FACTS ABOUT FINNY FATHERS AND MOTHERS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 278, 18 November 1908, Page 4

FACTS ABOUT FINNY FATHERS AND MOTHERS

QUEER WAYS OK FISH FAMILIES. | Sceptics assert that honourable men-1 tinn. if ni>t lii'Mt prize, should be awarded to the story told by piscatorial experts to the elicit that there is "a certain kind of ii>h ?1 which hatches its eggs by sitting on them like a bird. The disbelief of these sceptics, however, is to be partly attributed to the erroneous notion, shared also by other people, that linny fathers and mothers are not only cold-blooded, but also so hard-hearted that as soon as the eggs of the female have been deposited they desert their oll'spring and leave their parental r:• aponsibilties to Dame Nature. As a matter of fact, this is quite a libel on some of the inhabitants of the water world. Take, for instance, the | common little .stickleback—the prey of I the small boy and the despi>ed of the man or the rod. whose skill is often surpassed by his imagination. He is jhe most exemplary of parents, and is M> fond of baby sticklebacks that he generally persuades several females to deposit their eggs ill the very ornate nest which he builds eurly in the mating season.

Jhit lie is a jealous, selfish creature, for no sooner have the females deposited their eggs than he, unceremoniously drives them away, and woe betide the luckless iish that ventures near the nest. The greater part of his time is uow taken up in arranging the eggs and in fanning them with his lius. When, after a month, the young hatch, he is busier than ever trying to prevent the fry from straying, and thus falling into the hungry maws of probably their own mother. Should one get out, it is either driven back or the old fish seizes the truant in his mouth and carries him back. The statement, however, that Jl stickleback has been observed towards evening gently swimming round and round the nest softly gurgling "Go to sleep, my little piccaninnies," may be set down as an exaggeration.

Both sea and river cattish are notable 'ror tin l parental care they exercise over their eggs and young. The mated pair usually excavate a rude sort of nest on sandy or gravelly ground in shallow water, and during the entile hatching season they are incessant in their ell'oi\» to prevent the smothering of the eggs, and to guard against intruders. The eggs are kept- constantly agitated and aerated by a gentle fanning motion of the lower lins, and foreign particels, either on the IxUtom of the nest oi' lloating near the eggs, are removed in the mouth or bv the iins.

When the lish begin to swim they cluster beside the old iisli like a .swarm of bees. 11l the case of some species of catlish Ihe young swim bi large sho.ih over the mouth of the parent tish, and. when danger threatens, the father or mother, as the ease may be, opens its month, nnd the fry find a safe retreat in the thorax. At least, ao say those who oughi to know.

S*line sea catfishcs are even more remarkable in their habits than the freshwater members of the family. In most species tile female lays extremely large eggs, some being the size of a small marble. As soon a> the eggs are fertilised by the male, lie takes ihem into his iiKMith, The interior of his mouth is capacious, and bv a peculiar arrangement the eggs a re confined to that cavity and cannot pass into the stomach. The number of eggs so carried varies between eight and fifty.

At time the male presents a \ecy comical appearance, as his pharynx is so dKtended that he cannot close his mouth. The length of time during which the eggs are retained within the month is unknown, but it must be conMderable. While carrying the eggs in this way the old lish does not feed, ami frequently becomes very much emaciated from his long fast. Another species of lish which carries the eggs of its young in its mouth for a considerable time are the cichlids. or New Testament lish. so called because they are said to have composed the miraculous draught of lishes recorded in the »ew Testament, and which are found to-day in the water* of tropical Africa and America. When breeding, the female depo>i(s about 2l>o eggs ill a lit He excavation which she works out among the rushes and roots. The male fecundates them, and a few minutes afterwards lie lakes the eggs, um . after another, into limouth and keeps them in the hm-cal cavity again-l. his cheeks, which .then jippeaj' swollen in an extraordinary manner. 'hie eggs, alt t hey are ii"t attached by any membrane or adhesive substance, remain securely in his mouth, and are never dropped while he is in Ihe water. In this novel incubator tie' eggs hatch out in a few days. The fry. | however, do not iplit their parent'mouth even then, but remain packed in there for some days, Kinally. the ynuug leave their babyhood home; but a* soon as danger threatens they all re-enter the ohl lish's mouth.