Nest-building and Fighting Fish.

Otago Witness, Issue 2896, 15 September 1909, Page 76

Nest-building and Fighting Fish.

J Let us bo independent of foreigners i (writes Albert Gale in the Sydney Mail). ; But how can we? Rather let us, even in our pleasures and hobbies, accept all that the wonderful world offers. So in stocking oui aquarium That beautiful little native fish, the blue-eye (Pseudomugil signifer), after its t'iscovcry nearly 50 years igo in the waters around Sj-dney, remained as a foreignei till brought before the public by members of the Aquarium Society a^ the Chinese fig-hiin-g fish (Betta pugnax). It is a native of the Celestial ernpiio. A black- ! and-white illustration cannot convey to anyons who has not seen it the beautiful pris- j maiic colours of the male fish as he makes , love to his newly-found spouse ; or, better, | when decorated in his full armour of waar1 paint. His name (pugnax) implies his char- j j acter. He is a fighter, a cock-of-ihe-walk ! ! amongst his kind. In China, where the | male fish are kept separately, they are fre- \ quently matched against each other for the . purpose of battle, as game-cocks were in days gone by. With fins expanded .to their fullest extent, his little bead-like eyes nas>h- ' ing with the brilliancy of diamonds, then i* the time to see this little fish in all his glory. They breed readily in small aquaria, and they leve warmth. Even our Sydney waters are 100 severe for them. They must be kept never below 6Qdeg. In length they seldom exceed 2£in. The paradise fish (Macropododus venustus) is first cousin, to the Chmese fighting fish, and is as much en-

titled to the appellation of pugnax as the latter. Like the fighting fish, he is a nestbuilder. The nest is composed of "air bubbles," produced from the mouth of the. male. These bubbles are of a viscicT nature. The nest is always built on ,the surface of the water. The eggs take from 60 to 70 • hours to hatch. During the period of hatching, and before the absorption of the yolksac, after the young are ikatehed, the males sure all-solicitous for the welfare and protection of their charge. I have seen taem dart inches out of the water to attack an enemy. If you put a finger near the nest itis amusing to see with what force they wilt attack it. The three-spined stickleback is another nest-builder. Its nest ii composed 1 of vegetable fibres. The male does the whole of the work. The nest is built on the gravelly bottom, generally between two stones. The cave of the nest is about the size of a naifcrown. There is a small aperture on the top, wherein the eggs are deposited. The female hovers over the nest, and during the extrusion of the eggs the male is a veryclose attendant. At all times these fish, are very pugnacious. With their spines they fringe the fins and pick out the eyes of other fish. Although so beautiful they mast be kept to themselves. We have yet to see them in Australia. They would oe an interesting and an ornamental acquisition to any aquarium by reason of their beautiful colours and lively disposition. The Ettglish perch .seems to have- been created {or aquaria life They are very docile. In, their native ponds in England they became very, tame, and if regufecrdy fed will take >a worm from the fingers. They grow from 3lb •to 41b in weight, and are goefd table fish. Only- the smaller ones, are u&eftti lov.. aquaria ' purposes. - Being a deep-bodied fist* it shows to « great advantage when lurking among the weeds. The thunder fish is a loaoh, and in form is not to be distinguished from Japanese fish of that name. It is marked with longitudinal stripes running from gilloovers to the caudal fin. These stripes are alternately light and dark grey. The abdomen *s shell pixdc, thereby 3ontrasting very prettily with, its grey back and sides. It obtains the name of thunder fish, front the habit it lias of rushing over the surface of the water on the near approach of stormy weather. The spotted golden tench were introduced into England from the Continent. Originally they were ia colour a green bronze. They are very hardy fish, and endure confinement in small aquaria with philosophic meekness. Domestication has caused many deviations in colour, ranging from, a pale maize to almost the brigh - red of the golden carp. Some specimens are beautifully spotted. Their movements are sluggish. Izaac Walton, in his "Complete Angler " calls it the physician of fish, .and assures us that any maimed ftsh by rubbing against the tench will be speedily -healed. The Rudd-Leuciscus erythrophishaknus .'' commonly met with in English private aquaria. It is a native of 4toe La- Plata Valley, where its local name is- ohanchitos> meaning a young pig, from their habit o| nos»lins - each other when a> play. Tb». Germans have given -it 'the name of tihe chameleon fish, from the readiness with which it changes its ' colour under various degrees of temper. It leads a rather solitary life. ' ' - Pallas's Gourarai (Osphromenus trichopternus) is a native of the warmer parts of China and some of the islands of the Malayan Archipelago. Some members ef the family attain a weight of 20Fb. The. flesh is of excellent quality. The smallervariety, which is a native of the eastern rivers of Asia, is a magnificent aquaria fish, and seldom exceeds' 4 in in length. The body is deep and compressed; the- general colour is a greenish brown. Wben the fisb is basking in the sunlight tihe green shades have a metallic lustre. These markings, m conjunction with the several transverse dark vertical bars, give to the fish a very picturesque appearance. It is conspicuous amongst other aquaria fishes. It must be kept in a temperature that i« never below 60deg. Specimens of most of the fishes here described are to be seen in the Zoological Aquarium in Sydney. They are the pets of members of the Aquarium Society, and invariably attract a lot of attention from visitors Wiho understand their habits. .