280 Records of the Indian Museum. [VoL. XII, 
House ponds at Guindy and Madras, while a few were taken to the 
Nilgiris. In 1874 eight young fish are on record as having been 
caught in the ponds at Madras; about 1883 they must have been 
breeding in Madras as Gilbert ' mentions obtaining a supply of fry 
from Thomas for the Ana Sagar tank that year. Dr. Hender- 
son informs me that a few years ago they existed in two ponds 
close to the Madras Museum, from one of which he once took a 
four-pounder. One of these tanks has since been filled up and 
the other is at present low and said to contain no gourami. Mr. 
Wilson of the Madras Fisheries, in connection with his proposal to 
re-introduce this fish into Madras, examined the ponds at Guindy 
and Madras about April 1915”, with the result that he found only 
a few in the ponds at Madras and none at Guindy. 
In May, r9tt I obtained from the Red Hills tank, seven miles 
from the city, two full-grown specimens. The larger was a female 
measuring 48 cm. in length and contained numerous small eggs of 
a bright orange colour. I am certain that the fish were breeding 
in the tank at the time, as later on, in July, I obtained a young 
one about Io em. in length. 
The above facts prove that the introduction of the gourami 
into Madras is not a failure, and the fact that they have done very 
well and were numerous and of fair size till lately in the Govt. 
House ponds, combined with their character as a non-predaceous 
and herbivorous species, show that they are well fitted for the 
waters of India. 
Gourami inhabit ponds and rivers and in the latter some have 
been found within tidal influence in brackish water’; they how- 
ever prefer stationary waters and thrive best in the shallows of 
large weedy ponds and lakes. In Java, according to M. Dabry de 
Thiersant*, they thrive in ponds not more than three feet in depth ; 
survive with difficulty at 2800 ft. elevation and die promptly 
at any higher altitude. Its sensitiveness to cold is further shown 
by the fact that in spite of the numerous attempts to introduce 
it into France, the fish have never been successfully acclimatized 
in the Republic. 
The gourami though acento a vegetarian, being fond of 
several araceous plants ® and of water-lilies in India, is omnivorous 
and feeds at times on flesh, fish, insects, etc. Among themselves 
they are said to be pugnacious.*? They are able to respire air 
direct and possess an accessory super-branchial organ; but, ac- 
cording to Gilbert, this is done only when the water is foul.’ I 
doubt the accuracy of the latter statement. In a pond in the old 
Powder Factory grounds in Madras where some 200 gourami re- 
cently received from Mauritius and Java are kept under observa- 
! Fourn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., VIII, p. 436. 
2 G. O. No. 632, 10th March, 1915. Govt. Madras, Revenue Department. 
8 Jordan, Guide to the Study of Fishes, U1, p. 369. (Quotes from Gill.) 
+ La Pisciculture et la Péche en Chine, 1872. 5 Jordan, J. c. 
6 Cantor, Cat. Mal. Fish. “f¥ourn. As. Soc. Bengal, XVIII, p. 1071 (1849). 
7 Fourn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., VIII, p. 436. 
