124 



Aquatic JUCe 



stricted only by the climatic and food re- 

 quirements of the species, renders the 

 possibility of consanguinity very slight. 

 When these animals are brought into 

 domestication, with its incidental con- 

 finement, it becomes necessary to add 

 new blood from time to time after the 

 second generation has attained maturity. 



Goldfish fanciers, working as they are 

 with the very concentrated product of 

 selective inbreeding, should make every 

 effort to outbreed without losing the 

 characteristics they aim to retain in their 

 stock with increased development. With 

 the methods of the average breeder, it is 

 almost an impossibility not to inbreed, 

 this because the young fish are assorted 

 in the rearing tanks according to size, 

 without regard to parentage. Every 

 fancier sooner or later, by fortunate se- 

 lection of breeding fish, hits upon a com- 

 bination that produces a number of 

 young of excellent form. With his de- 

 sire for perfection, when these speci- 

 mens reach maturity, he will be very apt 

 to mate brother and sister together as it 

 will not be possible to positively deter- 

 mine their relationship. Few breeders 

 have a sufficient number of rearing tanks 

 to keep every lot of spawn distinct from 

 the time of hatching to that when the fu- 

 ture breeding fish are segregated, and 

 for this reason line-breeding is impos- 

 sible. The remedy is the yearly acquisi- 

 tion of a few good specimens from other 

 fanciers. 



The subject of inbreeding is equally 

 important to the fancier of the exotic 

 fishes. Such species are visually purchas- 

 ed in pairs, and, if not imported wild 

 stock, are apt to be related. This is par- 

 ticularly liable to pertain if the fish be 

 a rare one or a species seldom bred. A 

 fancier who succeeds with a "shy breed- 

 er" has no other course but to dispose of 

 brother and sister as a "pair." It is a 

 wise plan, when buying a species not al- 



ready represented in your collection, to 

 secure two pairs from, different sources, 

 breaking them and mating the male of 

 one to the female of the other. If the 

 species is not new to the collection, then 

 each male and female should be mated 

 to a home-bred fish. In thus proceeding, 

 nothing will be lost, but much may be 

 gained in vigor, fertility and size, other 

 conditions being favorable. 



Alfaro Amazonum 



C. J. HEEDE 



This live-bearing tooth carp super- 

 ficially resembles the young of our com- 

 mon shiner, though it attains but a 



length of about two inches, the female 

 being slightly larger than the male. The 

 body is light bluish-green; upper part of 

 head with some black punctation ; black 

 line on side of body from middle to base 

 of caudal fin ; fins very light yellow ; co- 

 pulation organ of male golden yellow. 



This fish is a rather shy inhabitant of 

 the aquarium, and at the slightest noise 

 or disturbance will hide among the 

 plants. Its remarkable ability to pene- 

 trate dense growths quickly, and its vo- 

 raciousness, make it difficult to save the 

 young. A temperature of 70 to 85 de- 

 grees Fahrenheit, should be maintained. 



Alfaro is a South American fish from 

 the Amazon river and its tributaries ; 

 hence the name amazonum. Alfaro is 

 based on a local name. 



