Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1897-08-28
AQUARIUM STRUGGLES.

Fishes For Time Evade Pursuit.
When live killies are put in an
aquarium tank as food for larger
fishes, they dart off through the wa
ter trying to escape. Most Of them,
however, are soon captured and
eaten; sometimes all. But some.
times few escape for a time, and
these use e~esy means to avoid cap
ture. tits common thing for the
killie to remain at the surface.
There are fishes that do not like to
take their food there, where they
must gulp in air with it. If the Kill
lie can get actually out Of reach Of
the larger fish, it does that-out into
the shallow water on a shelving
stone OF under stones, where the
larger fish cannot follow it.
In such tanks as those ut the New
York aquarium the killie may hug
the smooth l'orcelained side Of the
tank. 1t is difficult for the larger
fish to take anything from smooth
surface; where it cannot overlap the
object, and fish is also very shy
about bringing its nose into contact
with the wall. Apparently the Kill.
lie knows these things, for it hugs
the wall. And if one lying by the
wall is taken away from it and put
out in the center Of the tank 1t
straightway returns to the wall
again.
The killie gets into a corner, where
it is yet more difficult to reach it,
and if there is jog or recess in the
corner it gets into that, where to
reach it is more difficult still. Some
times killie jumps up on the
strainer. The opening into tho over
flow pipe from the tanks is guarded
by a movable globe shaped strainer
Of galvanized wire, which is in effect
a little,round knob projecting from
the back of the tank. Perhaps a
third or half of the strainer Is be-
low the surface of the water.
Sometimes killie jumps out of
water upon the strainer and lies
there curved over it, head down on
one side and tail on the other. At
its highest part the killie is out of
water distance about equal to its
own length. 1t is like man jump
ing up ON stOop to escape some
thing dashing along the street.
The strainer is the most difficult
place to reach and the safest place
for the killie when it gets there, but
it couldn't stay there always, for
sooner OF later it would die if it re-
manned wholly out of water. But
wherever the killie may get 1t is
pretty certain finally to be captured
and eaten. The killie that hugs the
wall OF gets into the corners Is pur-
sued even there. The trout, for ex-
ample, will come up to killie that
it cannot take into its mouth and
nose the killie out, and the instant
the killie takes to the open water 1t
Is lost. There it is no match at all
for the vastly superior larger fish.
Sometimes a blackfish will swoop
up and take killie from the edge
of a stone step upon which it is lying
in an aquarium pool, in water so
shallow that it is stranded. In ma
ture killie pursued by some larger
fish, a blackhsh, for instance, might
find shelter under some little arch
In a rock, the opening of which was
not big enough for the blackfish to
get its head into. Then as likely az
not the blacktish would settle down
in front of the arch and wave it's
pectoral fins back and forth, appar-
emily trying to set up current to
drive the killie out.-New York Sun.