i 



Hire Chanckito or SKoat 



ERNEST LEITHOLF 



The Chanchito 



He 



f acetu r 



From the waters of Brazil and the 

 Argentine comes to us Hcros faccium 

 or Cichlasoma facctum, call it what you 

 will, a species well-known to us as an 

 aquarium fish for more than twenty 

 years, one that has "worn well," and in 

 which we have never lost interest by 

 reason of its familiarity. The native 

 Brazilians call it the Chanchito, mean- 

 ing the shoat or pig, perhaps it may 

 resemble it in a tendency to root up the 

 plants, or because of a fancied similarity 

 to the contour of the "porker." 



While the Chanchito may not compete 

 with some of the other cichlidons in the 

 matter of attractive colors, still it is a 

 fascinating fish. Its coat is very change- 



able, varying from the usual brownish 

 yellow or gray to one with perpendicular 

 bars of bluish-black. The chameleon- 

 like habit of changing the intensity of 

 the coloration, the blunt head and gen- 

 erous fins, make it a conspicuous mem- 

 ber of any collection of fishes. In intelli- 

 gence it ranks second to none. I have 

 bred them many times, and find the ob- 

 servation of the faithful care of the eggs 

 and fry a never-ending delight. 



Give a pair a good-sized aquarium not 

 less than twenty by twelve inches, a tem- 

 perature of about 70 to 75 degrees 

 Fahrenheit, proper foods, preferably 

 worms and raw scraped beef, and soon 

 male and female will begin to dig, scout 



