280 FISH CULTUKE 



words of Mr. Mullertt: "They [the fish] are 

 seen swimming about in a careless, purposeless 

 way, now and then stopping to make a vain at- 

 tempt to remove something from their gills that 

 annoys them. They are apparently coughing. 

 Their appetite decreases. It is evident that the 

 gills are out of order, they failing to take up 

 oxygen for the blood." The fish loses flesh, the 

 abdomen sinks, the head seems proportionately 

 large, and in shape the fish becomes what fish- 

 culturists term a " spike tail." The gills show 

 signs of decay, the fish becomes so weak it can- 

 not properly balance itself and finally swims 

 head downward and dies. 



Dropsy is not a preventable disease and is 

 liable to appear in the best conducted aquariums 

 and ponds. It is characterised by a swelling 

 of the body, which begins either near the tail 

 or the middle and progresses toward the head. 

 Its first appearance is signalised by a few scales 

 included in a circle, which lose their firm at- 

 tachment. Later when it becomes general the 

 body swells until it is almost spherical, the 

 scales become erect and the eyes protrude. 

 Death will follow in at least four months. 



