BRITISH FRESH- WATER FISHES 



familiar Goldfish (Carassius auratus) has the same sombre 

 dress as its two relatives last dealt with, but when kept 

 under artificial conditions it assumes both gold and silver 

 forms which make a strong appeal to those who have 

 ornamental waters, or who are desirous of keeping such 

 brilliant fishes in an aquarium at home. Many piebald 

 varieties may be encountered, indeed there seems no 

 end to the " sports " that are to be met with. 



Barheh— Bar bus vulgaris. From Barbellus, the dimi- 

 nutive ofBarbus, in reference to the barbels on the mouth. 

 Hence also its English name (Fig. 43). This is a very 

 locally distributed species, and may be known by having 

 two barbels on either side of the mouth. It occurs in 

 the Thames and Trent, and further north in certain 

 rivers of Yorkshire. With these exceptions, its appear- 

 ance is rare elsewhere. It is greenish-olive in colour, 

 with golden sides, the somewhat elongate body being 

 covered with moderate-sized scales. There are on 

 frequent occasions some small dark spots on the body, 

 and also on the fins. It seems to attain a maximum 

 weight in Britain of about 20 pounds, but on the Con- 

 tinent turns the scale at considerably more than this. 

 It feeds upon various water-creatures, both animal and 

 vegetable, searching for its provender by grubbing about 

 with its snout, and is probably aided by its barbels being 

 used as feelers. In Winter it lies up in a torpid state, 

 several individuals keeping one another company. The 

 eggs are laid in early Summer, either in shallow or deep 



water where there is a gravelly bed. It is stated that 

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