ence of sexual excitement, and then, possibly, 

 only with the older and larger individuals, 

 I was once told of a case where one had 

 torn the eye out of a goldfish, a story which 

 at the time I disbelieved, but later having 

 witnessed a savage attack by one under sim- 

 ilar stress, I was compelled to reverse my 

 opinion. Pugnacity in the breeding season 

 is, however, an universal characteristic. 



The natural food of this species is probably 

 almost wholly the worm-like larvae of dip- 

 terous insects, as these are more abundant 

 than any other low forms of life in masses 

 of plants in stagnant water. Of course, there 

 are some young of other forms, such as beetles 

 and dragon flies, and crustaceans, such as 

 gammariis and asselus, and possibly some cope- 

 pods, such as Cyclops and daphnia, though 

 these latter are scarce where fishes abound. 

 In the aqarium they will eat most living 

 things that they can swallow easily. They 

 are very suspicious and will approach an ob- 

 ject and examine it carefully before attempt- 

 ing to eat it, even when very hungry. Small 

 water beetles they will not touch. They eat 

 mosquito larvae with avidity, but do not care 

 much for the pupae. Being timid, nossibly 

 the grotesque mask frightens them. Most, and 

 perhaps all of the other sunfishes will gorge 

 themselves with food until there is a very 

 perceptible distension of the abdomen, but, 

 whether taken from nature or in the aqua- 

 rium, except the females when gravid, they 

 never look as though they were well fed. Dead 

 food, such as minced oyster, mussel or earth 

 worm, or any of the prepared foods of animal 

 nature, they will come by degrees to eat 

 sparingly, but on such foods they will never 

 breed. They will simply eat enough to pre- 

 serve life for a time. 



It is well known to all fish breeders that an 

 abundance of acceptable food is the funda- 

 mental requirement in bringing about the 

 spawning of fishes; not simply the quantity 

 necessary to keep them alive and in health, 

 but also that necessary in addition to stimu- 

 late the generative instinct and processes, 



5^ 



