X. 



BY THE SIDE OF AN AQUARIUM. 



Are these the dirty mud-begrimed little fishes that 

 were rescued from the slush and ooze of the paddy-field 

 a fortnight ago ? They look so wonderfully changed in 

 appearance and manner. Instead of being ugly and 

 dull, they are now very pretty and lively. What can 

 this rainbow-coloured and fan-tailed fish be ? Is it the 

 Khalisa (Trichogaster lalius, Day), so common, yet so 

 beautiful ! Its body is vertically banded with scarlet and 

 light blue, half of each scale being of one, and half of 

 another, colour. The fins of the back and tail are dotted 

 with scarlet. Every river and stream in Bengal is full of 

 them ; nor are they uncommon in the North West 

 Provinces, and the Punjab. 



A pretty little creature is that beautiful fish with vivid 

 golden colour and black shoulder spots. Look how 

 persistently it annoys and bullies the others ; it is a 

 little fiend. But we need not be surprised at its rude 

 manners a tengrak is always ill-tempered and un- 

 mannerly, and it was a mistake to place it with the 

 others. The ttngrak ( Macrones vittatus. Block ) of 

 zoologists is very common all over India, Burmah, and 

 Ceylon, inhabiting rivers, streams, and water-courses. It 

 is a coarse and hardy fish attaining to seven or eight inches 

 in length. Those found in dirty ponds and ditches are 

 generally darker than those found in rivers, but all are 



