96 GOLDFISH VARIETIES AND 
much air surface as he can and indeed it is difficult for the newly-hatched 
young to escape from the air-bubbles, as they are held there by the 
attraction of cohesion. Within the next three days they become independ- 
ent and scatter from the nest, whereupon the male fish must at once be 
removed. The female should be removed as soon as she is observed to 
have finished spawning and has been driven away from the nest by the 
male. The temperature must be kept high—mid-summer temperature 
as in a hot-house—for at least two or three months after the young hatch 
out. The young fish being microscopic must be well supplied with Infu- 
soria—the microscopic dust-like form of living creatures native to most 
old, standing water, which in turn must be cultivated. See page 57. Do 
not disturb the young fish. They must remain in the aquarium in which 
they hatch at all events until they are plainly recognizable as fish of their 
own species and at least a quarter of an inch long. As soon as they 
seem to have assumed solidity, i. e., dark, round bodies, which they should 
have at 14-inch long—they must be fed with finely-strained young cyclops 
and daphnia and from that time on the growth is rapid. All young fish 
—of whatever kind—which outgrow their fellows, must be separated into 
other aquaria or compartments, as otherwise they starve or eat the smaller 
ones. 
B7a GROUP 
LABYRINTH FISH WHICH BUILD NO NESTS but deposit 
their spawn loose and floating in the water. This class includes the 
Snake-heads (Ophiocephalide) and the Climbing Perch (Anabantide). 
Hardy fish, generally accustomed to living in cooler water than the Nest- 
building Labyrinth Fishes—though at the breeding season the temperature 
should be raised to at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit and kept high for the 
first two or three months of the existence of the young fish. Parent fish 
both to be removed as soon as eggs appear—if they do appear—for it is 
difficult to get these fish to spawn. Care of young fish same as that 
indicated for the young of Nest-building Labyrinth Fish. 
B&8 GROUP 
TOOTH CARPS (Oviparous or Egg-laying Group)—These include 
the Haplochilus Group, the Fundulus Group or “Top-Minnows” native to 
our American streams, Cyprinodons, Lebias, Cynolebias and Rivulus. 
The Haplochilus mostly spawn at or near the surface on floating 
bushy plants. So do the Rivulus, and most varieties of the Fundulus. 
Lebias and Cynolebias bury their eggs separately in the bottom and they 
take seven to eight weeks to hatch, so not much success can be expected 
from these last two species. Others again spawn nearer to the bottom 
and like Haplochilus and Rivulus, eggs adhere to plants separately. 
