Uiiiida Liikf Fishes 373 



bare. On July 5, alnHit j,j)CO ej,'gs in fdiir separate agjjhitinated clusters, were 

 (le|M»site(l between 10 and 1 1 a. ni. on the scrupulously clean Intttom. Xincty-nine 

 per cent hatched in five days in a mean water tenii)erature of J/'^ F. The young 

 remained on the Ijt)ttoni in dense masses until si.\ days old, when they liegan to 

 swim, at first rising vertically a few inches and immediately falling Iwck. Hy the 

 end of the seventh day they were swimming actively and most of them collected 

 in a sch<Kil just lieneath the surface, where they remained for twr» <lays. afterward 

 scattering. They first ate finely ground liver on the sixth day, and fed ravenously 

 after the eighth day. The fish were 4 mm long when hatched, and grew rapidly, 

 some lieing 18 mm Ion}; on the eleventh day, and at the age of tw(j months their 

 average length was 50 mm. Moth parents were very zealous in caring for the 

 eggs, keeping them agitated constantly by a gentle fanning motion of the lower 

 fins. The most striking act in the care of the eggs was the sucking of the egg 

 masses into the mouth and the blowing of them out with .some force. The fanning 

 and mouthing oiK'rations were continued with the fry until they swam freely, 

 when the care of the young may be said to have ceased. During the first few days 

 after hatching, the fry, banked in the ctirners of the tank, were at irregular inter- 

 vals actively stirred by the barliels of the ])arents, usually the male. The jire- 

 dacious feeding-habits of the old fish gradually overcame the ])arental instinct: the 

 tendency to suck the fry into their mouths continued, the inclination to s])it them 

 out diminished, so that the number of young dwindled daily and the 500 that had 

 I)een left with their i)arents had completely disappeared in six weeks, although 

 other focMl was lil)erally su|)])Iied."" 



For a fuller account of these observations see Smith and llarron 104). also 

 Fydeshymer (01) and Gill ('07. pp. 44J-448). Fowler (17. i>. 34) gives the 

 following : "The nesting-habits of our common catfish or bullhead ( .liiiilurus luhu- 

 /o.vK.v) are. |ierhaps. l>est known. an<l have l)een notice<l by a nunil)er of observers. 

 It nests in various situations, or in water from several feet in de]>th to that of but 

 a few inches. Though only a few nests were noticed in a restricted area, some- 

 times a <lozen or more may Ik- foun<! on one shoal and close to one another. l'"rc- 

 «|uenlly the fish take advantage of any objects, such as logs, roiks, etc., f«ir shelter- 

 inj; the nest. The eggs are de|M)sited at intervals and may nnmlier from aUuit 50 

 to 500 or more. In the construction of the nest, sjiawning habits and care of the 

 young, this sin-cies is similar to the White Cat. There is always a great range 

 of variation in many of these features, es|iecially due to the individuals and condi- 

 tions. No two nests were ever found exactly alike, and the same was true of the 

 siKiwners. Fven the female will sometimes, at least in the aquarium, brood her 

 yoimg, and in most cases the iKirents will devour the eggs, es|Kxially if <listurl»ctl, 

 I'sually the male guarrls the nest and brixMls the young, as the fenjale deserts the 

 nest by the time the younj; hatch. When just lulcheil the young catfish collect in a 

 dense school, move in circles or close gyrations, the whole schiNil in constant 

 n)oiion." 



< )ur collections <if very young inhiilosiis. that is, averaging under alwMit J 

 iiulus in length, are Nos. 7t>, 8j, 1 13, \J2. 135, yn). (<oj. 6i 1. fii7 and 4-.*o<). These 

 lots consist of a single or of oidy a few specimens, except \o. i-rj, which includes 

 many; lot 3ci<>, several: and No. '"07 includes aUint one and a half quarts of aU'Ut 



