Page 132 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

passed.

He had made contact with seamen to secure rare fish for him when they went
inland for fresh water in the tropics. Today he maintains tanks on a number of
boats that reach the tropics, paying seamen to look after his interests.

When an opportunity came three months ago to buy a small hatchery
complete, Bill moved his outfit to a larger store which he remodeled and
called “Kay’s Aquarium.” His wife spends part of each day there and he
keeps open evenings and Sundays.

There’s a tropical atmosphere about Kay’s Aquarium. Innumerable tiny fish,
streaks of iridescence and brilliant color, dart about in small tanks. Aquatic
plants furnish both oxygen and decoration.

Caring for the fish is easy. The real work is in breeding, but therein lies its
fascination. It means time and patience and often disappointment, but Bill
Klaiber never tires of hybridizing and trying for perfect specimens. Some
species, such as the Scalare, are particularly difficult to handle. “These
fellows,” he explains, “won’t marry unless the bride pleases them and it takes
finesse and many females to induce them to become breeders.” The fact is
that Bill is one of the two or three fanciers in town who have succeeded in
making benedicts out of the Scalare. Another rare specimen deposits its
orange colored eggs in an even row on a long reed, and the male and female
“spell” one another guarding the eggs and foraging for food.

The Betta or Siamese fighting fish, in which he specializes, are kept singly in
mayonnaise jars because if placed together they would fight each other to the
death. In Siam, Bettas are used for gambling, and fortunes have been won or
lost on the outcome of staged battles. The little savage is correspondingly
tender in courtship, however, guarding the fertilized spawn against would-be
devourers, including its erstwhile mate.

Volumes might be written about the tiny tank dwellers. Bill’s initial stock of
thirty that cost him two dollars has increased to several hundreds. He receives
orders from Texas, the Middle West—even Canada, and his weekly profit
sometimes exceeds his salary. How does he get his trade? News, of course,