Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-04-15
Some Profitable Hobbies
III. RAISING GOLD FISH.
BY Frederic J. Haskin


| a marvellous collection Of fringe tails,
breads and telescopes of dainty pro-
portions and flower like tints.
Then he died and his fish pond was
! forgotten. A short time ago some one
stumbled upon it. 1t contained nearly
a thousand fish of the common carp
| type. Some Of them retained the bril-.
liant golden color. while others had
lost even that. Many of them had one
telescope eye, and the other normal.
There were not five good gold fish
specimens in the lot. 1t was an I'M
pressive illustration of the tendency Of
nature to breed back to the normal,
the average, as soon as the guiding and
selective hand of man is removed
This growth in the popularity of the
gold fish has naturally provided great
many persons with profitable occupa-
ton. Women have been very success
full at the work and United States Fish
Commissioner Hugh Smith, regards it
as an excellent hobby for them If you
60 in for gold fish, it pays to buy the
very best stock you can afford for
their lifetime seems almost unlimited
There are gold fish in various parts OF
the world that are known to have lived
more than hundred years. Further
more, the value of high grade fish in
| creases with his size, while cheap"
fish never improves.
The selective breeding of fine gold
fish, however, requires considerable
knowledge and great deal of pa
tlence. On the other hand, the raising
OF one variety for home aquariums is
comparatively simple, and there is a
growing demand for fish for that pur
pose. fish may seem an unresponsiye
pet, but he is very ornamental and ex.
tremely safe, as he carries no diseases.
Furthermore, the gold fish is by no
! means unintelligent. Hugo Mullert, the
! scientist, trained one to ring a bell for
its meals. He suspended little silver
gong operated by cord, over the
water At. first bit Of food was at
tached to the cord, but the fish soon
learned to ring it when ever he was
hungry. This was so often that the
bell had to be taken away from him
except at meal times.
Fish in aquariums have frequently
become so tame that they will swim
into the hollow of the hand quite read
lily and allow themselves to be lifted
out Of the water for a moment.
The gold fish seems at glance to
be about the most useless creature on
earth, and for long time he was bred
solely for his ornamental value. Re-
Gently, however. a very practical use
has been found for gold fish in the
destruction of the mosquito. For the
gold fish rapidly destroys the larvae
which the mosquitoes deposit in foun-
fresh water. This fact has given rise
| to great demand for gold fish on the
part of municipalities, corporations and
individuals and the United States fish
commission will distribute many gold
fish fry this year.
The gold fish used for exterminat-
ing mosquitoes is not an imported var
iety, but is native to many ponds and
rivers in the United States It will
stand lower temperature than the
fancy varieties and requires little care
Gold fish may be Matched either in
doors in an aquarium or in outdoor
ponds, but direct sunlight will hasten
the process. The young are silver
gray, and gradually become gold,
sometimes in few days, and some
times not for a year. Some of them
remain silver fish all their lives, while
others turn pearly white. A gold fish
Is mature in a year, but it may go on
growing as long as it lives. 4.
Despite it's long life and it's fecundity
the gold fish is primarily domestic
animal which seldom survives without
| the protection and care of man. It's
brilliant color is anything but protec-
| tive and it is subject to a number OF
diseases. It's real home is in the
| Orient and especially in China and
Japan, where it is protected by royal
favor and has been bred in captivity
for centuries. There is one gold fish
farm in Japan which has been breed
} ing fish for sale since 1857