SOME FISH-CULTURAL NOTES 



By John W. Titcomb 



Fish Culturistj Conservation Commission^ Albany, N. Y. 



It is the purpose of the present offering to simply treat of 

 certain different fish-cultural subjects with the idea of promot- 

 ing or stimulating further inquiry or investigation. 



WATER TEMPERATURE AT WHICH FISH SPAWN 



I was rather surprised to find that after the long period of 

 work in fish culture we have no records stating definitely the 

 water temperatures at which the various species spawn. Now, 

 we know the temperature at which many of the species spawn, 

 but it may be said of a great many fisli" artificially propagated 

 that the range of temperature at which they spawn is not 

 known. We all recognize that the fish are guided as to the time 

 of spawning by water temperature. Some spawn on a falling 

 temperature, in autumn; others spawn on a rising temperature 

 in the spring of the year. I merely call attention to this in the 

 hope that those engaged in fish culture who read these notes will 

 pay more attention to this phase of the subject, so that we can 

 together get data for a table which will be available to all in- 

 terested persons, 



A VARIATION IN TABLE MANNERS AMONG CANNIBALS 



This spring I discovered for the first time a fish which eats 

 one of its mates by taking it tail first. I think you will agree 

 with me that ordinarily when a fish takes another fish it seizes 

 it across the body, sometimes by the tail, but that in any case it 

 turns it around and swallows it head first. In one of our hatch- 

 eries where pike perch are propagated, some of the little fry 

 were kept for twelve days, at which time it was found that they 

 were swallowing each other tail first. I have a number of speci- 

 mens of these little fry about half an inch long with the head 

 of one sticking out of the mouth of the next one. In one in- 



