74 



aquatic JLitt 



scattered about promiscuously in a like 

 manner. The eggs were pearly white, 

 remarkably adhesive, and stuck tena- 

 ciously to the glass; none seemed to be- 

 come attached to the plants. I counted 

 112 on the front glass alone. The 

 aquarium was maintained at an average 

 temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit, 

 and in five days the eggs hatched; the 

 fry dropped to the bottom and were lost 

 to view in the feathery humus. Where 



Corydoras species 



each egg was attached to the glass a tiny 

 white circle remained, and now, after two 

 months, some may still be seen. 



The value of the deposit of sediment 

 upon the bottom of the tank will now 

 become evident, because, after the yolk- 

 sac was absorbed, the youngsters found 

 amongst it the much-needed infusoria. 

 At this time they may be said to resemble 

 tadpoles. I made no microscopical ex- 

 aminations, but as soon as they were 

 large enough to be easily seen, they re- 

 sembled closely the parents in shape and 

 markings. Other than the minute ani- 

 mal and vegetable life naturally present 

 in the aquarium, I have fed nothing but 

 daphne and the cyclops that were col- 

 lected with it. I have not been able to 

 observe them eat the live water-fleas, 

 and it may be that the dead ones falling 

 to the bottom are more acceptable. In 

 any event they spend most of the time 

 wiggling and wriggling about, sometimes 

 standing on their heads with tails aloft, 

 rooting vigorously in the humus. At in- 

 tervals one may wriggle up the side of 



the tank and nibble algae, but mostly they 

 are upon the bottom. 



The youngsters seem to be quite adapt- 

 able to changes in temperature, as at 

 time the thermometer in their tank has 

 registered as low as 58 degrees, yet they 

 semed as lively as when much warmer. 



I do not know just how many eggs 

 were expelled, but surely more than the 

 112 counted. After the spawning the 

 parents remained in the tank for two 

 days, and during this time they possibly 

 ate such as had fallen to the bottom, but 

 they did not molest those attached to the 

 glass. The heaviest mortality occurred 

 during the third and fourth weeks. How 

 many are still alive is problematical ; pos- 

 sibly twenty-five, or even fifty. 



Notes on the Panzerwels 



It is now more than a year since Mr. 

 Dungan expressed to the editor his in- 

 terest in the Brazilian catfishes and a 

 desire to breed the particular species he 

 then had in his collection. While Cory- 

 doras pal cat us has been bred in Europe, 

 Mr. Dungan is the first American aquar- 

 ist who has met with success ; if there are 

 others who have bred it, and they have 

 not published the fact, let them now 

 hold their peace. Mr. Dungan is to be 

 congratulated. Those who assert that 

 American aquarists accomplish little 

 original research will do well to recall 

 that George W. Price first dispelled all 

 doubts as to the breeding habits of the 

 Black-banded Sunfish, Mcsogonistcus 

 chart od on; William T. Paullin bred and 

 reared Pterophylluni scalar c (the sur- 

 viving young are now as large as the 

 parents) ; Leitholf's study of Anolis 

 carolincnsis ; and most recently, Dungan 

 and the Brazilian catfish. 



Quite a number of fishes of the fam- 

 ily SiivURiDAK (catfishes), natives of 

 North and South America, Asia and 



