Part 2

Breeding Habits and Temperament: like Pristella.

JEWEL FISH: HEMICHROMIS BIMACULATUS (Africa)

Color: Body bright scarlet blending to rich olive on back. Emerald dots (jewels) in irregular lines cover body and vertical fins. Frequently difficult to obtain mated pair.

Breeding Habits: Egg layers—eggs are deposited on smooth stone or flower pot, to which they adhere. During incubation (about 30 hours) one parent stands guard, constantly fanning to circulate water over eggs. Fry are unable to swim first three days so parents make hollow in sand where fry are placed and guarded. After fry can swim, they form school with parents in center. Remove parents when fry are about one-fourth grown or sooner. Parents must not be excited or they will eat spawn or fry.

Temperature: 70° to 90° F. Fry above 75° F. Breed best at 80° F.

Maturity: 10 to 14 months.

Temperament: Very savage—male frequently attacks carefully mated female.

* * * * * * * *

To spawn Cichlids (Jewel, Angel, Orange Chromide, Blue Acara and Mouthbreeder) purchase several young fish—bring them to maturity together. When ready for breeding a mated pair will be found associating together and separated from the others.

Avoid disturbing Cichlids, any disturbance or noise may cause them to devour their eggs or young.

ANGEL FISH: PTEROPHYLLUM SCALARE (Amazon River, S. A.)

Color: Bright silver, black bars, body very thin. Black bars disappear when disturbed or frightened. Difficult to distinguish sex.

Breeding Habits: Egg layers—very difficult to breed. Prefer sides of aquarium or Sagittaria Gigantea for depositing eggs. Eggs are fanned constantly by parents. Fry appear in about 8 days; guarded, and transferred from one plant to another or depression in sand, by parents. Fry swim in about a week and resemble thread like worms. Remove parents when fry begin to swim. Feed infusoria. Fry take shape of scalare in 3 to 5 weeks.

Temperature: 70° to 90° F. 85° for spawning.

Maturity: One to one and a half years. Growth depends upon quality and quantity of food and size of tank. Angel fish should have as much live food as possible, largest tank available.

Temperament: Peaceful. Easily frightened. Keep in large well planted aquarium otherwise they may dart against sides and kill themselves. Should be fed live food frequently. Large specimens are not recommended for community tank.

BLUE ACARA: AEQUIDENS LATIFRONS (Central America)

Color: Yellowish brown with several dark vertical bands. One of these bands widens in center of the body into a spot. Lines of shining blue dots cover the entire body. Dorsal, anal and caudal are wine red with rows of blue and blue-green spots. Both sexes similar, female slightly subdued in color.

Breeding Habits: Egg layers—Mate fish of approximately the same size. Provide a clean flower pot for the fish to deposit their spawn. The adhesive eggs are placed on the inside of the flower pot and are then fertilized by the male. Eggs are fanned by the parents and fry appear in 3 or 4 days. Parents prepare a depression in the sand and taking the newly hatched fry in their mouths deposit them into these holes where they are carefully guarded by the parents. Young live in a swarm in this “nest” for several days. Then they swim freely and must be fed infusoria. Parents may be removed soon after fry swim freely. The Blue Acara is hardy, prolific, easily spawned, and the fry are hardy and develop rapidly.

Temperature: 70° to 85° F.

Maturity: Breed in about 8 months.

Temperament: Not peaceful—except with very large fish.

MOUTH BREEDER: HAPLOCHROMIS STRIGIGENA (Egypt)

Color: Body light blue gray—fins yellowish—head very massive.

Breeding Habits: Egg layers—deposit spawn in depression in sand. After spawning is completed female picks up eggs and carries them in her mouth. Water is circulated over eggs by a chewing movement. Female refuses food during period she carries eggs. Male should be removed as soon as female picks up eggs as he may bother her. Fry appear in about two weeks, but at the slightest sign of danger rush back into the mother’s mouth. This continues until fry are too large for the maternal jaw. Female should be removed when fry are about 5 weeks old. Because of “fast” while carrying eggs, should be bred but 2 or 3 times a year.

