156 A TAME CONGER. 



those tailless forms outstretched on the sand were nothing more 

 than the gentlemen's cast-off clothes. 



But small space now remains in which to speak of the highest 

 class of animals for which the Marine Aquarium is at all adapted, 

 namely, the fishes ; and it is the less necessary that we should 

 dwell upon them, as but few private persons probably will at- 

 tempt their preservation. The Aquarium is not the place for 

 animals of such free and discursive habits as the fish, which 

 require a wider range and the constant stir and motion of the 

 open sea in order to maintain their health and vigour. In the 

 large tanks in the Zoological Gardens, it is true, they are more at 

 home ; and there the Mullet, the Basse, the Flounder, and a 

 variety of other fish have been preserved with great success : a 

 specimen of the Common Conger ( Conger vulgaris) having occu- 

 pied one of the cases for more than seven years. It was only five 

 inches long when first put into the tank ; but it has since then 

 grown to upwards of two feet in length, and has become so far 

 tamed as to come out from its hole to be fed at a signal from the 

 attendant. 



It is only with wide space and various facilities at command, 

 however, that success like this is attainable. But there are some 

 few species of fish which, from being more restricted in their range 

 than the race generally, are tolerably adapted for aquarian pur- 

 poses, and to these we may briefly refer, premising that of the 

 in-door life of none of them can we speak from our own 

 experience. 



The most attractive of the number are the Wrasse or Connors, 

 distinguished by their gay and brilliant tints of green, purple, and 

 gold, and by their thick fleshy lips, which, only partially covering 

 the teeth, give the fish a snarling, surly look, like that of certain 

 ungainly curs. The larger Wrasse are rather too bulky for conve 

 nient management in the Aquarium ; but some of the smaller 

 species may be kept without much difficulty, and make a very 

 attractive addition to one's in-door live stock. The best adapted 

 for the purpose perhaps is the little Corkwing or Goldfinney 

 (Crenildbrus cornubicus), which, though rather of a washed-out 

 appearance in comparison with the bright mail of some of its 

 relations, is yet a fish of some beauty, and a very Paul Pry for 

 its inquisitive habits. 



The Wrasse may often be seen in fine still weather during ebb- 



