Uahitat. Chiefly in broad, shallow brooks and streams, the 

 adulcs in crevices under stones or debris, the larvae in submerged 

 banks of silt. 



Breeding Habits. The eggs are laid in communal beds by several 

 pairs. These basin-shaped depressions are formed above the riffles 

 by the lampreys' pulling stones away from the center of the site 

 and depositing them around the edge, especially downstream. The 

 spawning female attaches herself to a large stone by means of her 

 sucking mouth. The male attaches himself to her head in the same 

 manner. Their tails are curved downward into the sand and 

 vibrated as the sticky, white eggs are deposited. The eggs adhere 

 to particles of sand and gravel. 



Food. The adults do not feed. The larvae eat the algal incrus- 

 tations from stones and water plants, as well as the living ooze 

 from the pond or aquarium bottom. They feed chiefly at night. 



Adults seined from a stream in the fall will survive through the 

 winter unless they spawn. If spawning takes place lampreys die. 

 The larval lampreys often can be obtained by digging or raking 

 in sand or mud banks downstream from the spawning riffles. The 

 older lampreys can be found farther downstream. They require 

 well-aerated water and a well-established and balanced tank placed 

 where the sun will stimulate the growth of algae. 



The American Brook Lamprey {Entospheiins lainoffenii) , one of 

 the commoner species, never grows to be more than 150-250 mm. 

 long. Adults seined from a stream in the fall should survive during 

 the winter, but will not feed. Larvae can be obtained in some sites 

 from the mixed sand and mud of the stream bottom at any time 

 of the year. They require well-aerated water and a silt bottom con- 

 taining bacteria. At no stage is this species parasitic on other fishes. 



A well-established aquarium should be used for lamprevs. Pref- 

 erably, it should be in a well-lighted position so that it will have 

 incrustations of algae on the glass and stones. The larval animals 

 will emerge to feed upon these incrustations at night. 





