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The breeding tank should be set up in the
ordinary way with plants, etc. ; the snails
should be removed-they will eat the eggs-
and at one end of the tank place a large
clump of myriophyllum or a similar plant.
When the female is chased through the dense
vegetation the friction on her sides assists
matters. Eventually she will lay the eggs
among the plants and the male, hovering near,
will eject the milt that is to fertilize the eggs.
As the milt falls haphazard in the water, in a
large tank there is the possibility of it missing
many of the eggs. The ideal size for a breeding
aquarium is two feet long by a foot high and
a foot deep.
The process of laying and fertilizing the
eggs may last from dawn until late afternoon,
never during the night, and about 2,000 eggs
may be laid. The eggs are pale yellow in
colour and are slightly sticky. They adhere
to the plants as soon as they are ejected. If
the fishes show a tendency to eat them as
they are deposited, the pieces of plant to which
they are sticking should be removed to another
tank.
Now this is where the snag in breeding and
raising fish comes in-presumably, by good
fortune, 2,000 eggs are laid and by a further
stroke of luck all hatch out successfully. Each
of these 2,000 fry will require a gallon of water
to develop in ; at about a month old they
will need two gallons for each fish. In other
words, tanks with a total capacity of 4,000
gallons will be required. A tank four feet
long by a foot wide and the same high will
hold roughly 22 gallons ; consequently, to
raise this vast family, nearly two hundred
such tanks will be necessary.
The only satisfactory method of dealing with
the problem is to have concrete tanks in units
of about eight feet in length, two feet wide and
a foot deep, built in suitable sheds, for rearing
the fry. Moreover, if the offspring are born
in May, by the end of July they must be
transferred to open-air ponds to harden and
develop. Ponds suitable for this purpose
should hold at least 3,000 gallons.
It will be seen, then, that to raise fishes on a
large scale a certain amount of capital is
necessary, besides a great deal of patience,
system and the necessary knowledge.
Breeding fancy and other expensive fishes
is a different matter, a family of a hundred
can be raised without much expense and if the
offspring turn out well a fair profit will be
shown.
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