FISHES. 113 



were improperly cai-ed for. And those people who so often 

 complain that their Gold-fish die, may depend upon it that, 

 as a rule, the fault is not in the fish or in the seller of the 

 fish, but in their own mismanagement. Fish, however healthy, 

 must of course be regularly fed. 



The best food for Gold-fish is finely-crushed vermicelli. 

 This should be thrown sparingly into thte water, and as it 

 sioks the fish will soon learn to take it eagerly. Never give 

 them more than they will eat at the time of feeding. Besides 

 this food, the fish will eat the eggs and fry of the water- 

 snails (which should always be present in the tank). A little 

 raw meat, and a few garden or water worms, will be good for 

 them as a change ; but vermicelli should be their principal food. 



Golden Carp, in common with all the Cyp'rinidse, have the 

 power of living for a considerable time out of water. The 

 reason of this is that the covers of their gills, having bony 

 supports, can be opened by the action of the muscles, and so 

 the fish are able as it were to breathe the atmospheric air. 

 Aquarium-keepers have often recorded instances in which 

 Golden Carp have jumped out of their tank on to the floor, 

 have remained there for several hours before they have 

 been discovered, and then, on being returned to the water, 

 have quickly regained their former health and spirits. A 

 convenient way of carrying these fish a long distance is to 

 w them up in damp moss. The late Mr. Frank Buckland 

 sa that once having a dozen Gold-fish given to him, he 

 p] . them in wet grass and then in a cloth in his carpet 

 bs " There they remained aU night." On his arrival in 

 towii, during the afternoon of the following day, he placed 

 them in water, and found that six of them were still alive 

 after having been kept a night and half a day in his carpet 

 bag. When first placed in the aquarium they rolled about as 

 if intoxicated, but they soon recovered from the efEects of 

 their journey. 



When Gold-fish, by accident, have been allowed to remain 

 for a long time out of water, they may frequently be revived 

 by administering a little brandy, even if they are apparently 

 quite dead. 



I 