Temperature: 70° to 85° F.

Maturity: 12 to 14 months.

Temperament: Rather vicious.

ORANGE CHROMIDE: (below) ETROPLUS MACULATUS (India)

Color: Golden orange, 3 blue-black dots on sides crossed by rows of small reddish dots. Dorsal brown, anal and pectorals dark. Sex difficult to distinguish.

Breeding Habits: Egg layers—Spawn on flower pot or stones placed in the aquarium. Fry hatch in about 4 days and are moved into pits in sand. Fry swim freely in about 6 days. Remove parents in about two weeks.

Temperature: 70° to 80° F.

Maturity: about 6 to 8 months.

Temperament: Usually peaceful in large well planted tank.

THREE-SPOT GOURAMI: TRICHOGASTER TRICHOPTERUS (India)

Color: Silvery olive with black spot in center of body, another at caudal base—the eye making the third spot.

Breeding Habits: Same as Dwarf Gourami.

Temperature: 70° to 85° F.

Maturity: 10 months.

Temperament: Not recommended for community tank.

BLUE GOURAMI: TRICHOGASTER SUMATRANUS

Form and size like three-spot gourami but color light blue.

DWARF GOURAMI: (below) COLISA LALIA (India)

Color: Body light blue crossed by orange-red stripes. Large fins colored same as body. Female—subdued in color and fins (dorsal and anal) slightly rounded.

Breeding Habits: Bubble nest builders—male blows nest of bubbles on surface of water among floating plants. Female frequently assists, weaving bits of plants into nest. Female is coaxed beneath nest where eggs are expelled and fertilized. Male catches eggs and blows them into bubble nest. Remove female. Eggs hatch in several days. Male guards nest, blowing fry back into nest until they are able to swim freely, to prevent their drowning. Remove male when fry are 4 days old.

Temperature: 70° to 90° F.

Maturity: 8 to 10 months.

Temperament: Exceedingly peaceful and friendly.

_Labyrinth fish prefer shallow water—spawning tank not to exceed 6″—tank for fry not to exceed 4″._

PARADISE: MACROPODUS OPERCULARIS (South China)

Color: Body dark with vertical bars of deep red against bluish green background. Fins similar in color, caudal deep red. Female—shorter fins, color very pale during mating.

Breeding Habits: Bubble nest builder. When pair have mated (frequently after the death of several undesirable females) the male builds a floating nest of bubbles. Male coaxes female under nest, winds himself about her, a gentle pressure expelling eggs. He then gathers eggs in his mouth and blows them into nest. Falling eggs and young fry are carefully blown back into nest by male. Remove female when spawning is over. Fry appear within 36 hours. Remove male in about 4 days.

Temperature: 50° to 90° F.

Maturity: About 12 months.

Temperament: Vicious, keep pair separated except when spawning. (see Bettas.)

Labyrinth Fish (Gourami, Paradise, Bettas) are air breathers, coming to the surface every few minutes for a bubble of air. For this reason they can stand crowding, providing water is kept clear. Fry do not develop this characteristic for several weeks so must be provided with a large shallow container with ample oxygen.

BETTAS: SIAMESE FIGHTING FISH (Siam)

Color: This attractive group (all hybrids of BETTA SPLENDENS) have many color variations, all exceptionally attractive. BETTA CAMBODIA: gold colored body—bright red fins. Those with most red in body known as BETTA RUBRA. BETTA CYANA—body and fins iridescent cornflower blue. Others often have various shades of blue, green, red and purple predominating. Females—subdued in color and lack long flowing fins.

Breeding Habits: Bubble nest builders—Male builds floating nest of bubbles 3 to 6 inches in diameter. Female is coaxed and forced under nest, male embraces her expelling eggs. Male catches eggs and blows them into bubble nest. Remove female. Fry hatch in 48 hours. Remove male in 10 days. Do not crowd fry.

Temperature: 65° to 90° F. 80° F. best for spawning.

Maturity: 8 to 10 months.

Temperament: Savage—two males will fight to a finish. Siamese wager on outcome of these battles. Not advisable to keep mated pairs together except when spawning. Separate pairs with glass placed diagonally across aquarium. When spawning, if male attacks female too viciously, replace glass.

