1916.]  B.SUNDARA Ray: Freshwater Fish of Madras. 281 
tion, they are seen to come up at all hours and take air though 
the water is beautifully clear. 
The breeding season in Java is March! and in Madras about 
May. ‘‘ The fish is assiduous in the care of its young’’ and con- 
structs complex nests for the reception of its eggs. General Hard- 
wicke” has described the interesting breeding habits of this fish 
in Mauritius, while Gilbert gives an account of its breeding in 
an aquarium.’ The nest is of a nearly spherical form composed 
of plants, preferably tufts of a peculiar grass (Panicum jumentorum) 
which grows on the surface of the water, and considerably resem- 
bles a bird’s in form. It is usually attached to plants or weeds 
growing at the edge of the pond and the bottom selected is muddy 
while the depth varies.*. According to Gilbert, whose observations 
were on aquarium fish, the gourami assume a jet black colour and 
flashing red eyes during this season and become highly pugnacious. 
The female emits a stream of 15 to 20 eggs which (in the aquarium) 
adhered to the undersurface of a rock, and are aerated by the 
female frequently rising to the surface and bringing down a mouth- 
_ ful of air which she lets go against the underside of the rock. In 
its natural surroundings the eggs are attached to water plants.’ 
The eggs hatch in about a month.’ The fry on hatching are trans- 
parent and possess a yolk-sac. ‘‘ When I had had them about 
two months ’’ observes Gilbert ‘‘ they were perfectly formed and 
very handsome but alas they were only two inches long at the out- 
side.”’ 
The rate of growth appears to be rapid if conditions are 
favourable; ‘‘ the gourami is known to attain a length of about 4 
inches in the first year, 7 or 8 in the second and Io or I1 in the 
third’’;7 ‘‘ the young has black bands across the body and also a 
blackish spot at the base of the pectoral fin.”* In captivity they 
are fed on bran and oil cakes. 
Uses.—The gourami is well-known and highly prized as an 
article of food. It attains a large size (nearly 2 feet in length) and 
bears transport and acclimatization well. It is one of the few fish 
well adapted for pisciculture. 
Macropodus cupanus (C. and V.).° 
(Polyacanthus cupanus of the Fauna of Brit. India.) 
Tamil—Punnah, Panni (Day). 
Habitat and Habits.—A rare species in Madras occurring ina 
few small ponds in the city. 

! Dabry de Thiersant, La Pisciculture et la Péche en Chine, 1872. 
2 Zool. Fourn., 1V, p. 309. 
8 Fourn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., VIII, p. 436. 
+ jordan, Guide to the Study of Fishes, 11, pp. 166-167. 
6 Dabry de Thiersant, J. c. 
6 Hardwicke, Zool. Fourn., V1, p. 309. 7 Willey, Spol. Zeylan., VI, p. 120. 
3 Jordan, Guide to the Study of Fishes, Il, p. 368. 
® Tate Regan, Asiatic Fishes of the Family Anabantidae. Proc. Zool. Soc., 
1909, II, pp. 769 and 775. 
