The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-08-25
THE TRAITS OF FISHES
WHO WATCH THEM SAY THEY
HAVE MANY MOODS AND wHIMs.
Survival of the Fittest i'm Everyday
Operation-Trout That Love
Not Angieworms.
New York Evening Post.

New York Evening Post. 4.
Fishes. at least so say the men who live
among them and care for them. have
pretty nearly as much individuality as hu-
man beings. The ichthyologist and the
angler will agree that some species Of fish
differ as widely in habits, actions. likes
and dislikes as do dogs, cats, and canary
birds. Washington ]. Denyse and Leonard
b. Spencer, who are employed at the New
York aquarium, the one having charge
of the saltwater and the other of the
fresb-water fishes. have had a long oppor-
tunity of studying aquatic and marine life,
and this has given them unusual insight
into the ways, the idiosyncrasies. and even
the feelings of their charges, and they say
that they can clearly discern all these. In
the practical work of the aquarium they
have accomplished a good many things
never lone anywhere else. For instance.
the moon fshes-that amuse visitors so
much by the contrast between their wide
expanse of opalescent scales on their sides
and their extraordinarily narrow view of
life from the f~ront-have been made to
live and thrive in their tank for four years.
far longer than any of their kind were
ever kept in captivity before. and in that
time the larger one has grown from three
to ten inches in length.
Generally speaking. a game fish is an
intelligent fish, while n bottom feeder is
apt to be stupid. The reason, of course. is
to be found In the habits of the two kinds
and the relative difficulty they have in OBJ
tanning food. Specifically. trout and their
allies are thought TO show most intelli-
gence among the fresh-water species, while
the gfay snapper, nicknamed the law
| YER is held by sailors to be the c~raftiest
of saltwater fish, though II cannot be said
that In captivity he manifests any eXtraor-
binary astuteness. Catfish, and the carp
which spend their days taking mouthfulS
of pebbles and splitting them out again for
the sake Of the Indian meal that gets
mixed among them, would stand near the
| other end of the scale. In the matter OF
food. fish display surprising discrimination
as the angler knows to his cost. Mr..
Spencer once sent a man away up into
the Bronx TO dig for hellgrammites, which
black bass are supposed to prize above all
other morsels. These particular bass.
however. looked at the grubs disdainfully.
and condescended to eat them only be-
cause no other food was provided. Sim
ilarly. trout in the aquarium have refused
angleworms. No explanation has been Of
brought from localities where the food
supply was of an unusual character.
TO KEEP FISH HAPPY.
II is a common impression that a good
sized tank and plenty of fresh water and
food are the only three requisites TO keep
any fish healthy and happy. Visitors to
the aquarium frequently ask why IL is that
such and such species are not represented
in the collection. There are really a good
number Of species practically impossible
TO keep alive in captivity; the herring and
its allies. including the shad, are among
these. Bluefish are sometimes kept for a
few months when young. but not longer.
Mackerel are great travellers by nature.
and they fairly fret themselves to death
in the confined space of a tank. Most
varieties, after hutting their noses ineffec-
inevitable, concluding, apparently, tina
there is a harder kind of water in that di-
rection. and that they are debarred for
ever from mingling with the crowd OF big
clumsy fishes with the white faces and the
black hats beyond
Fighting is another factor in the NOR
tallty OF the aquarium. The general rule
is that all the other fishes go out of their
way to pick on" the smallest one in the
tank. When he is dead, they hunt the
rext smallest. 1t is literally the survival
OF the tttest. Sometimes one particular
ish viii have a generally ugly disposition
and night everything in sight. A twelve
inch rainbow trout once attacked a trout
and the two had 10 be parted by force.
OFTEN a large fish conceives a violent an
tipathy for a smaller fish, and almost nags
IL TO death. The remedy is TO remove both
from the tank into one of the large con
crete pools, where the little fish will have
more room TO elude its pursuers. The
lady fish, q marine variety, must be ar
Irish lady of the tenements, for il is sc
Combative that two individuals cannot be
kept in the same tank.