ANGEL FISH

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 June 1938, Page 5

ANGEL FISH

UNUSUAL BREEDING HABITS An event of special interest at the Zoo Acquarium in London is the successful rearing of a large number of Amazon Angel Fish. These beautiful silver and black fish are diamond shape with sail-like dorsal and ventral fins. The duties of guarding the eggs and the young devolve upon both parents. The eggs are deposited on the upper surfaces of acquatic leaves and on plant stems which have been previousyl cleaneji by the fish. The eggs—about one hundred and fifty in number —are kept in place by a sticky mucous secretion and any falling off are immediately caught up in the .parents’ mouths and replaced. Occasionally both mother and father rush to rescue the same egg, when a headon collision occurs.

The eggs take about a week to hatch and during that period both parents aerate them by a violent fanning motion of the enormous fins. For the first few days after hatching the fry are anchored head on to the plants by the same secretion which kept the eggs in place. Aftei- a few days they are cleaned by the parents who take them into their mouths, suck off the mucous and finally eject them. The difficulty of the fry freeing themselves was established by removing them from parental care. On being hatched it was found that the cement persisted and made their detachment from the plants difficult. On first emerging from the egg the fry might well be .mistaken for the young of most freshwater fish, and not until they are a month old do they acquire the distinctive “Angel” characteristics.