The oil of cloves was squirted in the carrying tank by the gentleman who delivered the Tilapia. They averaged a pound apiece and were very frisky. If he hadn't calmed them, he said, they could have damaged themselves in the net as he dipped them out. The stuff made them meek as kittens for about 5 minutes. Then they began to wake up and to school, swimming off into the pond in groups of 3 to 6 or so. They sure are pretty things, and if nilotica really do like filamentous algae, they will be very well fed.
I tried to look up oil of cloves but couldn't find anything useful about its mechanism of action. Apparently, it is used sometimes to euthanize aquarium fish. ("Why not euthanize them the same way I euthanize my bluegill? Or why not flush them and give them a fighting chance?" I wondered�but I'm just a country boy and sort of simple.) I also found an all-too-typical government document which strictly forbade using oil of cloves on fish which were ever to be eaten, even though the stuff is approved for direct human consumption. Ours is not to wonder why, only to pay and obey. Thanks, Uncle Sam!
As for tarantulas and king snakes, I know I ain't that good looking, because the first time would have been the last time, and she would be back in Atlanta if all that had happened to Herself.
Lou
