THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY, 1804. 



85 



In spawning, the male rolls the fe- 

 male about among the stones in a most 

 pitiful manner, sometimes for days to- 

 gether ; this is an effort of the male to 

 assist in the extrusion of the eggs. 

 When spawned the eggs attach them- 

 selves to the stones and other substan- 

 tial objects rather than to water-plants, 

 probably because it is amongst the 

 stones that the extrusion takes place. 



When the young are first hatched, 

 they appear exactly like the common 

 goldfish. They rest upon the water- 

 l)lants or other supports for a couple of 



For this reason, which is the main 

 one, and because the fish is very diffi- 

 cult to propagate, it is exceedingly rare, 

 even in Japan. 



When mature, the telescope fish is 

 about the size of a man's fist. 



THE FRINGE -TAIL. 



The body of the fringe-tail is short, 

 egg-shaped and slightly compressed ; 

 the eyes normal, but very variable in 

 the color of the iris, which is that cur- 

 tain in the anterior portion of the eye 

 that, by its contraction and dilation,' 



The Telescope. 



days, at the end of which time the yolk- 

 bag is absorbed ; then commences the 

 struggle for existence. The double tail, 

 which is even then large enough to be 

 distinguished, hinders the tiny creatures 

 (but one-quarter of an inch in length) 

 in their movements in the water. 

 Should they find sufficient food to make 

 n bountiful meal, matters become still 

 worse; they lose their balance and can 

 not go at all until digestion is com- 

 pleted, in the meanwhile falling an easy 

 and welcome prey to numerous enemies. 



regulates the quantity of light that 

 enters the optic. In this fish the color 

 of the iris may be any color, excepting 

 green only, in different individuals. 



The fins are large and of very fine 

 structure ; the anal fin is double, while 

 the caudal may be either double, treble 

 or quadruple, as the case may be, and is 

 larger than the body, drooping very 

 gracefully. (See illustration on page 24.) 

 These special characteristics, among all 

 the fancy varieties, are not fully devel- 

 oped until the second year. In the color- 



