Horticultural 

 Society have cooperated with the club 

 in every way, and have assigned pro- 

 minent and ample space for the exhibit. 

 This will be the first noteworthy ex- 

 hibition of fishes in Chicago since the 

 World's Fair in 1892. 



Plant fishes to get rid of your 

 mosquitoes is the title of an excellent 

 newspaper article from the pen of Rene 

 Bache. The introduction of a few 

 shiners and sunfish into a pond is con- 

 sidered to be more efficient than the 

 usual oil method. Breezes blow the 

 film of oil off the greater part of the 

 water surface, and the "skeets" go on 

 breeding as before. To the fish, the 

 mosquito larva or "wriggler" is a dainty 

 titbit to be devoured at every oppor- 

 tunity. Boat-flies, Water skaters, the 

 larvae of certain beetles and the dragon- 

 fly are also deadly enemies of the 

 wrigglers of Anopheles, the malaria- 

 carrying mosquito. 



Do not feed your goldfish this month 

 is the title of an absurd article that 

 appeared a couple of months ago in the 

 newspapers of several cities. It tells 

 that during fovir months of the year, 

 November to March, no food should be 

 given! One fish to a quart of water is 

 given as the proper proportion. The 

 fish are to be kept, according to the 

 author, in deep, not shallow, bowls, and 

 the water should be changed weekly in 

 winter. He adds that goldfish given 

 this care have been known to live eight 

 to ten years. Poor fish! It is to be 

 greatly regretted that such misleading 

 information should be given the layman. 



Editor, The Aquarium: My Barhus 

 conchonius are occasionally attacked 

 by a bright red growth at the base of 

 the pectoral or dorsal fin, usually the 

 former. In one case the growth extended 

 from the pectoral fin up to the gills and 

 caused the intervening scales to stand 

 out. These attacks yield to saltwater 

 treatment in about four days. I use 

 sea salt which is no doubt better than 

 table salt for the treatment of all fish. 

 I change it daily and make it strong 

 enough so that the salty taste is just 

 easily discernable. These are the only 

 fish on which I ever saw this affection, 

 and as they are in with a number of 

 other kinds, it would seem possible that 

 the malady is peculiar to the Barhus 

 family. 



If any of our scientific friends can tell 

 me the cause of this trouble and what it 

 is, I would be greatly obliged. A peculiar 

 fact is that the affected fish show no 

 other signs of ill health, 



Wm. T. Innes. Jr. 



A Deformed Guppyi. Last summer I 

 raised several hundred of Girardinus 

 Guppyi, a native of Venezuela. Through 

 injury or other cause unknown to me, 

 one of the fry, a female, developed a 

 singular deformity. The fish is slightly 

 humpbacked, and being transparent, the 

 backbone is plainly discernable in the 

 form of the letter S as shown by my 

 sketch. The fish seems to be in the 

 best of health and has given birth to 

 normal little ones as a well regulated 

 Guppyi should. Frank L. Tappan. 



This malformation has been noted in 

 a number of other species. Ed. 



"The beautiful is as useful as the 

 useful." Victor Hugo. 



