114 FEESH-WATEE AQTJAEIA. 



Gold-fish wiU breed in a large aquarium : ttey affix 

 their spawn to the water- weeds there, especially to the 

 Anacharis. The spawn as soon as deposited should be 

 removed to another tank, or the. old fish will eat either it 

 or the fry which are hatched from it. The young fish are 

 hatched, as in the case of many coarse fish, in about ten 

 days. They should be provided at first with the smallest 

 animal life for food, such as water-fleas and Cyclops. When 

 about four months old they may be returned to the 

 aquarium, for they will then be quite able to take care 

 of themselves. The young fish at first are very dark, 

 almost black, but gradually as they gi-ow they become either 

 golden or silvery in colour. 



Gold-fish can' be more easily bred in a small pond in 

 the gardeij than in an aquariiun. The pond for this 

 purpose need not be more than 8ft. or 9ft. in diameter, 

 and about 3ft. deep. The sides of the pond ought to slope 

 gradually from the edge, so that the young fry will be 

 able to get out of the reach of those old Gold-fish which 

 pursue them with cannibalistic intentions. The pond should 

 be made perfectly watertight by means of a mixture of 

 Portland cement and sand. Before any fish are introduced 

 into the pond it should be filled with water, which ought to 

 be frequently changed during a period of six weeks or two 

 months. The Portland cement will then be deprived of any 

 poisonous properties, which would be certain to injure the 

 fish. When the pond has been properly soaked, its bottom 

 should be covered with well-washed river sand to the depth 

 of about 6in., and in this sand several sprays of Anacharis 

 ought to be planted. When the Anacharis has taken root, 

 and made a fair amount of growth, the fish may be intro- 

 duced — say, three male Gold-fish and six females. These 

 under favourable circumstances will increase with great 

 rapidity : one carp alone will sometimes deposit about half - 

 a-milUon eggs : luckily, however, only a small portion of 

 these hatch. The fish during their breeding season should 

 be fed on meat and garden worms as well as vermicelli. 

 The pond ought to be so situated that as little dust and 



