Garden Ponds are a great way to enjoy your California backyard

Fish Foods, Natural And Artificial The packet foods referred to are excellent for the purpose, but many aquarists, especially those who keep fish for show purposes, prefer an all-natural diet for their proteges. To this end they will go to considerable trouble in providing a varied and live diet. Carnivorous fishes, too, such as the Sunfish and Perch, prefer meat and do not seem particularly happy on dried food.

A favourite food is earthworm, chopped, and washed in cold water. This has laxative qualities and should be given to fishes prior to spawning.

Enchytrae or White Worms, similar to gentles, are favoured by many aquarists. Some dealers sell a specially designed can in which the enchytrae will breed. The value of this creature as food depends entirely on the material on which it is fed ; porridge, boiled potato mashed with milk and similar concoctions being the most used.

Blood-worms, in reality the larvae of small midges, like gnats, and belonging to the family Chironomidae, are a splendid food. The best place to hunt for them is in an old pond into which leaves have fallen regularly. If the silt at the bottom is stirred and a fine net passed several times through the murky water, a good supply, free from detritus, may be gathered. Unfortunately, such a catch must be used up in one go, so to speak. If leaf mould is placed in a wooden box the blood worms will soon make themselves at home. The soil should be kept in the shade and be slightly moistened from time to time. If mud from the edge of a likely pond is placed in a box, with holes in the bottom to allow the water to drain off, the worms will come to the surface and then may be picked off with tweezers.

The small red worm found under stones in the shady part of the garden is another splendid food ; so are gentles and other maggots.

When live foods are unobtainable for the carnivorous fishes small pieces of raw meat may be given. Cooked horse's heart is very popular with a number of aquarists.

It may so happen that both the live food and the packet food supplies have run out and in this case the enthusiast must raid the pantry. I have fed fishes-and to their liking, let it be said-with pieces of digestive and other biscuits, bread crumbs, coarse oatmeal, broken rusks, grated cheese, various kinds of patent breakfast foods, skinned shrimps ; in short, almost everything I could obtain from the larder, except tinned salmon !