THE AQUARIUM BULLETIN 



Daiiio Rerio 



By H. a. Van Cott. 

 (Illustration from wash drawing from life by author.) 



From far away southeastern Asia 

 the very attracti\'e little Danio Rerio 

 has been carried to us. This small 

 exotic lish is one of the most beautiful 

 we have in our aquariums to day. 

 Graceful and tireless swimmers, never 

 do we find them at rest, except for a 

 few short moments at a time, and then 

 they are flitting- away, back and forth, 

 up and down the tank, the light flash- 

 ing their colors and strong markings. 



In size, they rarely exceed one and 

 one-half inches; this diminutiveness 

 is however more than compensated by 

 their strongly marked, brilliant colors, 

 and ceaseless activity. A word 

 description, like the accompanying 

 illustration, falls far short of convey- 

 ing to the mind the beauty and 

 attractiveness of this little fish. 



The ground color is a pearly-white, 

 blending into a light yellowish-green 

 on the back. Brilliant metallic pea- 

 cock-blue horizontal bars run from the 

 gill-covers and extend on through the 

 anal and caudal fins. Between the 

 deep blue bars a tint of soft crimson 



is noted. The pectoral fins are trans- 

 parent and tjuite broad in proportion 

 to the fish and are one of the principle 

 means of its rapid motion through the 

 water. The dorsal fin is also trans- 

 parent with a faint bluish bar follow- 

 ing the outline, especially in old 

 specimens. The anal and caudal are 

 both transparent, but distinctly barred 

 with the horizontal bars of blue. The 

 ventral fins are clear and show no 

 markings. 



On the mandible, two short hair- 

 like barbules may be seen when closely 

 examined. The eye-pupil is jet black, 

 surrounded by a circle of faint, but 

 brilliant gold. 



This fish is found to be remarkably 

 hardy, withstanding a temperature of 

 4.') degrees Fahrenheit and apparently 

 contented in an unclean tank, but they 

 show much better color and are far 

 more active when in a thickly planted 

 balanced tank with old clear water 

 and maintained at a temperature of 

 not less than 70 degrees Fahrenheit. 



One of the most beautiful 



