162 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIl, 



takes place generally when strong sunshine follows continuous 

 heavy rains during a few days. Late spawners seem to breed only 

 once a year. 



During the breeding season the colour bands of the parents 

 become conspicuous, the anal as well as the ventral fins become 

 black, and black spots or blotches appear in groups on the ventral 

 side between the ventral and caudal fins at the lower ends of the 

 black stripes. The colour patches of the male are more strongly 

 marked and darker, when the young ones are taken about for feed- 

 ing. The greenish-blue iridescence and the pearly white spots 

 become more vivid, and the rayed portions of the dorsal and anal 

 fins turn a little red before spawning, which colour disappears 

 when the young reach the late larval stage. The female is gene- 

 rally smaller and assumes a muddy yellowish-brown colour before 

 spawning when the "ovipositor" develops ; the latter is sometimes 

 a little more than a quarter of an inch in length. 



This fish breeds in shallow, shady portions of backwaters 

 where there is an admixture of fine firm sand and mud at the 

 bottom. It prefers places where coconut husks are soaked. It is 

 also found to breed freely in all brackish-water ponds, ditches, 

 canals and even in paddy fields.'"" 



LlFE-HISTORY. 



The eggs. — The egg is oblong in shape, the length being twice 

 its breadth. It is attached at one end by means of a short stalk to 

 the object used as a nest. Newly laid eggs are yellowish in colour. 

 They become brownish as the embryo develops and the yolk sac 

 becomes pigmented. They are about 2*1 mm. in size. The 

 period of incubation lasts from 82 to 100 hours. The egg membrane 

 bursts first over the head of the larva which is at the free end and 

 the split continues along the upper side by the waving of the tail. 

 For a moment the newly hatched larva remains attached to the 

 egg membrane by means of its cement organs. The guardian fish 

 then picks it up and deposits it in the pit. 



Early larval stage. — The newly hatched larva is 5 mm. long ; 

 it has neither mouth, gills, nor paired fins. The eye is pigment- 



• On the east coast it also breeds naturally in purely fresh-water lakes at some 

 distance from the coast; the Red 1 1 Ills reservoir and Kolavoy tank at Chingleput are 

 instances. It is also now acclimatized by the efforts of the I J isheries Department in lakes 

 tar inland, such as at Kurnool, where it breeds freely — J. It. 



