48 



THE AQUARIUM, APRIL, 1S9G. 



"darts" in their native state) are tlie 

 green aphis' enemies ? They will clean a 

 plant of these little pests in a short time, 

 and thrive and grow fat on this diet. I 

 have three in my conservatory, and the 

 plants are being kept free of bngs without 

 any trouble on nw part. Keep tiny dishes 

 of water around, so the " darts " can find it 

 to drink, and give sweetened water and 

 milk also. They are bright little creatures, 

 and soon become tame. 



Queries. 



For the small sum of one dollar in ad- 

 vance, which pays for a year's subscription 

 to The Aquakium, j-ou are entitled to ask 

 information on any point regarding the 

 aquarium or the window garden. We offer 

 no other premium to our subscribers than 

 that of putting over 25 years of practical ex- 

 perience in these branches at their disposal. 

 Ask as many questions as you please, but 

 please to enclose postage for reply. All 

 questions are answered by mail, and we 

 publish only such in these columns as are 

 of general interest. 



C. P. B. — Kans. The points of excel- 

 lence in fringe-tail goldfish are : short, 

 egg-shaped body: short-domed head; large, 

 expressive eyes: large, graceful fins; the 

 caudal fin (tail) should be double and split 

 in the middle, drooping like a "fringe" or 

 a bridal veil. In Germany this breed of 

 goldfish is called " Schleierschwanz." 

 meaning "veil-tail." 



The fan-tail goldfish should have the 

 same shaped body as the preceding. Its 

 fins should also be large, but more robust 

 in structure and not drooping; their tail 

 should be double, but united in the middle, 

 and be carried straight out, with a tension 

 to upright, similar to the tail of a fantail 

 pigeon. 



The color of these fish is of less im- 

 portance, this being a maiter of fancy or 

 fashion. 



H. D. R., Iowa.— The fish that yoTi sent 

 to us for identification is a fifteen- spiued 

 stickleback {Gastcrnst^us spinuchin). It is 

 a saltwater fish, and may have been over- 

 looked when the "Russian " sardines were 

 put in pickle. This fi.sli is native in the 

 Baltic ocean, biit it is qtiite frequentlj^ 

 taken on our coast, so his appearance 

 among a lot of sardines would not necessar- 

 ily prove that these fish were packed in 

 Russia. 



J. L. W., Pa.— The new fish that you 

 placed into your aqviarium may have been 

 aff'ected with the disease, and your old fish 

 infected by them. One should be very 

 careful when adding new fish to a collec- 

 tion. We find it safest to keep strange fish 

 b}' themselves for at least a week, for ob- 

 servation — put them in quarantine, so to 

 say. To feed goldfish three times a week 

 is insufficient, they should be fed dail^- and 

 at a regular hour. The pouring in of fresh 

 water now and then, as drawn from the 

 hydrant, does not hurt the fish if it is done 

 carefully. We would never pour it in such 

 a manner that the fish would be touched by 

 the current, as this will chill them and may 

 aff'ect their gills. Paradise fish do not care 

 to eat the same kind of food all the year 

 round ; you should change about, feeding 

 them on scraped raw beef or chopped earth 

 worms, young snails, etc., now and then. 



0. D. H.— N. Y. The fish you sent for 

 identification is the lesser dogfish ( Umbra 

 Cmmeri). It is a very interesting little 

 fish, especially when young: it becomes 

 very tame. It can be kept in company with 

 goldfish, but should be fed at least once a 

 week on sci'aped raw beef or chopped earth 

 worms. We would build a greenhouse 

 pond out of brick, using Portland cement 

 as mortar. When properly dry, the ce- 

 ment dressing should receive a good coat- 

 ing of asphalt. Befors putting fish in a 

 new pond of such nature, it should be well 

 soaked with water to remove the injurious 

 effects of the cement. 



Subscriptions to The Aquakium are 

 now due. Those who know themselves 

 to be in arrears are politely requested 

 to remit. 



