No. 5 (T921) MADRAS AQUARIUM 75 



TANK No. 6. 



The little Goat fish {Upciicus iiidiciis, Tarn. Kalnavarai) is one of 

 the most interesting fishes here. It is closely related to the Red 

 Mullet, so esteemed among Roman epicures, and like it, is excellent 

 eating. Under the chin are two stiff white prong-shaped processes 

 termed barbels; at rest these lie folded back in grooves, in use 

 they are erected and employed to rake the sand in search of food. 

 As the fish moves slowly over the bottom these barbels move 

 alternately like two stiff legs and give the impression of being 

 used for locomotion. In life the colouring, like that of the Red 

 Mullet, is red streaked with lines of clear yellow ; if the scales be 

 scraped off, the bright scarlet of the skin shows up more clearly ; 

 European fishermen regularly do this to enhance as they think, its 

 value. 



Larger and more striking in general appearance are the 

 Butterfly fishes belonging to the genera Holocanthiis and Chaetodoii. 

 They are by fAr the most gaudy of tropic fishes, their haunts coral 

 reefs and rocky banks abounding with bright coloured sea-fans. 

 The majority are quite small, but the lovely Emperor fish 

 iHolocanthns imperator, Tam. Kiillikoshimin), striped bright blue and 

 canary yellow, reaches the length of about one foot. On the 

 Tinnevelly coast the fishermen name this gorgeous beauty, the 

 Vannatthi or " Dhobi's wife," a sly hit that will readily be under- 

 stood. The varieties of these Butterfly fishes are as numerous and 

 diverse as are those of the butterflies of the land. Some have 

 blue sides marked with concentric oval white lines, others have 

 bright blue stripes on a brown body, or a brown body with j^ellow 

 shoulder spots and yellow fins, while many have broad dark 

 bands, oblique or vertical, crossing the white or yellowish sides. 



The Chactodons are thick skinned and their colours so striking 

 that they are favourites with the taxidermist; many museums in 

 the world show quite large series of atrociously coloured fishes of 

 this genus that deserve to be relegated to a special chamber for 

 museum oddities and caricatures. 



One foreign Chaetodon, C. capistratiis, the so-called " Four-eye," 

 remarkable for a great eye-spot on each side just in front of the 

 tail, has the curious habit of tending other fish for the same pur- 

 pose as the white paddy-birds pay such attention to the water- 

 buffalo. The fishes thus served appreciate the service and will 



