34 



Aquatic JLitt 



addition it was necessary to secure the 

 services of a reliable man on board ship, 

 and also an aquarist in San Francisco to 

 receive them. Both were found. Mr. 

 R. Borden, of Oakland, voluntered to 

 handle the fishes on arrival, and a very 

 efficient party was found on one of the 

 ships. This man was experienced in 

 transporting birds, reptiles and small 

 mammals, and soon learned to care for 

 fish. 



During the middle of May the first 

 shipment arrived in San Francisco. Mr. 

 Borden placed them in his tanks, where 

 under his careful treatment they event- 

 ually recovered from the hardships of 

 their three- weeks' ocean journey. It was 

 not, however, until the end of July that 

 Mr. Borden was successful in sending 

 any on to me. The lot was well worth 

 waiting for, and consisted of eleven 

 specimens of Krefftius adspersus, from 

 two to two and one-half inches long. 

 This fish has been fully described in past 

 numbers of Aquatic Life, but the de- 

 scriptions are not glowing enough. It is 

 a beautiful little fish, of exceptionally 

 favorable appearance. While there is no 

 real similarity, it reminds me of one of 

 our own trout in miniature. 



On August 19th one of the females 

 appeared heavy with roe, and a male was 

 in particularly bright dress. That even- 

 ing the pair were removed from the oth- 

 ers. The following morning they 

 spawned, the eggs and nest appearing 

 exactly as described by Mr. Gale in his 

 article in the July number. The tempera- 

 ture of the water was 80 degrees Fahren- 

 heit. The male continually agitated the 

 eggs with his fins and, not satisfied with 

 merely keeping fresh water circulating 

 about them, he disturbed and shook them 

 frequently. The eggs developed rapidly 

 and became elongated. On the 22d, eyes 

 were plainly visible and the embryos 

 occasionally squirmed ; on the 25th they 

 became detached from the egg-capsules 

 and were free swimming. 



When first liberated the fry are very 

 small, not much larger than those of the 

 Paradise fish. I have fed them freely on 

 infusoria and very green water, and they 

 are doing well. The brood numbers 

 about a hundred, and today (September 

 4th) averages about one-quarter inch 

 long. The parents spawned again in an- 

 other aquarium on August 26th, this time 

 on a clump of algae instead of on the side 

 of the aquarium. This spawning was in 

 a very obscure place, and impossible to 

 observe. The eggs have since disap- 

 peared, but I have not noticed any fry. 



Aquarium Notes 



(Concluded from page 32.) 



its quality and bring it down to the level 

 of a cheap toy. W r e must bear in mind 

 that if we desire to reproduce nature in 

 our tanks we must eliminate all artificial 

 makeshifts. 



While some aquarists are opposed to 

 direct sunlight for aquaria on the theory 

 that it causes an excessive growth of 

 algae, and this in turn green water, years 

 of experience have taught me that a daily 

 exposure of no more than two hours is 

 positively beneficial, the plants and fishes 

 displaying more vitality. I have had an 

 aquarium in an eastern window for over 

 eight years, and the water always remains 

 clear. 



Goldfish and those species of the tem- 

 perate zones can be held in ordinary room 

 temperatures, but those from the tropic 

 require a temperature, varying with the 

 species, from 68 to 80 degrees Fahren- 

 heit. To insure this it is necessary to 

 install some system for heating the 

 aquarium. 



The problem of artificial aeration en- 

 ters generally with the keeping of some 

 fishes, especially those frequenting shal- 

 low and rapidly moving streams, and for 

 overstocked and unbalanced aquaria that 

 lack a sufficient number of growing plants 

 to produce the needed oxygen for the 

 inmates. 