(_One of these fish may be kept in Community Tank—they seem to attack only their own species._)

PANCHAX FROM MADRAS: PANCHAX PARVUS (India)

Color: Male, rich deep greenish olive, sides covered with rows of gleaming red and green spots, anal bright orange and red. Dorsal and caudal are of similar colors. Female—dull with light orange fins.

Breeding Habits: Egg layers, spawn readily in small tank, riccia being a favorite plant for this purpose.

Temperature: 72° to 80° F.

Temperament: peaceful.

RASBORA HETEROMORPHA: (below) (Sumatra)

Color: Silvery copper with large blue-black triangle from dorsal to caudal base. Dorsal and caudal red. Scales above black triangle wider on male.

Breeding Habits: Egg layers—Difficult to breed. Female swims upside down against leaf of Cryptocoryne, expelling eggs, most of which drop to bottom. Remove parents after spawning. Fry hatch in about 2 days and resemble zebra fry. Swim freely in about 5 days. Use 3 males and 2 females. Do not have aquarium in direct rays of sun.

Temperature: 72° to 85° F.

Maturity: Breed at 10 months.

Temperament: Peaceful.

CATFISH: CORYDORAS PALEATUS (South America)

Color: Shining olive green, towards the anal: yellowish to white. Body covered with dark spots changing according to the surroundings. Average size: 1 to 2 inches.

Breeding Habits: Egg layer. Distinguishing sex marks: male smaller than female, and has pointed ventral fins, which are in the female, rounded. Best breeding results are obtained in a large aquarium. Two to three males for one female. Temperature 75 to 80 degrees. 60 to 500 eggs are carried by female in her ventral fins to a clean spot which can be the glass of the aquarium, a plant or stone. Babies hatch after 6 to 9 days. The opinion of breeders is divided as to whether parents should be removed. Good results were obtained either way.

Temperament: Paleatus Catfish are the most peaceful fish and very essential for the maintenance of every balanced aquarium. They are regarded as the officers of the “Dept. of Sanitation” among successful aquarists. Paleatus is a ground fish, tirelessly picking up food remnants and left-overs which other fish do not eat. Through this activity, Paleatus helps to keep the food particles from contaminating the water. Catfish dart up to the surface to breathe atmospheric air.

WHITE CLOUD MOUNTAIN FISH: TANICHTHYS ALBONUBES (China)

Color: Form and color similar to Pearl Danio but with gold and blue line from eye to caudal fin, dorsal and caudal fins deep red, male has white tip above red caudal fins.

Breeding Habits: Average temperature 80 degrees. Eggs not adhesive. One female to two males, eggs hatch after two to three days. Remove parents after spawning. Tiny fry must be supplied with infusoria or better still, Brine Shrimp (see p. 27).

Temperament: Peaceful and hearty, “called poorman’s Neon Tetra” since the bright colored babies closely resemble Neon Tetras.

WHITE PARADISE: ALBINO PARADISE

Color: Generally white and the red bars show faintly. Like most albinos their eyes are pink.

Breeding Habits: Just like their original form, the Red Paradise. The albino color breeds true. (See page 23.)

BLACK TETRA: GYMNOCORYMBUS TERNETZI (Paraguay)

Color: Same size like Tetra from Rio but black in color.

Breeding Habits and Temperament also like Tetra from Rio. (see page 16.)

BLUE MOLLY: MOLLIENISIA SPHENOPS

Color: Sphenops are found in various color schemes varying from jet black to pure light blue, very often blue body with scattered black spots. The caudal of male adorned with bright orange border.

Breeding Habits: Heartier and more easily bred than ordinary Black Mollies.

LIBERTY MOLLY: VAR. SPHENOPS

Color: Body color of male and female light blue, but males dorsal shows “red, white and blue”.

Breeding Habits: (see page 11.)

GOLD FISH:

History: The Gold Fish, the oldest and most popular of our numerous Aquarium Fish, was developed by the Chinese during the Sung Dynasty (960-1278) from the wild Carassius Auratus to the various varieties now familiar to us.

