AMATEUR FISH CULTURE 



shrimps, liver, meat, or the yolks of eggs, a good 

 plan while the fry are very small is to put the 

 food in a small net made of fine muslin mounted on 

 a wire ring, and dipping the end of this net into 

 the water, allow small particles to escape through 

 the muslin. This ensures no large pieces getting 

 into the rearing boxes. As the fry grow larger, 

 these precautions are of course modified, as the 

 little fish are capable of swallowing larger pieces 

 of food. 



With regard to natural food, the amateur 

 should take care to ensure a good stock for the 

 young fish. Many of the creatures suitable for 

 food may be cultivated in separate ponds at the 

 same time as the fish, if a natural supply is not 

 at hand. The Daphnia pulex (water flea) and 

 the Cyclops quadricornis may be introduced into 

 the boxes very soon after the fish have began to 

 feed. Daphnia breeds at the rate which is almost 

 inconceivable. The female produces her first 

 brood of young when she is ten days old, and 

 goes on breeding at an average of three or four 

 times a month. The female and her progeny are 

 rendered fertile by one act of coition, probably for 

 fifteen generations at least, without any further 

 intervention of the male. Both Daphnia and Cyclops 



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