BREEDING HABITS OF THE PARADISE FISH — W'AITE. 6 



therefoi'e, that the pui-port of the nest and care of the parent is 

 simply protective. The mass of spume hides the eggs or young 

 from aerial or teri-estrial enemies, while the attendance and 

 vigilance of the male secures them from attack of aquatic foes. 



In Betta, whose habits are, apparently, more highly specialised, 

 the nest must have a more important function, seeing that 

 without it, and the care of the male, the eggs would naturally 

 sink and doubtless perish. 



I had not hitherto numbered Utricularia among my aquatic 

 plants, but having procured a spray, I placed it in a vessel in my 

 study at the museum : this contained a pair of Paradise Fish and 

 fry a few days old. Paying me a visit next day, my colleague, 

 Mr. T. Whitelegge, warned me of the jiossible fate of the young, 

 having in mind the well-known carnivorous habit of the Bladder- 

 wort. 



An inspection of the vessel showed that the number of young 

 had very seriously diminished, and the missing ones were found 

 in the bladders of the plant. Some were seized by the head, and 

 some by the tail, as originally described by Mr. Simms in the 

 case of roach fry. 



In the hope of seeing a fish actually caught, my assistant, Mr. 

 A. R. McCulloch, watched the plant, and had scarcely seated 

 himself at the aquarium before he called me. I saw one of the 

 fry caught by the extreme tip of the tail. It had been swimming 

 close to one of the bladders, and possibly touched the mouth, 

 when instantly it was trapped. At intervals its struggles were 

 frantic, and the bladder was shaken by the vibi'ations. At the 

 end of seven minutes the tail was entirely engulfed, and con- 

 tinued to wriggle within the bladder, while the head and body 

 were shaken without. 



The little fish lived for an hour and a half, but it was not 

 until the following morning that the whole was taken into the 

 bladder. 



Articles dealing with the carnivorous habit of Utrindaria are 

 very numerous. The following refer especially to its piscivorous 

 practice : — 



Moseley (Sinims) — Nature, xxx., 1884, p. 81. 



Simms — Loc. cit., p. 295, figs. 1-3. 



Halperine — Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm., v., 1885, p. 353, pis. i., ii. 



The housing of the fry has provided an interesting example of 

 the principle detailed by Semper*" as to the influence of the 

 volume of water on the growth of an individual. 



'' Semper — Animal Life, 1881, p. 159, et seq. 



