Fishes. 9135 
and adhere to the side of the glass, pouting their little mouths even 
out of the water for a portion of food. 
My wife agreed with me in opinion, that for some weeks at least 
there existed a personal attachment between me and my little friends, 
for they rarely came up to anyone else. It may be accounted for by 
the circumstance that I always fed them myself. 
They subsequently got tamer, and always rose to the surface, if 
they happened to be hungry, whenever anyone went to the aquarium. 
This habit nearly lost them their lives on more than one occasion, 
A favourite cat of ours was often in the habit, when no one was in 
the room, of sitting and watching for them to rise to the surface ;" but 
I cured her of her propensity for live fishing by summarily dipping 
her head in the sea-water, to her great disgust, when she attempted to 
“wash her face,” as is the custom with cats. 
They were fed once or twice a week with one or two small portions 
of mussel, oyster or raw fish, about the size of half a pea, and the diet 
was generally varied. They took their food in the most peculiar 
snatching manner,—as quickly as the chameleon catches an insect,— 
darting at it, and, if they missed their mark, returning again and again, 
until they succeeded. 
In the same aquarium were a few specimens of the British corals 
C. Smithii and B. regia, and it was remarkable that on feeding days, 
when the corals happened to be first served, on account of my pets 
being out of sight, their instinct soon taught them to understand that 
their turn was coming, and they immediately appeared all expectancy, 
“wagging their tails ” for a morsel. I am informed that they are mis- 
chievous little fellows if there happen to be Serpule or other tube 
worms in the aquarium, bobbing at their branchiz with indefatigable 
perseverance, but they are generally careful to keep out of the way of 
the Actiniz. 
To any of the readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ who are aquarian natural- 
ists, and who may be fortunate enough to secure specimens of the 
Lepidogaster, I most certainly recommend that they follow Mr. Gosse’s 
plan, and keep a separate aquarium for them. The rapacious blennies 
and gobies are of course always on the alert for them, the inquisitive 
crustaceans are always poking at them, and (if they come in their way) 
the omnivorous anemones are ever ready to engulph them. 
The water of my aquarium was changed sometimes—not of necessity, 
but because I happened to have some fresh sea-water in stock, and 
the little fellows appeared to appreciate a change now and then. It 
