Small annelid worms (Tiibifex, Limnodrilus, and others) that live in the bottom of ditches 

 and streams, and often occur in immense numbers, are frequently fed to the larger fish, and in 

 Tokyo are particularly used for the brood ranchu during the week immediately preceding spawning. 



Small fresh-water mollusks, especially gastropods of the genus Vivipanis, are crushed and fed 

 to the young during the summer following hatching when there is a scarcity of crustacean food. 

 Another animal food that is sometimes employed is the silkworm, which is cultivated on a most 

 extensive scale all over the southern part of the Japanese empire. The silkworms in the chrysalis 

 stage are dried, pulverized, and mixed with some starchy material, and given to the fish in the 

 first 2 or 3 months of their existence. 



As food for very young fish the hard-boiled yolks of hen's eggs are rather commonly em- 

 ployed; and some breeders appear to prefer this to any other substance for the newly-hatched fry 

 of certain varieties, as, for instance, the ranchu. The pulverized yolk is mixed with a small 

 quantity of water, strained through fine gauze, and distributed over the ponds by means of a 

 watering pot. 



\'arious kinds of cereal foods are used, either alone or in combination with the animal foods 

 mentioned; among these are boiled cracked wheat and a mush made of wheat flour or corn meal. 

 The smaller algae, particularly the unicellular forms, are often eaten by goldfish, but not from 

 choice and not when other food is available. They grow luxuriantly in the mud ponds, give the 

 water a distinctly greenish color, and are indispensable in the cultivation of water fleas. Many are 

 necessarily eaten incidently, but they are not an efficient food and when taken to the exclusion of 

 other things fail to promote a healthy growth. 



66 



