

CHAPTER NINETEEN 



DESCRIPTIVE KEY 



to the BREEDING and Other Habits 

 of Nearly All Fishes Mentioned in this Volume 



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AMBASSID^E— AMBASSIDS (No. 1) 

 Ambassis ranga makes a nest and guards its young. The little ones 

 swim around in a school. The fish is carnivorous. It is found in fresh 

 and brackish waters in India. 



ANABANTID.S^-GOURAMIES AND CLIMBING PERCHES 



(No. 2) 



The Labyrinth fishes are found in tropical Asia and Africa. All 

 have a chamber above the gills in which they store atmospheric air for 

 breathing. 



Anabas is said to breed similarly to Channa of the Ophicephalidae. 

 The African Ctenopoma has rarely, if ever, been bred in captivity. The 

 Asiatic Gouramies all breed similarly. The male makes a floating nest 

 of tiny mucous-covered air bubbles, preferably under the leaf of a floating 

 plant. At spawning he places the eggs in the nest and chases away the 

 female, who should be removed. He then assumes guard beneath his 

 dome-nest of froth, driving away intruders and picking up falling eggs 

 and young. The eggs require high temperature (80° to 90° F.) and 

 hatch in from 20 to 48 hours. The young are kept in the nest a day 

 or two by the male, until they are able to swim. Then he must be 

 removed to prevent cannibalism. No success can be had without a good 

 supply of Infusoria until the young are about a month old, as they are 

 too tiny to take the smallest daphnia. 



The young require a constant temperature of 80° or above. 



Labyrinth fishes are rather quarrelsome as a rule (except Dwarf 

 Gouramies) and must be kept with their own species, preferably in num- 

 bers to prevent individual duels-to-the-death. Betta, the Siamese Fight- 

 ing-fish, can be kept with other fishes as it fights only its own kind. 

 All the family are carnivorous, but will take prepared fishfoods con- 

 taining a good percentage of animal matter, which is true of most car- 

 nivorous fishes. 



CALLICHTHYID^— ARMORED CATFISHES (No. 3) 



The Cascaduras or Armored Catfishes are all South American. Very 

 little is known of the breeding. The species of Corydoras are especially 

 valuable in the aquarium as scavengers. They are very quaint. 



