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THE 



AQUARIUM 



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a constant wriggling, which caused the 

 agitation of the jellyHke mass. 



During these four days they were re- 

 peatedly carried from one sand pocket 

 to another in the mouths of the adults, 

 and on the fifth morning, which hap- 

 pened to be bright and sunny, the tank 

 seemed to be literally alive with baby 

 fish out for their first swim under the 

 chaperonage of the female, who seemed 

 to watch over them with most pro- 

 nounced maternal attention, and if one 

 seemed to be in any difficulty she would 

 take it in her mouth and spit it out 

 again in a portion of the tank where 

 conditions seemed to be more favorable. 

 She was able to hold their attention and 

 govern their movements by swimming 

 backward very slowly, causing them to 

 follow by frequently stopping and strut- 

 ting. In the evening I found them to be 

 carefully herded in a close group and 

 tucked away for the night in one of the 

 sand pockets, like a lot of little helpless 

 children with their mother standing 

 guard to protect them from danger. 



From the time they started to swim 

 the male began to lose interest, and soon 

 resumed his old color, and, as on the 

 third day after the babies' first swim I 

 caught him indulging his canibalistic ap- 

 petite, I removed him to other quarters. 



The tank containing these specimens 

 was in a window with south exposure, 

 and by the time they could swim nicely 

 there was a good growth of Algea; In- 

 fusoria also had developed, on which 

 the babies fed, and their growth was 

 very rai)id. 



During all this time the female was 

 fed largely on tish worms, scraped raw 

 beef, or dried shrimp, a ration which the 

 babies were too small to touch, but on 

 my squeezing the milky substance from 

 live meal worms into the tank when the 



young were three weeks old, the mother 

 showed her maternal instinct by taking 

 this milky substance into her mouth and 

 apparently masticating it, then spitting 

 it out in fine particles which the fry 

 greedily devoured. 



When the young were one month old 

 the mother was removed, and from that 

 time they were able to take care of them- 

 selves. 



I get the best results in spawning this 

 variety by not using ariators, by pro- 

 viding plenty of vegetation and placing 

 the tank in the sunlight so as to obtain 

 a good growth of Algea. 



Under no conditions should silt or dirt 

 be syphoned off during spawning sea- 

 son, as this accumulation seems to set 

 up the condition most favorable to the 

 young when they are big enough to take 

 care of themselves. 



The Effects of Inbreeding 



(Coiitril)Uti-d) 



Everywhere in nature are evidences 

 of a pronounced antipathy to self-fertili- 

 zation and inbreeding. While it is true 

 that desirable characteristics can be de- 

 veloped and perpetuated by inbreeding, 

 it is always at the expense of vigor, and 

 results in the degeneration of other parts, 

 and even sterility. Cross-breeding with- 

 in the species, in contrast, with the re- 

 sulting infusion of new blood into any 

 strain, be it fish, bird or beast, means 

 increased size, rapidity of growth, 

 strength, vigor, and fertility. 



The mere inter-crossing of different 

 lines of a species (unrelated individuals), 

 by itself does no good. The advantage 

 depends much upon the selection of in- 

 dividuals of desirable characteristics and" 

 stamina. The occasional acquisition of 

 a good male fish from another breeder- 

 should be considered a necessity. Were 



