Golden Orfe, or Ide.
Hours of amusement
may be obtained by watching the evolutions
of a shoal of Orfe in a pond. They glide into
all manner of formations at great speed : in
the evening time they are more interesting
still as they leap right out of the water after
insects. With Orfe in the pond there is
always movement, even sluggish goldfish will
be infected with their joie de vivre. It is
advisable, when buying orfe, to purchase
small specimens at, say, nine shillings a dozen.
These will be about an inch and a half in
length and have a very insignificant look ;
they grow rapidly and, if well fed, at the end
of a year will be two inches or more longer,
and in three years will be the same size as
those that cost half a crown each. If their
movements are an asset to the pond their
colouring is certainly an asset to the aquarium.
The upper surface is pale gold and the under
side silvery, a faint rosy blush seems to suffuse
the scales. The shape is streamlined and
slender and, as the fish twists and turns in
the water, the silvery underside flashes in the
sunlight like quicksilver.
Silver Orfe.
This fish differs from the fore-
going, as the name would imply, in the
colouring. Where the golden variety is gold
the silver orfe is pale green, moreover there
is a larger silvery area. When either of the
orfes are fed at one particular part of the
aquarium or pool they will assemble there at
feeding time, and in time they will become
sufficiently tame to take pieces of food from
one's fingers.
The Minnow.
Although minnows have been
known to attain a length of seven inches,
three inches is more usual. Slender and very
' orfe-like ' in shape and habits, these ' tiddlers '
should have a place in every pond. Their
colouring is seen to best advantage in the
aquarium-the fins are semi-transparent, tinged
with yellow, the body blue-green and olive
with darker transverse bands. At breeding
time the colours of the male are intensified.
A school of about three dozen should not cost
more than five shillings.
Stone Loach
. The long barbels on the snout
of the loach betray its fondness for grubbing
around on the bottom for worms, etc. It is
by no means a handsome fish and does not
grow to more than a few inches in length ;
nevertheless, as a scavenger, it is useful.
The shape is eel-like and the pectoral fins
are large ; the colour is a mottled green.
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