Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-12-29
THE FISH SURGEON.
OPERATIONS WHICH NE PERFORNAe
UPON MS PATIENTS.

tOI, edvCS AMo1NA0cs cAAV1 sAs~ o961S0i
operations and superintends his pa
tents dtst and environment. These
are the principal operations which he
performs: Trimming the flsh's tail with
Ash shears when fungous erowths ell
large Il; stripping the fish to remove
the eggs Or miat that have not been
naturally deposited: excising with the
lance tuWOrs, iacerated scales and
splintzs Of bone.
Among the medicines that the fish
doctor GIVES are castor oil for swelling
Of the swimming bladder and INK vOm-
ica for debility and -emacation. This
specialist also presidcs over The food
a the nah, inspects their food troushS
Thoroughly and makes microscopic -eX-
aminat tone Of their water to see that it
contains the proper life giving elements
In their due proportions. Regarding
these matters which are as important
to healthy as to sick fish. the leading
iish doctSt Of Philadelphia recently
said:
"a food trough of enameled ware
that will not rust should he used for
fash AT the same time each day their
oatmeal should be put in this trough,
which should always be kept in the
same place, and as consequence Of
this treatment the fish will gather
around their trough at mealtime, which
they will instinctivcly recognize, as
greedily as hogs. burying their noses
in the food when it is set before them
and crowding and pushing one another
in healthy, ravenous and hoGHke
manner. The trough should be cleaned
once a day lest it get sour but the Wa
ter of the fish should rarely be changed
should only be changed gradually
quart day, say--for to change it all
at once has the effect of a terrible eX.
posure--is. indeed. the same as if you
should snatch child from its warm
bed and lay it naked out of doors in the
cold night wind and snow
1t is not the detention Of fish from
their native element that makes fish
surgery difficult, for they can he kept
out of the water for five, six and sew
en- minutes without the slightest harm
to them and there is no operation that
requires longer space of time. But
what makes it difficult is the disincli-
nation of the flesh to heal after it has
been cut. A wound to heal requires 10
be dry. Nothing is more deleterious 10
r nf nnicf11rp and hanrp
the troubles of fish wound bathed
and soaked in water all the time. In
evitably, therefore, fish operations are
simple and slight.
One of them is the trimming of tails
enlarged to unwieldiness by growths
with blades oddly curved-fish shears
are employed The fish is lifted from
the water and held head downward
while its tail is being trimmed. A dex.
ferrous operator gets through the work
in two or three minutes There is no
flow of blood and no gaping wound
that will not heal: hence tail trimming
is in nine cases out of ten successful.
1t must be resorted to often with Jap
anese goldfish, for these costly and
graceful creatures, with their resem
blance to strange golden flowers. have
tails bigger than their bodies and when
their tails, as frequently happens, be-
come affected with fungus, they are I'M
able to swim well, and sometimes, in
deed, they drown. A fish browns
technically when, floating with its head
out of the water, it dies from asphyxia-
ton.
The knife is used ON fish to remove
tumors or lacerated scales OF splintered
bones. wAch. unexcised, would cause
the fish's death. Lacerations of the
scales are only treated when they are
80 severe that the fish without treat
ment would surely die. This operation
is successful in about 10 per cent of the
cases. The remaining 80 per cent die
because their wounds do not heal
Stripping is an operation resorted to
when, in the breeding season, the fish,
through some malady or other, does
not deposit naturally its eggs Or it's
milt. The patient in this operation is
held with the left hand while with the
right firm pressure is exerted along
It's sides from the breast down to the
tail. Stripping is the least dangerous
of all the operations IN fish surgery.
Admirable results are obtained by
dosing fish with medicines. Castor OIL
FOR swelling Of the swimming bladder,
Is remedy that seldom fails. A fish's
dose of castor oil is one drop, diluted
slightly. The liquid may be admins
tered either with spoon or with a
quill toothpick. The process in each
ease is similar. The fish is held in an
erect position, its head we'll up and the |
lrippings from the toothpick or the
contents Of the spoon are directed into
is mouth. Sometimes they flow forth
again through the gills. and in this
went the dose must be repeated
A swollen swimming bladder is IL
frequent and dangerous ailment of
'aptive fish. Under it they become ex
remedy corpulent and unwieldy. At
ength they turn over and float Oh their
larE FINALLY thov ,1in RI1t in piup |