The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1901-10-04
WORK OF THE FISH DOCTOR.
Official Who Has Charge of the Pan.
American Exposition
AQUARIUM.

The fish doctor at the Pan-American
exhibition is a decidedly important
parsonage. He takes care of his
charges in health as well as in sick
ness, feeds them with his own hand,
tests the temperature of their water,
oversees the cleaning of their tanks,
and keeps as watchful an eye on them
as trained nurse does on fever pa
tent. Charts on the rough wall of the
gallery above and behind the aquarium
record the temperature of the air and
water for every day, and also list OF
casualties.
A writer in a daily paper accompan-
led the doctor in one of his rounds,
starting at the salt water side of the
gallery with huge pan of chopped
beef, liver, CLANS and strips of raw
fish.
Taking handful of chopped clam,
the doctor scattered it carefully over
the surface of the first tank, ''to keep
the fish from punching up" Imme-
diatey there were precipitated in the
green pool enough pugnacious and live
ly sticklebacks to form round every
bit of clam as many rays as are worn
by a double daisy.
The real lively scene of the aquarium
greenroom was the feeding of live
minnows to the trout. A bucketful of
slender minnows was brought, and a
handful dipped up and slapped into the
tank. The trout gave instant chase,
ieaping and flashing, and fairly inter-
lacing themselves in their mad rush.
The contest was not as unfair as it
seemed, for a minnow cannot be
caught haphazard and swallowed off
hand. If seized by the tail he will erect
his dorsal fin and effectually block the
trout's throat. He must be pursued
until he can be caught fairly by the
head, when he will slip smoothly to
his death with barely a struggle.
This made the chase lively one,
but three minutes after the appear
ance of the minnows the last one had
been captured, and only fine rain of
silver sparkles settling slowly to the
bottom remained to tell of their fate.
The feeding over, the hospital tank
was visited. This is rather big name
for a simple wooden trough, with pos
sibly a dozen invalid fish in it. An at
tendant produced a sort of stretcher,
which he laid across the top of the
tank, the sagging cloth making shall
low bag half full of water. Then with
a dip-net he fished up big white fish,
badly affected with fungus, and hand
ed it over to the doctor, who Laid it in
the stretcher.
Holding it firmly by the head, he
bathed the unfortunate patient thor
oughly with strong brine. To judge
by the contortions of the fish, the salt
must have caused some smarting.
The process over, the physician slipped
the exhausted fish back into the tank,
where it promptly turned wrong side
up and sank to the bottom.
"He's very weak, that fellow" said
the doctor, gravely shaking his head.
Only three of the patients had to be
treated with salt water that day, the
rest being on the high road to recov-
cry. The hospital held at that time
but one incurable case, a rainbow
trout afflicted with cancer. Unless a
surgical operation should save him
he was beyond hope. The doctor sell
dom resorts to the knife. For or
binary cases salt is sufficient, but in
severe ones alcohol, or even weak So
luton of carbolic acid, is necessary.