264 FISH CULTURE 



yearlings hatched in June or July; all the weak 

 will have been weeded out by sorting or death ; 

 and the perfect specimens can be determined 

 and separated from the others, to be kept for 

 breeding purposes or big prices while the 

 others go to market. 



The approach of spawning-time is heralded 

 by males chasing the females about the aqua- 

 rium. It is then advisable to remove from the 

 tank those which show signs of breeding, and 

 place them in a receptacle by themselves. A 

 breeding-tank should be arranged the same as 

 a regular aquarium except that there must be 

 many more plants, so many more that the fish 

 will almost have to push themselves between 

 the stalks. Breeders do not all follow the same 

 practice with respect to the proportion of males 

 and females which they place in the breeding- 

 tank, but the majority introduce more males 

 than females. This is done for a variety of 

 reasons, two of which are to ascertain which 

 is the best "chaser" or "driver," and to incite 

 the males to rivalry and a little quicker action. 

 Some breeders place the breeding fish in the 

 tank in the proportion of one female to two 