In the year 1750 Madame de Pompadour imported the first Goldfish into France as showpieces for the ornamental waterpools in her vast gardens. In 1856, P. T. Barnum was sent by The American Museum to search for oddities in Europe and to study the then popular fad of keeping live fish in aquariums. Thus our now familiar Goldfish made its debut in America. With its golden beauty and its sturdiness, the Goldfish quickly became the Parlor Pet of our parents and grandparents. Today the sales of American-bred Goldfish run into the millions.

It would be beyond the limits of this booklet to explain and fully describe all the various forms and color variations of our goldfish, as there are Comets, Fantails, Shubunkins, Black Moors, etc. Most Goldfish do not reach their full life span of 4 to 6 years and often more, because they are fed too much and are given too little “Living Space.” Feed your fish only once a day during the morning and make sure that all food is consumed within 10 to 15 minutes. Any surplus food will fall to the bottom and will contaminate the water. The surest sign of overfeeding is cloudy and milky looking water. This bad water is poor in oxygen and the fish will hang on the surface and frantically gasp for atmospheric air. Any nationally known brand of Goldfish food will be suitable for your fish, but once more: DO NOT OVERFEED. The proper size of the aquarium should be comparable to the amount of fish or vice versa. The happy medium is about 1 small fish per gallon of water. An aquarium of five gallons capacity can, therefore, hold no more than 4 to 5 small Goldfish, but fish of larger size must have much larger space. The most suitable temperature is between 60 and 70 degrees, Fahrenheit.

Breeding Hints: During the breeding season which falls during the first seven months of the year, the male will show small warts of pin point size on his gill plates. The female is shorter than the male but fuller in body, more so, when carrying spawn. A mature fish is about 3-10 inches long, depending on type and a pair must therefore have a breeding aquarium of at least 10 gallons. The fish will spawn on myriophyllum, long rooted water hyacinths, or other soft bunchy plants and the eggs will hatch in about 4-7 days. Since the parent fish like to eat their own spawn, it is therefore advisable to remove either the parents or the plants with their adhering eggs. The newly hatched babies are fed with infusoria and later on with fish food of a fine grain.

Diseases: Fin Congestion and Fungus are the most frequent Goldfish diseases. Their best cure is the salt treatment which is described on page 33.

TURTLES

Baby turtles are very easily kept as pets and require little care. While in captivity, Turtles will forget their time schedule and will not hibernate. Any round or oval bowl, an aquarium or a flat pan with a rim sufficiently high to prevent the turtle from crawling out, is an adequate home. In this container, place white or colored pebbles, and in the center a flat stone. Fill the container with clean water of room temperature (60 to 80 degrees, fahrenheit) but see to it that the stone is not covered by the water for it will serve as an “Island” and thus give the turtle a chance to leave the wet element when desired. The best place for the bowl is in a light place, but special care should be taken to see that the bowl is not exposed too long to the direct sun. Ant Eggs, commonly packed as “Turtle Food” will mainly be their diet but lean raw beef, which is finely scraped, will be an appreciated change. The same applies for green lettuce, rainworms, etc. A variation in food and sunshine will prevent blindness, but should a turtle get a white film over its eyes, a few drops of Cod liver Oil forced by a medicine dropper in its mouth, might help. Boric acid swabbed over the eyes will also be beneficial. Turtles will not feed “on land” therefore all food should be placed in the water. Water should be changed two to three times weekly.

HEALTH

It is much easier to keep fish healthy than to cure them.

Disturb your fish as little as possible.

Fish in good health are active and keep dorsal fin erect. (Folded fins for a short period do not mean a sick fish.)

Most fish ills develop from chills. Keep fish above lowest safe temperature. Young fry especially should be kept warm.

Avoid extremes of temperature. Avoid sudden changes of temperature. Provide some type of aquarium heater for cold months.

Do not crowd fish—be sure plants are thriving and there is ample oxygen in water.

Fish constantly at top indicate foul water and lack of oxygen. Remove part of water and replace with fresh of same temperature.

