I would like to point out two very important items relative to the enclosed fish. 1. The water temperature for this type of operation must be constant around 50 to 55 degrees F year around. If these fish are held in an area where the water temperature is ideal during the summer but starts dropping in the fall of the year, such as is common in streams, the spawning results will be very negative. The fish that are starting to spawn will not continue to do so properly. Holding their eggs abnormally long will cause the eggs to water harden in the fish which will result in a total loss of eggs. 2. The diet of the fish is very important in maintaining a hatchery brood fish operation. In my opinion, the fish should be fed fish food that is specifically prepared for a spawning operation by a company that has a satisfactory record of producing this fish food. My experience relative to the standard fish food (pellet type) used in a brood fish operation can result in high egg mortality, soft shelled eggs and an abnormally high mortality rate in the brood fish. The training of personnel in the actual egg stripping process is very important in both wild and hatchery brood fish operations. It is my feeling that all strippers must develop their own sense of touch to be able to determine when a fish is ripe. Remember, forcing eggs from a female before she is ripe is very bad news.