The New York herald., 1922-10-13
TRAINS HIS GOLDFISH
TO Ring FOR MEALS
New Jersey Breeder Finds
Novel Way to Lighter
His LabOrS.
FLEAS AT So A PAIL
Raising Delicacy for Finny
Pets Another of His I'm
usual Industries.
EXHIBITION AT AQUARIUM
But Nothing This Year Equals
sold Glory Which Was
Red, White and Blue.
FLEAS AT So A PAIL
EXHIBITION AT AQUARIUM

The worlc is so full of liars that the
truth is almost futile, but, believe it
or not, there are some goldfish over in
New Jersey that have learned to ring
n bell whenever they're hungry. This
information was obtained at the New
York Aquarium yesterday and verified
by persons who have heard the bell
tinkling at feeding time over the
meads of our neighboring State.
The goldfish belong to Otto Gneid-
ing. breeder of broadtail telescopes,
lionheads. of standard type, fish shipped
anywhere from his hatchery at Ridge
field Park. 91-37 Depot avenue. phone
Hackensack 2297-W. visitors welcome.
Mr. Gneiding is the Goldfish King. He
raises $4,000 of them a year. He also
sells waterfieas to the trade.
Some time ago he got TO thinking that
the fish in his breeding pond could
tighten his labors somewhat II they
turned their undoubted intelligence to
account. So he bought little silver bell.
tied long string to it and swung the
string over hairpin. arranging it so
that when the dangling string was
twitched the bell would ring, after the
fashion of the tick-tack which raps
ghostly on the window on Halloween.
How the Fish Were Trained.
He affixed the device to the bank OF
his goldfish pond. For day he let the
fuk
he tied ball of dough to the string and
dropped it into the water. The fish
dashed at the ball and ate until they
were satisfied. For several days this
was repeated. Then the string was low
cred without the dough The fish
snapped at the string just the same.
They tugged at it. and up on the bank
the silver bell fairly danced.
At this signal the Goldfish King threw
in handful of water fleas the favorite
food of goldfish. "Ah. hal" said the
fish, pulling the string means food"
So whenever they had the least bit OF
appetite they yanked the string, but Mr..
Gneiding would not come across with the
water fleas until exactly noon. The fish
got the idea, and presently they left the
string alone until the sun was at its
meridian.
Nowadays a visitor at the hatchery
asks the Goldfish King. when do you
feed them?" when they tell me to"
says he. After a while the silver bell is
heard What time is it?' the Goldfish
King is asked. The visitor looks at his
watch, and If it is right 1t says pre-
cisely IL o'clock. The Goldfish King
laughs and tosses a ration of water fieas
into the pond. and the tinkling stops
until the next day at the same hour.
More accurate than factory sirens or
school bells is the silver bell of Ridge
field Park
Water FIeas at So a Pail.
AS for the water heas, (ddphnia
cEle1), Mr.. Gneiding has rare industry
there. Once a week, for instance, a
banker and goldfish fancier of West
chester county sends his chauffeur over
TO Ridgefeld Park for a pailful of the
feas at So a pail. They thrive on de-
cayed vegetation. At each corner of his
goldfish reserve Mr.. Gneiding has bar
rel of lettuce and other salad aftermath.
There the fleas propagate by the billion.
He varies the diet of the goldfish with
ground oatmeal and crumbled lady
fingers. When heas are scarce he ad
vises lady fingers.
Mr.. Gueiding has been breeding gold
fish thirty-five years. He is chairman
OF the Awenty-fifth annual goldfish ex-
hibition of the Aquarium Society, which
started yesterday at the Aquarium. Bat
tery Park. and will end Saturday with
the awarding OF prizes. There isn't a
common goldfish in the lot. All are
blooded stock. Dr. Byron T.. Eldred of
Great Neck is showing a tank full of
lionheads worth $3.50 apiece. They came
from Korea. They are holy fish. and
mandarin will pay $1,000 yen for a per
feet specimen. Export is forbidden. and
those that reach this country are SNUG
gled by sailors. Some of the Aquarium
exhibits have four dreamy looking tails
Some are celestials, with eyes perma
nently directed upward. The Chinese
brought that about by keeping ordinary
goldfish in tanks so shallow and so rar
away from the overhead light that the
fish. striving TO turn their noses toward
the light, were unable TO do so and had
20 be content with fitting their eyes.
Eventually a strain was developed with
the eyes on top OF the head. This one
learns at the Aquarium. Where are
the biologists who say that acquired
characteristics cannot be transmitted?
There are only half dozen orondas--
a cross between the Japanese Frenchtail
and the lionhead--in this country They
arc another prodigy OF the goldfish ex-
hibition. There are also Jet black gold
flsh--not speck Of gold. yet more
valuable than the others and certainly
worth their weight in goldfish. There Is
a red white and blue goldhsh--Miss
Columbia--worth $50 But Old Black
Joe. Mr.. Gneidlmys pride Of other years,
has passed into the society's neurology.
Imported from Germany, he was as dark
as moonless midnight. In 1917 when
America entered the war, his belly
turned red his tail white and the rest
OF him blue. Mr.. Gneiding changed his
name to Old Glory and won the grand
prize IN the show. But old Glory died
last year at the age OF 19-the oldest
goldfish ever known.