The evening times., 1899-11-25
TAKING CARE OF FISH.
Patience often Required to Keep
Them in Condition.

From the New York SUM
subject OF constant thought TO those
having the care of the aquarium stock
like the aquarium in New York, is as to
the manner in which the fishes and other
creatures are feeding. AS a general propo-
sition lsh with good appetite is in
better health than one that is shy of food.
Every effort is made TO keep up the fishes
appetites and to give them what they want
to eat. THIS often Involves personal at
tention to individual fishes, such as fishes
in good health but blind. Ailing. sensitive
or languid fishes are induced. If possible,
TO eat suitable food in sufficient quantity
to keep up their strength and bring them
into a state of health and contentment Ii
might not be that the men who had the
welfare of the fishes at heart would feel
toward them, as 10 their feeding. as a
mother does toward her children, but their
feeling would in some respects resemble it.
So far as the fishes are concerned there
are some a least that get about the same
care that children would. Take. for in
stance, at the aquarium that ugly crea-
ture. the green moray. commonly called
the sea serpent. The green moray is seven
feet long, plenty big enough TO keep itself.
which, however. it practically never does.
The big baby has had its food put into its
morh for il. since the day il came into
the aquarium, ROW more than four months
ago. But nobody objects TO feeding it in
that way; in fact, they are mighty glad TO
feed it so. if that's the way the serpent
wants to be fed. All they ask of the SER
pent is that it will eat in some way
The green moray is fed mostly on cod
fish and herring. this food being Gu, into
strips Of convenient size for it to take
into its mouth and 10 swallow. 4 PIE
of this fish is impaled loosely on the
pointed end of a slender wooden rod, which
is then thrust down under the surface. the
tip with the food upon it being moved
gently about in the water. II the serpent
is hungry il rears its head. and raises. like
a name, its longer dorsal fin, which extends
the length of its body and rises to the food
with its big. deep-jawed mouth open, and
into the open mouth the food is put. being
gently disengaged from the end of tie
stick upon which it was carried down 10 it,
The strip may be placed little on either
side, so that il will be less likely to spill
II out, and sometimes ii is placed fairly
within the mouth, resting lengthwise in
the cavity of the lower jaw. 1t is always
placed in the mouth in some way.
Then the serpent may swallow it and
eat in succession, two. three, half dozen
pieces; it may be that he doesn't eat any;
that he just holds that first piece in his
mouth, few or seconds of half minute.
and then lets it fall out. to drop on the
bottom Of the tank. While he eats more
on some days than on others, on some days
he eats nothing at all. Sometimes when
he won't eat at one hour he Will at an
other. On days when he hasn't been eat
ing WELL or perhaps has eaten nothing, the
last thing done at night, always. by the
man under whose special care the sea-
serpent falls, it is to go around and hand
him down the best piece of Goldfish in the
aquarium, ard to give him chance of get
ting a bite of something to eat if he wants
it.
The green moray just now is eating very
we'll. The size of the pieces fed 10 him has
been gradually increased until those now
fed are twice as big as the pieces fed origi-
nally. The serpent does not apparently
note the difference; but now. when he will
eat only one piece he is really taking in
that as much nutriment as he formerly
took in eating two pieces. This might
seem to some folks like playing it on ihe
sea serpent Just little bit, but 1t Is done
for the serpent'S good.