Evening star., 1932-05-31

! for the brief duration of its flash, swims
at the rate of 80 miles an hour.
Their speed is amazing to the watcher
who may not have had much expert
ence with fish in any form, and espe-
cially in the confines Of small pool.
It must be remembered that this rate
OF speed is attained only for very
short distance, and is rather a fash, as
We have called it, than anything else.
| The ability of the fish to handle
themselves in their native element is
nothing short Of marvellous. Darling
SO quickly that the eye can scarcely
follow them, they nevertheless never
bump their noses on the sides of the
pool.
An invisible flick Of their fins, and
their direction is changed instantly.
For regular tug of war, one must
iced worm whole, in which event the
segmented creature is seized upon by
two fish, at the exact moment it strikes
the surface of the water.
The quickest goldfish grabs one end
and the next fastest the other.
Sometimes another fish will make a
grab for the worm as the other two are
tugglng at it from opposite directions.
The newcomer generally seiZes it in the
middle, and attempts to pull it away
from the Others
The soft mouth parts Of the goldfish
seem unable to bite the worm in two,
except by a process of attrition, as it
were.
Often the fish will play foot ball with
the worm for several minutes, first one
getting hold Of one end, then another
AT last it is gone.
| The fish wait expectantly for another
Just how many they could consume,
| n ha 10
question which We are unable to an
| SWer.
Worms, OF course, do not by any
means form their entire normal diet.
Ihey are constantly poking their noses
al any bits OF leaves or Whatnot which
happen to fall on the water, and they
are doing this in the search for animal
1000. They belong to the carp family.
FIys. various water bugs" insects of
all kinds, fall ready prey to the greedy
goldfish If they happen to alight on
the surface OF the pool or fall into it,
Their fondness for invertebrates leads
them to make pigs Of themselves, if
aided and abetted, SO the pool custodian
perhaps had better not feed angleworms
at too lively rate.
1t is said that goldfish will eat them
selves to death in short order, If given
the opportunity. In captivity-Which
means indoor aquarium or outdoor
pool-they are fed ordinarily as much
! prepared "fShfood' as they can con-
sumo in 10 or Is minutes time.
| Even this small amount is not fed the
! fishes more than once every other day.
In between times the water gardener
| will be inclined, no matter how humane
he may be. to throw his charges few
/ flShin' worms now and then
They relish them exceedingly, far
more than they do the "fishfcod.'
/ For the gardener who wishes to utilize
this natural method for Kidding his gar
den of too many angleworms, large
pool Is the best, as he may stock this
run the danger of overfeeding them.
! Goldfish are not entirely carnivorous; /;
/ they will eat the roots Of certain plants
and other vegetable matter.
Old roots of the so-called water
hyacinth, which float unless the plant
drifts to a shallow area. afford the fish
both apartment space and food as well
They love to lurk beneath the roots
probably finding the water cooler there
/ in the heat of the day. when the SUM-
shine beats down to call the waterlily
shoots from their lowly bed up through
! the water into the air.
But if you wish to see some excite
ment, come tiptoeing across the garden
with an agleworm dangling in your
fingers
The reception committee will be there
waiting.