THE AQUARIUM. 47 



water. By the time the floods begin, they burst their 

 covering and escape to find supports in drooping branches, 

 floating sticks, or even in tufts of grass, and to take root 

 upon them and multiply. Dirty old ponds and swampy 

 paddy fields are the congenial breeding-grounds of these 

 simple animals. A small mass of them will be an in- 

 teresting object for the aquarium. 



While looking for the spongella in swampy paddy 

 fields, we come upon a small shoal of fish floundering in 

 the liquid ooze. They are ail familiar to us, and 

 some even known by name, such as the Khalisa, the 

 punti^ the tengra^ the magur &c. Any or all of them 

 will do for an aquarium, except that, if the rragur is 

 adult, it should not be kept with other fish. 



