148 



THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY, 1895. 



them, and placed in another aquarinm, 

 well stocked with plants. About half 

 an hour after introduction into their 

 new home they begin to build a new 

 nest. But now not so much pains are 

 taken in constructing it; perhaps that 

 in higher temj^erature, it being spring- 

 now, the eggs need less protection. 



THE YELLOW OR RING-PERCH. 



{Perca Flavescens.) 



The perch, if not of too large size, 



in which case he would be dangerous to 



his neighbors, is exceedingly well suited 



to the aquarium, both on account of 



damp moss, and if not sold, taken back 

 and put into the pond again. The- 

 perch frequently attains four pounds in 

 weight, or even more. Donovan, in 

 his " History of British Fishes," says- 

 they have been taken from Bala Lake 

 weighing five pounds ; and it is stated 

 by Yarrell, that a gentleman residing 

 near Dudley took one six pounds in 

 weight from the Birmingham canal. 

 Colonel Montague records the capture 

 of a perch of still greater size, stating 

 that one was taken in the Avon, in 

 Wiltshire, with a night-line, baited for 

 a pike, which weighed eight pounds, 

 dimensions which Pennan's famous 



Yellow Perch. 



his robust constitution, and his suscep- 

 tibility of being tamed, to say nothing 

 of his handsome appearance. Perch 

 have been known to breed in small 

 vases, and there is little doubt that 

 they might, with only ordinary care, 

 bring up a numerous family in a well- 

 managed aquarium. They are so hardy 

 that they live for many hours out of 

 water, and revive when put in again 

 Avithout appearing to have sustained 

 much injury. In Catholic countries, 

 where fresh fish are much more prized 

 than with us, fine perch are often 

 brought to market and exposed for 

 some hours on open stalls, upon a little 



specimen considerably exceeded, the 

 one he records as taken in the Serpen- 

 tine weighing nine pounds. This must 

 have been a magnificent fish, but it is 

 stated by Block that a head of a perch 

 in the church at Luehlah, in Lapland, 

 measuring nearly twelve inches from 

 the nose to the gill cover. This, how- 

 ever, must doubtless be the head of 

 some allied species, and not our com- 

 mon perch ; probably the last of some 

 now extinct species. 



The coloring of a healthy and well 

 marked perch is very striking. The 

 back and upper parts are of a rich 

 olive-brown, variegated by several broad 



