# 



THE 



AQUARIUM 



69 



examples of what Oriental and Ameri- 

 can fanciers have been able to do with 

 this so plastic form of life. Repeatedly 

 the gorgeous beauties were likened to 

 flowers that had the power to move 

 about at will. To others they suggested 

 the court ladies of the "ancient regime." 

 A few, indeed, saw in them nothing but 

 stupid, slimy fish. Especial mention 

 should be made of the blue calico veil- 

 tails, the shadowy, mysterious black- 

 amoors, the mottled shubunkins, the 

 Chinese lionheads and the celestial tele- 

 scopes, shown here in public for the first 

 time. As the exhibition was planned 

 along educational lines rather than as a 

 competition, only a few examples of 

 each variety were shown; yet enough 

 were there to reveal what a range of 

 beauty, both of form and color, is to 

 be found among the individuals of any 

 particular variety. 



The next division was given over to 

 native fishes, chiefly from Milwaukee 

 county. Without burdening this article 

 with a lot of long Latin and Greek 

 names, let me simply say that such fish 

 as the shiners, dace, darters, mud-min- 

 nows, sunfish, killies, and silversides 

 were shown, so that people might learn 

 what species are suitable for the aquar- 

 ium and easily obtained in this vicinity. 



The third division was given over to 

 tropical and sub-tropical fishes. Many 

 species were shown, from the waters of 

 every continent, their names all many 

 times longer than the fishes they desig- 

 nated. Most popular were the Danios, 

 of four kinds; the little bloodfins (Tetro- 

 genopterus rubropictus) ; the little "Gop- 

 pies," the Mexican sword-tails, the red 

 variety of the Platypoccilia. Young and 

 old Gambusia, Hemichromis, Polyacan- 

 thus, Macropodus, Heterandia, and Gi- 

 rardinus were shown. Four species of 



Haplochilus delighted the lovers of game 

 fish by their resemblance to the pickerel 

 and muskellunge tribe. 



But by far the most interesting thing 

 in the third section was a tank contain- 

 ing a pair of Hemichromis bimaculatus 

 with their brood of unnumbered young, 

 just a week old. This was doubly fas- 

 cinating because of the excellent first- 

 hand account of this fish from the pen 

 of our Editor, appearing in the October 

 Aquarium. 



Section four comprised the household 

 aquaria. Balanced tanks of all sizes, 

 from preserve jars up to fifty gallon 

 tanks, were shown. How some of these 

 larger ones were transported without 

 injury is a mystery to me, but it was 

 done, and to the delight of every be- 

 holder. 



Section five was given to various 

 forms of plant life of interest and value 

 to aquarists. And in Section six a num- 

 ber of odd and even grotesque forms of 

 aquatic life were shown. Snails, "snail- 

 farms," Japanese lizards, a young ter- 

 rapin and a mud-puppy whose external 

 gills furnished an inspiring talking point 

 for both lecturers and spectators were 

 there displayed. 



An information bureau, a register for 

 the names of interested visitors, a desk 

 and blanks for those who desired to 

 subscribe for The Aquarium, a collec- 

 tion of implements, heating devices, 

 fish-foods, and even part of the materia 

 medica, used by those who doctor their 

 pets, completed the exhibition. 



Just a word about the general arrange- 

 ment. Through the kindness of Gimbel 

 Brothers, a large table, over fifty feet 

 long, and covered with green burlap, 

 had been placed at our disposal. Here 

 the sixty or more tanks were arranged 

 {Coiithiued 0)1 Page yo) 



