116 
Aquatic Lite 
when the sexes are placed together. If 
a Spawning is soon to occur he will be 
swimming by her side, pressing her ab- 
domen with his head and otherwise try- 
ing to drive her among the plants. 
The wash pan or wood box in which 
the operation is to take place should 
measure three feet square and five inches 
deep, and contain two inches of clear 
water of the same temperature as that 
from which the parent fish will be taken. 
In this is placed the nest to catch the 
Black Telescope Goldfish 
eggs. The preferred nests are of Myrio- 
phyllum, water hyacinth, bark of the Jap- 
anese palm tree or the roots of the wil- 
low. Nests of the water plants, the two 
first named, should be placed for several 
days in clean water to eliminate snails, 
insect larvae and other enemies of the 
eggs and fry, and further cleaned by a 
weak solution of permanganate of pot- 
ash. The last named materials should be 
boiled in water and washed clean. For 
artificial fertilization they are to be pre- 
ferred to the living plants, as they can 
be used a number of times and are al- 
ways clean and free from detrimental or- 
ganisms. 
Now take up the fish, the male in the 
right hand, and the female in the left, 
turning their heads in an inward direc- 
tion as they approach each other. Then 
shaking faintly and giving just a slight 
pressure on their abdomens with the 
thumb and forefinger, scatter the eggs 
and spermatozoa all over the nest, that 
both may be well distributed to assist in 
fertilization. 
In another method a very small quan- 
tity of water is used ; just enough to keep 
the nest afloat in the receptacle. The 
eggs are pressed gently from the female 
and scattered over the nest, the sperm be- 
ing similarly expressed from the male and 
the water then carefully stirred with a 
bird feather. Half an hour later add 
plenty of water of the same temperature. 
This method is rather troublesome, so the 
first is to be preferred. 
If the weather is made unfavorable by 
great humidity, it is better to defer the 
operation, as there is greater possibility 
of the eggs being attacked by fungus, 
Saprolegnia. 
The receptacle containing the nest and 
eggs should be covered with glass and 
placed in a sunny situation, where it 
should be protected against sudden 
changes of temperature. Fertilized eggs 
are transparent and white or yellowish, 
whereas the infertile eggs soon become 
cpaque, milky-white and are attacked by 
the white fungus, Saprolegnia. These 
should be removed lest the fungus spread 
to the fertilized eggs. 
The period from the first division of 
the egg cell to the appearance of the 
black spots (the eyes), is the most 1m- 
portant as a slight touch is injurious. 
The period for incubation varies princi- 
pally with the temperature, being usually 
as follows: 
Water temperature Incubation 
60°—70° F. 8 to 10 days 
70°—8o° F. CetOm Gays 
80°—9g0° F. BAD 8 Gass 
Eggs that take more than Io days or 
less than three days to hatch, usually 
give fry that are not so strong as those 
which hatch on the 7th day. 
