etc., raw, finely scraped meat, finely cut 

 up worms, or rich artificial food. 



Another mouthbreeder, called Tilapia 

 natalensis, from South Africa, has lately 

 made its appearance in our market, but 

 is not quite so beautiful as the first 

 mentioned kind, and breeds in exactly 

 the same way. However, it does not 

 need quite so high a water temperature, 

 and can therefore be bred successfully 

 without artificial heat. 



w. 



The Dogfish. 



A. POYSEH, Ilamnioiid Iiidhina, 



THE rambler by river, lake or 

 swamp, be he on fishing bent, 

 may find the sole survivor of a primitive 

 family of fishes — Aniia calva — a 

 species of much interest. Like others 



caudal ocellus (shown in cut) distinguish- 

 es the male, though it is present in the 

 female, but very indistinct. 



With the coming of spring, the male 

 builds the nest, unassisted by the female, 

 making a bed of soft rootlets, sand or 

 gravel for reception of the eggs. This 

 operation, as well as spawning, is said 

 to take place at night. The fry emerge 

 in eight to ten days, remaining in the 

 nest about nine days, attaching them- 

 selves to rootlets by the adhesive organ 

 on the snout, or lying in the bottom 

 of the nest. The male guards the nest 

 and remains with the young until they 

 have attained a length of about four 

 inches. 



The dogfish is exceedingly voracious 

 and in the aquarium should be segregat- 



DOGFISH, Amia calva L. 



of frequent occurrence, it bears numer- 

 ous names in different parts of its range. 

 Here we find it as the dogfish, elsewhere 

 as the bowfin, grindle, mudfish, mud- 

 jack, etc. 



Amia calva is one of the few lung- 

 fishes found in the United States. It 

 comes to the surface to breathe, as can 

 be noted, even when it is young. This 

 species is remarkable for the presence 

 of the cellular air-bladder and other 

 ancient characters. It is not particularly 

 attractive either in shape or color, but 

 has other characteristics, good and bad, 

 that make it of interest. In color, 

 greenish-brown above, lighter on the 

 sides, merging into cream on the belly. 

 A mingling of the colors gives the fish 

 a mottled appearance. The dorsal fin 

 is marked by two dark olive bands. A 



ed, or kept with fishes much larger. It 

 is not particular as to environment and 

 will flourish under any conditions. It 

 attains a length of two feet. Only very 

 young specimens are desirable. 



The accompanying illustration is re- 

 produced by permission from The Fishes 

 of Illinois by Forbes and Richardson, to 

 which the writer is indebted for the 

 notes on the breeding habits. 



It is a remarkable fact that no salmon 

 inhabit any of the rivers that fall into 

 the Indian Ocean. This widely distrib- 

 uted order of fish is, however, found in 

 all the rivers of Central Asia that flow 

 north and west. The nature of the 

 tropical ocean into which the rivers 

 flow, is no doubt the proximate cause of 

 the absence of Salmonidae in the south. 



