14 AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY. 



HATCHING THE WALL-EYED PH^E. 



BY JAMES NEVIN. 



The eggs of the wall-eyed pike cause more trouble while 

 undergoing the process of hatching, than those of any other of 

 our better class of fish, owing to their great adhesiveness. If 

 not attended to properly before being placed in the hatching- 

 jars, they will stick together in bunches and float off through 

 the outlet from the jar; and should screens be used to prevent 

 this, tliey will be blocked up and the eggs carried off with ilie 

 overflow. In our Mihvvaukee hatchery we have been raising 

 pike fry for the past three seasons, and after trying various 

 plans to counteract this evil, I have found the following to 

 answer most satisfactorily. 



As soon as impregnated the eggs are placed in tubs or some 

 such vessels, and kept in constant motion bv gently stirring 

 until they have become hard, usually about five hours after being 

 taken from the fish. They are then placed on cotton flannel 

 trays and shipped in boxes in the same manner as whitefish 

 eggs. As soon as they are received at the hatchery they are put 

 into tubs, each tub to be not more than three parts full of eggs; 

 they are then gently stirred with the hand until thorr^ughly 

 loosened or separated. Immediately alongside should be a 

 screen about three inches deep, and with holes just large enough 

 to allow the egg to pass through. This screen fits into a tub of 

 clean water and the eggs are dipped into it, and by gently shak- 

 ing the screen they all pass through. By this means we know 

 that each egg is separated from those surrounding it. I then 

 take some of the sediment from the bottoms of the supply tanks 

 and mix thoroughly with the eggs. A certain amount of this 

 sediment adheres to the eggs and prevents the "bunching" when 

 placed in the jars. After carefully following this plan the eggs 

 can be placed in the jars, and if given a sufficient current of 

 water to keep them moving very gently, there will be no danger 

 of their floating off; nor do they require continual watching for 

 the first forty-eight hours, as in the old method. 



