110 FISH ACCLIMATISATION IN QUEENSLAND, ETC. 



Lates colonorum is commonly known as " the Australian perch.' 

 It is, I believe, confined to Australia, ranging from the 

 Gippsland Lakes, in the south, to the Pine River, in the north, 

 and probably beyond. It is equally prized by the angler and 

 the epicure. It does not attain so large a size as most of the 

 before-named fishes ; one of seven pounds would be considered 

 large. This fine fish is not known in the Brisbane. Its 

 non-existence is probably owing to the enormous number of 

 shags that are permitted to infest our river. 



There are other fresh water fishes of considerable merit in 

 Queensland waters that deserve, and will repay, the trouble and 

 cost of removal to other habitats, but seeing that heretofore not 

 the least effort has been made or expense incurred in the 

 matter, I fear that those I have named will be regarded as 

 " a very big order." I must not, however, omit to mention one 

 exotic fish, the acclimatisation of which in Queensland should 

 receive our immediate and earnest attention — the Gourami, 

 (Jsphromenxis olfa.c. This very valuable fish may be compared to 

 a trout, as a domestic fowl to a quail, or a turkey to a partridge. 

 It is not caught in lagoons, lakes, or rivers, any more than you 

 would shoot Dorking fowls on hill-sides or plains. It is a fish 

 that is kept in a domestic state ; a pond in your yard or garden 

 is sufficient. But, being kept in confinement, the Gourami 

 must be fed. It is omniverous ; any waste food from your 

 table or garden is acceptable to the Gourami, and you will 

 have in return for your care a fish of rare excellence. It 

 grows quickly and to a large size '; a Gourami of ten or 

 twelve pounds is regarded as being in its prime. Your fish may 

 be swimming about in its pond at noon, and by the aid of a 

 hand-net and your cook you may have it on your table at 1 

 o'clock. Its flesh is of a pale straw colour — firm, flaky, and 

 very delicious. The Gourami was taken to Mauritius a century 

 and a-lialf ago, where it was successfully acclimatised, and is 

 universally regarded as a fish of the higbest excellence. There 

 is, probably, no animal in the world that it would be so 

 advantageous to introduce into Queensland as the Gourami. 

 Why it has not long since been acclimatized is a puzzle that I 

 have failed to solve. 



