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The ability of exotic fishes to revive 
after exposure to low temperatures is 
sometimes surprising. I have saved 
fishes shipped during the spring and au- 
tumn that arrived apparently dead. Re- 
suscitation is, of course, only possible 
when the exposure has not been too long 
and the drop in temperature gradual; 
not below 35. degrees, Fahrenheit, which 
I think marks the “dead line” for most 
of them, the sub-tropical species, being 
hardier are excepted. 
The method I use is so simple that I 
urge all aquarists to try it before dis- 
carding any seemingly dead fishes re- 
ceived in shipments during cold weather. 
Place the fish in a receptacle in the water 
in which it was received. Then prepare 
some old settled warm water from an 
established tank by adding to it salt in 
the proportion of a teaspoonful to the 
quart. Apply “first aid” by adding this 
warm salt water to the receptacle con- 
taining the fish until a temperature of 
75 degrees has been reached. Revival 
may not be immediate, but I have saved 
some valuable fishes in this manner. 
In my home I have a “community 
tank” which is maintained at a tempera- 
ture of 75 to 80 degrees, but one night 
it dropped to 50, due to faulty heating. 
While the majority of the fishes were 
not affected by the temporary fall sev- 
eral were in distress. A male of Hapflo- 
chilus cameronensis was laying upon the 
bottom and apparently lifeless. I placed 
him in a jar containing water from the 
tank, added some salt and placed the jar 
on the end of the kitchen stove. The 
temperature gradually rose to 75 de- 
grees. In about five minutes I noticed 
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| Resuscitation of Exotic Fishes 
ERNEST LEITHOLF | 
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a slight tremor pass through its body and 
a perceptible rise and fall of the gill- 
covers; twenty-five minutes later the 
pectoral fins began to move. An hour 
and a half after placing the fish in the 
jar he righted himself and began to swim 
weakly about. 
At another time I had a number of 
fishes in a tank in the garden. As the 
weather was getting steadily colder, and 
West Africa 
Haplochilus cameronensis 
Photograph by Lee S. Crandall 
in fact did drop that night to 36 degrees, 
I removed all as I then thought, to 
warmer quarters. The following morn- 
ing I discovered a Danio rerio, which I 
had neglected to remove, laying on the 
bottom motionless. On the impulse of 
the moment I placed it in a can of the 
icy water, added salt, and set the can 
near a heater indoors. When I returned 
home that night I was surprised to find 
my Danio very much alive. 
While the suggested treatment is 
efficacious only at times and because it 
