THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY, 1895. 



149 



bands of a dark, purplish hue. These 

 upper tones pass into rich golden tints, 

 which grow gradually paler till they 

 become nearly white underneath. The 

 ventral, anal and caudal fins are bright 

 orange, the others different shades of 

 brown, the dorsal ones being marked 

 with a few black spots. 



Specimens of the perch are occasion- 

 ally found nearly white in ponds im- 

 jDregnated with the particles from par- 

 ticular soils, and they retain this color 

 €ven when removed to other waters. A 

 white perch would form a splendid ad- 

 dition to the aquarium, but such a prize 



have dreamt of without some previous 

 knowledge concerning them. 



AN OLD FRIEND IN A NEW 

 ROLE. 



ANACHARIS CANADENSIS AS A DISIN- 

 FECTANT. 



It does one good to hear occasionally 

 a good word regarding an old friend. 

 Some twenty years ago we were in 

 certain localities of the Ohio Valley 

 attracted by the luxuriant growth of a 

 species of aquatic plant. The growth 

 as seen below the water surface, cover- 

 ing the bottom densely, made the bot- 



The Striped Top-Minnow of the Ohio Valley and a Spric; op 

 Anacharis Canadensis. (Natui-al Size.) 



is but rarely to be met with. It should 

 be observed here that fish jDlaced along 

 with the perch should be of nearly or 

 •quite his own size, as he is terribly pis- 

 •civorous. 



We think it desirable to know some- 

 thing of the character and antecedents 

 before introducing fish into an aqua- 

 rium, as the more we know respecting 

 their habits, qualities, history, etc., the 

 more we shall find them surrounded 

 with pleasing and instructive associa- 

 tions, and capable of inspiring many 

 kinds of interest which we should not 



tom appear like a submerged miniature 

 forest. Upon closer inspection we 

 found that this jolant was the much 

 despised " canal pest " {Anacharis 

 canadensis or Eloclea alstnastruni of 

 others). But little was known then 

 regarding its properties except that it 

 was a very troublesome water- weed, ob- 

 structing navigation and for that rea- 

 son the characteristic name of canal 

 pest was given it. In Europe, to which 

 country it had been brought by scien- 

 tists who use it to study the circulation 

 in the leaves under the microscope, it 