Dying plants cause much trouble—be sure plants are healthy and growing.

It is much easier to keep fish healthy in a large tank (above 5 gallons). A large tank maintains a more uniform temperature, allows more air surface, plants thrive better, and water is not fouled so easily by excess food.

An aquarium can be maintained in healthy condition, both plants and fish thriving, under artificial lighting furnished by an ordinary light bulb.

Vary the diet for the fish. Feed only as much as they will eat in ten minutes. Feed sparingly and several times a day if necessary. Use glass feeding ring. (Fig. 4). All uneaten food drops to one spot where it can be easily removed with a dip tube.

Health and growth of fry depend upon oxygen supply. Use tank with large air surface. BE SURE AND DO NOT CROWD YOUNG FRY. Crowding stunts growth and frequently causes disease, and loss of whole brood. Fry demand approximately same amount of water as adults—see page 31.

FOOD

Do Not Overfeed—Never give fish more food than they can clean up in ten minutes.

Vary the Diet—Have several kinds of food on hand at all times. Dried Shrimp, Dried Daphnae, scrapings from raw beef, bits of canned salmon, bits of boiled spinach, finely crumbed graham cracker, bits of yolk of boiled egg, and most of the prepared foods are excellent but should be supplemented with some form of live food. Once a week they should be fed chopped earth worms or Enchytrae (White worms). Feed live bearer’s fry small quantity of fine foods several times a day. Feed egg layer’s fry Brine Shrimp twice a day the first couple weeks and then feed same as live bearer’s fry.

Several Feedings a Day—Feeding a very small quantity of food several times a day (what the fish will clean up in several minutes) is probably more desirable than one feeding providing great care is taken not to feed too much at one time.

Tropicals Will Not Overeat—Unlike goldfish, tropicals will eat only as much as they need but great care must be exercised in order to allow no uneaten food in the aquarium to foul the water and cause disease.

Tubifex worms are found in fresh water streams and rivers, close to shore in soft loamy bottom. They are an excellent live food provided they are fed to the fish with care. Keep in cool place in container having large air surface with just enough water to cover them. Since they bury themselves in the gravel, it is best to feed them to the fish with a worm feeder. The best type of feeder has a quantity of small holes through which the worms wriggle into the mouths of the fish eagerly waiting below. For baby fish it is best to cut the worms into small pieces.

Enchytrae (White Worms) multiply rapidly in a wooden box (about 10″ square) filled with about 5″ of rich loamy soil. Portion of worms is placed in soil and whole mass kept fairly moist. Feed slice of bread soaked in sweet or sour milk every 3 or 4 days. Be sure all food is covered with at least 1″ of soil. Before feeding be sure all old food is consumed. They may be fed cooked oatmeal or mashed potatoes WITHOUT SALT. Stir soil once a week to aerate it and prevent souring. Cover soil with piece of glass to keep moisture in. Keep in cool dark place.

BRINE SHRIMP—To raise Egglaying Fish, the use of Brine Shrimp (fig. 5) replaces the old fashioned Infusoria method more and more. Brine Shrimp Eggs are available in any good pet shop and are easily hatched. Directions for hatching Brine Shrimp Eggs are found on package.

DISEASE

Tropical Fish are naturally healthy. If kept in a healthy aquarium, fed properly and kept warm little or no trouble will be experienced. In short—IT IS EASIER TO KEEP FISH HEALTHY THAN TO CURE THEM.

Practically all diseases are due to one of the following: UNHEALTHY TANK—water too acid or alkaline—lack of oxygen—decomposition of food—plants not thriving. IMPROPER FEEDING—Overfeeding, lack of live food, lack of variation in diet. CHILL—the cause of most fish ills. Fish is weakened and subject to diseases, many incurable.

Ichthyopthirius (Ich): A parasite that attacks the fish. Recognized by tiny white spot on fins. Fish have fins folded and scratch themselves on sand. Contagious. Treat whole tank (plants and snails need not be removed). Raise temperature to 80° F. Add about two drops 2% Mercurochrome to each gallon of water. If fish are not cured in 3 or 4 days repeat treatment.