somewhat paler. The female, besides being 

 slightly distended with eggs, is colored more 

 darkly, the bands standing out strongly. 



''The best plant with which to surround the 

 fish is Vallisneria. The male digs a hole in 

 the sand about two inches in diameter. He 

 then picks out a female and drives her so 

 severely that she sometimes dies of exhaustion. 

 The female follows the male to the nest, and, 

 with a trembling motion, deposits a few eggs 

 which are immediately fertilized by the male. 

 This is repeated from six to ten times, the 

 total number of eggs being at least one hun- 

 dred, and frequently more. The female then 

 retreats to a corner of the aquarium, and the 

 male guards the nest, fanning the eggs with 

 his pectoral fins. Any fish approaching is 

 savagely attacked. 



"At twenty degrees centigrade, the eggs hatch 

 in a little less than three days, remaining in 

 the nest for two days. After this they scatter 

 and lie around on plants. At this stage, all 

 other fish should be removed from the 

 aquarium, as the breeders and others are 

 likely to eat the young. 



"All small Chaetodon needs plenty of infu- 

 soria. Under the usual aquarium conditions, a 

 large proportion of the young fish die at the 

 age of two weeks, but with a plentiful supply of 

 infusoria at first, and after a few weeks, small 

 daphnia and cyclops, it is possible to raise a 

 fair proportion. In five weeks, they are about 

 one centimeter long, and have developed their 

 black bands. In small aquaria, it is desirable 

 to use an aerating device to keep the young 

 in good condition." 



LIPPINCOTT CUP 



It is evident from the material gathered, 

 that there is no positive data pertaining to 

 the breeding habits of the Mesogonistius 

 Chaetodon in the United States. This being 

 the case, we as a society should furnish the 

 missing part of the record of this fish. To 

 further interest in this matter, Mr. H. R. 

 Lippincott, President of our Society, will pre- 

 34 



