64 



THE AQUARIUM, JULY, 1896. 



Queries. 



For the small sum of one dollar in ad- 

 vance, which paj's for a year's subscription 

 to The Aqfarixjm, you are entitled to ask 

 information on any point regarding the 

 aquarium or the Avindow garden. We offer 

 no other premium to our subscribers than 

 that of putting over 25 years of i^ractical 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. 



Dh., Columbus, Ohio. — You cannot de- 

 velop " several hundred" young goldfish 

 in an aquarium of twenty gallons capacity 

 in the house even if the location of same, 

 an eastern exposure, is very favorable for 

 the development of suitable natural fish 

 food. A tank of such size cannot feed 

 more than about twenty-five j'oung gold- 

 fish. A better way of raising baby gold- 

 fish for one's aquarium is by using a wood- 

 en tub. A whisky or wine barrel sawed in 

 two supplies two such tubs of convenient 

 sizes. Such a tub, after it has been thor- 

 oughly soaked with water, is placed in a 

 sunny place in the yard or garden and 

 fitted up with sand, pebbles, and aquatic 

 plants like a regular self-sustaining acpia- 

 rium, with the exception that no tadpoles 

 are put in, as these would devour the 

 young goldfish. The young fry when 

 about three days from the eggs are placed 

 in this aquarium. The sim acting i;pon 

 the water, and the mosquitoes which de- 

 posit their eggs in it, will supply a large 

 amount of suitable food for the young fish. 

 You need not fear that any of the mosquito 

 larvfe will develop into mos<iuitoes and mo- 

 lest the neighborhood as long as you have 

 live fish in the tub, as these will devour the 

 larvae as fast as they appear. 



Just what number of young fish suck 

 a tub will support cannot be stated 

 with a certainty, as this depends on how 

 sheltered the tub is placed, and in what 

 climate this interesting work is un- 

 dertaken. The smaller the number of 

 the young fish the more rapid will be 

 their growth. When the fish have at- 

 tained the size of a cucumber seed arti- 

 ficial feeding should be begun. For this- 

 we use our I X L fishfood, powdered, be- 

 ginning with very small portions once in. 

 the morning, gradually increasing the sup- 

 ply and the frequency, until they are fed 

 about every two hours each day. When 

 young fish are raised in an aquarium tank 

 near the window in the house the treat- 

 ment is the same. By the middle of Sep- 

 tember the fish will measure about three- 

 quarters to one and a half inch in length, 

 and they may be safely removed to the- 

 collection in the parlor aquarium. 



L. H. C, O. — Yes. lizards would be use- 

 ful to keep the aphis from the lotus, but 

 you would not be able to keep these ani- 

 mals at your lily -pond ; thej^ would soon, 

 find a bush or tree which they would like 

 better and leave the pond. The green 

 lizard is not poisonous, in fact none are. 

 They will try to bite you when you first 

 catch them in the open air, but as soon as 

 they learn to know that they are not 

 harmed they rather enjoy being handled 

 by man. 



The best and easiest way to keep aphi& 

 from aquatic plants is with the aid of 

 water spiders and water measurers {Hy- 

 dromftra) ; the latter a livelj" creature, 

 with a slender body like that of a mos- 

 quito, but much larger, is found on any 

 creek or pond near the shore, as is also the- 

 water spider. If you will place about four 

 or six of these on your pond they will soon 

 clean your collection. 



Frog and toad tadpoles are the best 

 agents to keep the green vegetable growth 

 that enoys your lilies, down. If you keep 

 goldfish in your pond these will also con- 

 sume a considerable part of it. 



Many of the subscriptions to The Aqua- 

 KiUM run out with this issue. When renew- 

 ing, please bear in mind that U. S. postage 

 stamps are taken in payment for same. 



