ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 93 
days. The male rubra is red-brown and black 
with a blue-green sheen, the female plain brown. 
In B. splendens the rays of the tail are red. 
Betta pugnaz is a species regarding which we 
feel that “the least said, soonest mended.” It 
has not been kept at the Aquarium, and there 
is no agreement among aquarists regarding its 
habits. Some say it never fights, while the Cam- 
bridge Natural History mentions it as the 
species most commonly used in the Siamese fish- 
fights; some say it builds a bubble nest, others 
that the male carries the eggs in his mouth till 
they hatch; some say it lives in warm water, 
others that it inhabits cool stream; some affirm 
that they have had it in their aquariums in the 
United States, others declare that the species has 
never been brought to this country. It is evi- 
dently a matter of confusion regarding the iden- 
tity of the species. 
Fighting fishes are partial to mosquitoes and 
other live foods, and the young have been reared 
on infusorians, daphnia, enchytraeids, raw beef 
or other scraped meat, hard-boiled egg yolk, the 
inside of meal worms, cracker dust, etc. 
Like climbing perch, the fighting fishes are 
adapted to air-breathing. 
In this group of fishes belong also Polyacan- 
thus cupanus and P. dayi, bubble nest builders, 
with habits similar to other labyrinth fishes. 
ANABANTIDAE AND WaLKING GoBy 
The question is often asked at the Aquarium, 
“Are there really fishes that walk and climb 
trees?” The answer is that there are several 
species of fishes that leave the water and work 
their way across land for limited distances, 
and that they have been seen to go up the roots 
and trunks of trees. One, the walking fish, 
is said to lie on the low branches of trees for 
a considerable time, entirely away from the 
water. 
THe CrimpinGc Percu 
The commonest of the walking fishes is the 
fresh-water Climbing Perch (Anabas scandens ), 
imported from India and Africa and found also 
in Ceylon, Burma and the Malay Archipelago. 
It will live a number of years in captivity, and 
though not handsomely built or colored, proves 
an interesting animal in the home. It does well 
in water of the temperature of the living room 
and will thrive for years in captivity. On being 
removed from the water it does not lie helpless 
on one side or flop about like ordinary fishes, but 
balances its body upon its strong pectoral fins. 
maintaining an upright position. Provided with 
accessory breathing organs which supplement 
gills, the fish can live a considerable time out of 
water. Its gill covers and ventral fins are armed 
with short spines, which assist it to clamber over 
the land, and by hooking its pectoral fins around 
clumps of grass and plant stems, it secures a 
leverage and makes a certain amount of awkward 
progress. 
This fish has never spawned at the Aquarium. 
The male is darker than the female, and the 
eggs are said to float loosely at the surface of 
the water, where they hatch in two or three 
days. In the natural state the young, like the 
adults, thrive on live food. In captivity the 
climbing perch takes mealworms and_ earth- 
worms, chopped fish, meat and shellfish. It is 
shy and will hide in the vegetation of the aquar- 
ium until lured forth by the introduction of 
food into the water. 
Tue Warkine Fis 
Another fish given to disporting itself on dry 
land and occasionally imported from Africa, 
Asia and Australia—and also another without 
brilliance of coloration or beauty of form, is the 
Walking or Jumping Fish (Periophthalmus 
koelreuteri), sometimes called by the English the 
Mud-Skipper, because of its habit of skipping 
about on the mud dats, but known to the African 
natives as the Bommi. It is one of the gobies. 
The projecting cyes, set close together like 
twin barnacles on the top of its head, and turn- 
ing in every possible direction, give the fish a 
droll appearance. The pectoral fins are fan- 
shaped and bent at an angle so that they can be 
used like feet, and support the weight of the 
body very well on land. These fishes spend 
much time out of water and are said to be partial 
to “roosting” on the branches of trees. They 
also remain for long stretches of time with the 
tail immersed and the remainder of the body out 
of water, which has given rise to the theory that 
the highly vascular tail acts as a respiratory 
organ. 
In captivity, Mr. Walter Brind describes the 
bommi as thriving without sea water but requir- 
ing a liberal mixture of sea-salt or table salt in 
the water, and as being carnivorous, enjoying 
snails, worms and insects of various kinds, also 
accepting raw meat and chopped clam. Like 
most fishes, it is fond of the yolk of hard-boiled 
egg and of scrambled egg. 
PANTODONTIDAE 
Burrerrty Fis (Pantodon buchholzi) 
One of the most pleasing of all tropical toy 
fishes, if proper food can be provided for it, 
is the butterfly fish from West Africa—one ot 
