This can, of course, be done, but it is necessary to follow cert voles. First and foremost, the bowl should not be too small, nor should it contain more than' a cereal Tt is mot much us trying to do anything with a bowl less than 10 or "12. inches diameter. A bowl of this size should contain not more than three, or at the very most four fish three inches or less in length. The ros for this that the fish breathe by! racons of extra ing from the water dissolved in it: too large fish, or too little water simply "mean: that the oxygen supply is used up faster than fresh oxygen cun be dissolved in the water. If it is desired to keep larger fish, then larger bowls should be used, or fewer fish kept in each bowl, In order to help get oxygen into the water, good green water weeds should ba' placed in the bowl. Such Plants give off oxygen in the ssu Tight and this oxygen ix readily dissolved in the water. Plants ulto help to get rid of impurities in the water, such as carbonic acid gas, and salts excreted from the fish, other weed can be secur wwatereress may be used, and tht can usually be bought in the food market, It is possible if the exact amount of weed is introduced, the right! number of fish are present, and the bow! is placed in the right posi-ition to get the correct amount of sunlight, either direct or indirect, that a nice state of balance be arrived at and the whole little world inside the gi indefinitely. But 1 care and attention in getting thinge justed, "A Title cles sano and few pebbles should cover the bottom of the bowl.
The Water to Use The question of water is as important, if not fully as i portant, as that of space, and wh may be called ventilation, Tap water is not good and should nov be used. Rain water is better, but the best is river, creek, or clear pond water, filtered through a cloth to get rid of the mud and debris jearried in suspension. And, if the [foregoing rule has been complied with, this water should -not Lo changed unless disease, such us Ci fungus, attacks the fish, or the jthe next one to consider; Jthe matter is easy in China, for Chinese dealers in goldfish in the rative city always keep a stock of minute aquatic animals, such az waterfleas (Dapkuex) and Copepods (Cectops), which form excellent food for goldfish. The dealers also keep a stock of fresh green weed. A couple of copper cents a day will buy all that is necessary to keep 'a good sized bowl of goldfish well fel. Indeed, the fish should be fed arnly once every two or three days. czech living food. being given. There is no need for dried:2: te"
S£88:, while brand crumbs, or meat {should never the given. "A little bran dropped on the surface when the fish are hungry is all right, providing not more than they can comfortably get away with is given. Sach food as bread, ment, or bran, if allowed to lie in the water, turns sour and pollutes the water, finally Killing the fish, Snails Help great help in keeping a bowl of fish in a healthy state of balance is the introduction of a few.pond {snails (Limuea), not river" anaile {(Vivipata), 'The pond snails feed pon the green alga that tends to form on a film on the side of the 'Blass, and so keep it clean. Too much' sunlight will cause this green Hematococcua and Pro tococeus), which is in the form of minute blobs of green protoplasm, to increase too rapidly, and so turn the water green and' opaque, but this does not hurt the fish, It merely spoils the look of the aquarium, If it be noticed that fungus has attacked any of the fish, the viet should be got rid of at once, the bowl cleaned out, new weeds' and fresh water introduced, and the surviving uninfected fish given a ood swim in a Inrge receptacle of clean water before being returned to the bowl, If these directions are carefully and intelligently carried out, there should: be no trouble in keeping bowl of goldfish in a perfectly healthy state for an indefinite The Gold-fish's Ancestry 'The goldfish is the descendant of a species of carp called Carassius where original home ix Chiva, though it has been introduced into Europe, and even into (land. "This is the Chinese and it' may be distinguished from the bruc.or common, eaxp (Cyprinus feurpio) "by the absence of barbels at the corners of the mouth. It la leo deeper in the body, nor docs attain the large dimensions of the common carp, or Li Vu, as the Chinese call the latter, Our' species 'a wild state is usualy of an olive silvery colour; but there are times, ce perhaps one should say places, where it may be found in all the vivid colours of the domesticated variety, though it does not assume the extraordinary shapes that the Jatter, under intensive cultly does. "In the Pao-ting Fu lake chihli Province, the wister has seen large catches of wild fish of this species made, wherein were wore red, golden-red, ved and white and pure white spedment: and this may be accounted for by the exceptionally favourable _ciroumstances that pertain in the lakes under question, where the water is clear, weeds plentiful and food ebandant Our species is not the only fish that shows this tendency to boce: 8 golden colour under favourable conditions. The common carp also turns gold, or gold and white, or red-gold under favourable conditions; while the beautiful golden ff, of Europe, which rivals the goldfish in colour and beats form and gracefulness, is nothing ther toan a golden variety of the European ide (Leuciscus indus), one other member of the carp family.
The Paradise Fish The thing that specially recom: mends the goldfish is its capacity for living in a confined space in more or less stagnant water, Except for the little paradise fib (Polyacanthue—operentaris)—of hi it is the fish best keeping in smal, aquaria. The paradise fish, which is equally beautiful, and much more interesting because of spritely ways, pugneeity and. intelligence, seams to thrive. under Imost any condition of cramped quarters and neglect, for which: reasons it is even better adapted ite, captivity than the goldfish, When fully adult, this "fish gorgeously arrayed. The margins the Jong fins of the back ani underside and the whole of the long, wide tail fin are red. The rest of 1 the dorsal and anal fins are dark greenish or olive coloured, regularly spotted with light blue. "The body vertically- banded alternately red 4 und iridescent green. The most resoarkable thing sbout their colour
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.