350 THE STICKLEBACK. 



It is not a fish that can be recommended for the 

 aquarium. A fortnight to three weeks is the longest 

 time that I have been able to keep a specimen 

 alive ; indeed, until I adopted the plan of allowing 

 each little captive to remain quiet and undisturbed 

 in a dark and shady place, death ensued in the course 

 of one or two days. 



My illustrations (Plate XII.) having been care- 

 fully drawn and coloured from a living specimen, the 

 student will, I trust, find no difficulty in recognising 

 the Diminutive Sucker, should he be so fortunate as 

 to meet with it in a rocky pool. 



' There is also a fish called the Sticklebag, a fish 

 without scales, but hath his body fenced with several 

 prickles. I know not where he dwells in winter, 

 nor what he is good for in summer, but only to 

 make sport for boys and women anglers.' Thus 

 contemptuously does dear old Izaak speak of the 

 Sticklebag, or Stickleback, as it is now termed, one 

 of the most amusing and interesting members of the 

 finny tribe. I have frequently transferred specimens 

 of the Stickleback from fresh water to salt water, 

 and found them live quite as well in the latter as in 

 the former. 



The contrast, however, between the appearance of 

 the three spined Stickleback, when first taken from 

 the sea, and one captured in the fresh water pond is 

 very remarkable. The first is dressed in a gorgeous 

 coat of varied colours. Around the mouth and belly 



