ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 
when excavating its nest in the sand, has still a 
third name, for the English call it Chameleon- 
fish because of the remarkable changes of color- 
ing it exhibits during the breeding season. The 
male is a fighter, and even the female stoops to 
bullying; but notwithstanding their quarrelsome 
dispositions, the Chanchitos have won their way 
into the affections of aquarists by their fascinat- 
ing breeding habits. The male, which, like the 
male paradise fish, mates only with a female to 
whom he takes a fancy, forces his lady by bites 
and shoves into the spot where the eggs are to 
be laid and fertilized, and generously permits 
her to join with him in caring for the eggs 
and young—a privilege granted to very few 
mother fishes by their despotic lords. 
The eggs are conveyed to a nest scooped in 
the sand, and the little ones hatch in from five 
to ten days and begin to swim around after their 
JORDANELLA FLORIDAE 
Photograph by Dr. E. Bade. 
parents in an interesting procession, the female 
acting as advance guard and the male bringing 
up the rear. This procedure is allowed by the 
devoted parents only during the day, for on the 
approach of evening the precious babies are 
safely stowed back into the nest for the night 
and the parents keep vigilant guard over them, 
transferring them from one hole or nest to an- 
other from time to time as their judgment dic- 
tates. This anxious watchfulness continues until 
the offspring are about two months old, and 
even then the parents do not as a rule turn can- 
nibal,—another unusual feature among fishes. 
There have been occasional exceptions to the 
rule, however. 
They breed when about nine months old, and 
have not infrequently spawned in captivity, 
seeming to have a preference for flower pots by 
way of nesting places. 
In a state of nature they are carnivorous, 
subsisting on worms and other small forms of 
wm 
~I 
TOP MINNOW, HETERANDRIA 
Courtesy of Aquatic Life. 
FORMOSA 
aquatic life. In captivity they can, be fed the 
same as guppies, with live food, meat, prepared 
foods, ete. 
Eighteen species of Chanchito are found in 
Mexico, ranging from five to fourteen inches in 
length, the species with which we are familiar 
in North America being one of the smallest. 
Found in ponds and slowly moving streams 
tributary to the La Plata River in South 
America, it grows to be four and a half inches 
long. 
ACARA BIMACULATA 
The habits of Acara bimaculata of Brazil, 
Guiana, Trinidad, ete., are somewhat similar to 
those of Chanchito, in that it will spawn on an 
old flowerpot, laying upwards of one hundred 
and fitty eggs which are fanned and guarded by 
both parents. The try are transferred occasion- 
ally from one place to another, and are cared 
for by both parents for some weeks. 
This fish attains a length of four inches, and 
changes color rapidly, assuming green, yellow 
and blue markings interspersed with black, and 
always showing a black spot near the center 
of the body and another at the beginning of 
the tail. 
CHANCHITO 
Photograph by Dr. E. Bade. 
