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Goldfish Foods and Feeding 



as Practiced in Japan 

 EIICHIRO NaKASHIMA 



The purpose of this paper is to present 

 an outline of the substances used as foods 

 for goldfish by the breeders of Japan. 

 Foods naturally fall into two classes, 

 animal and vegetable. Though the gold- 

 fish is often classed as omnivorous it is 

 a fact that to produce the most vigorous 

 specimens it is necessary that animal sub- 

 stances dominate in the food supplied. 

 First in importance are the entomostra- 

 cans — Daphnia, Cyclops, Cypris and 

 allied forms. Following close in point 

 of value come larval mosquitoes, tubifex 

 worms, the dried and ground chrysalis 

 of the silkwork, ground shrimp, dried 

 bonito, boiled eggs of domestic fowl, 

 dregs of meat and similar substances. 

 The foods of vegetable origin are usually 

 used as ingredients in prepared mixtures, 

 viz., worm-eaten wheat flour, wheat bran, 

 buckwheat flour, worm-eaten rice flour, 

 rice brain, corn meal, etc. 



The advance of the science of sanita- 

 tion, in Japan as elsewhere, has made 

 for the stamping out of the stagnant and 

 often filthy ponds in which the much- 

 to-be-desired entomostracans — Daphnia, 

 Cyclops, etc. — reach their greatest devel- 

 opment in numbers. The Japanese were 

 thus early led to put aside ponds and 

 study conditions favoring their develop- 

 ment under control. A small, muddy 

 pond about fifty feet square is now much 

 favored. The pond may have a bottom 

 of sand or mud. but a mixture of the 

 two is preferable. The water should first 

 be drawn off, and the bottom then thor- 

 oughly worked with a large wooden rake, 

 after which manure should be spread 



evenly over the soil; about a medium- 

 sized bucketful to each five square feet 

 of surface. The manure may be human 

 feces, from domestic animals, artificial or 

 rice bran, etc. Any may be used alone 

 or several sorts mixed. To promote de- 

 composition water is withheld for sev- 

 eral days to expose the bed to the sun's 

 rays. Then it is permitted to fill to a 

 depth of six inches and a quantity of 

 adult Daphnia introduced. At intervals 

 more water is added until a depth of two 

 to three feet is reached. After a lapse of 

 ten to fifteen days plenty of Daphnia will 

 be found. 



The quantity produced by such a pond 

 will depend upon the climate, nature of 

 the water, soil temperature, initial treat- 

 ment of the pond, etc. Water plants 

 should have been removed in preparing 

 the bottom, as it is considered that they 

 absorb certain materials needed by the 

 Dahpnia, their presence, therefore, being 

 detrimental. When animal manures are 

 used the Daphnia appear most quickly 

 and in great abundance, but do not long 

 persist. On the other hand, with manure 

 of vegetable origin, they seem to develop 

 more slowly but the supply is of longer 

 duration. It is better in consequence to 

 use a mixture of the two classes of 

 manure. 



Larval mosquitoes are found in almost 

 all bodies of freshwater and at times 

 may be collected in quantity, affording 

 valuable food for adult fishes. In a past 

 number of Aquatic Life. H. E. Finckh, 

 Esq., of Australia, describes an admir- 

 able scheme for maintaining a supply at 



