NO. I (1920) ADMINISTRATION REPORT, I918-IO 23 



Complete success has attended our efforts to breed from them at 

 Sunkesula and the Powder Factory ponds, but at Ippur, where 

 much larger areas of water are at our disposal, breeding has not 

 taken place. From the information I gained during my visit to 

 Java last year, I am inclined to suspect that the Gourami is not 

 likely to succeed in tanks of large area ; it seems a fish that thrives 

 best in quite small ponds where there is much vegetable growth 

 and shelter : it offers analogies to the domesticated animals and 

 will, I fear, not be a success in India except in ponds of moderate 

 extent. It is essentially a species that requires personal attention 

 to secure its well-being ; hence the high hopes which attended its 

 introduction into Madras are, I fear, likely to be disappointed. 

 But I may be mistaken in this deduction, and so far the evidence 

 either way is not sufficient. We shall therefore go on with the 

 experiments till we make sure of the facts; at Ippur where the 

 Gourami have not yet bred, though they have been there for over 

 two years, I am arranging for the ponds to be reduced in size and 

 for an increase of water plants therein. 



43. Etroplus suratensis is the other fish on which our hopes 

 largely centre. It is indigenous to the waters of the Presidency, 

 but has a comparatively limited distribution in backwaters and 

 certain tanks near the coast line. It is found, for instance, in the 

 Adyar, Fort St. George moat, and the large Kalavoy -tank at 

 Chingleput. The two former are often highly saline, whereas the 

 latter is purely fresh water. Yet Etroplus lives and breeds equally 

 well in all these: this peculiarity is of the highest value obviously 

 in piscicultural work, particularly as this fish has a good flavour 

 and attains a fair size in a comparatively short time. It breeds 

 freely and as it attaches its eggs by preference to the underside 

 of stones where these are raised free from the pond bottom, it is 

 easy to construct suitable nesting places for the breeders. By this 

 device Etroplus has been induced to breed prolifically at Sunkesula 

 and at Ippur and in the Powder Factory ponds. 



44. One of the common Indian mullets, Mugil troscheli, found 

 abundantly in the tidal waters of our creeks and rivers, has also 

 been introduced in the fingerling and fry stages in fairly large 

 numbers to a number of fresh-water tanks with a view to increase 

 the food value of these waters. The species in question readily 

 adapts itself to changes in the salinity of its habitat and appears 

 to acclimatize readily in perfectly fresh water. Whether it will 



