Polycentrus Schomburgki J 



WALTER LANKfOY BRIND, F. Z. S. 



Polycentrus schomburgki, or "King 

 Cascarob," as it is called by the natives 

 of Trinidad, British West Indies, is one 

 of my earliest favorites among the essen- 

 tially tropical fishes, as I procured a pair 

 in the spring of 1910. The aquarist from 

 whom I secured them gave me the most 

 minute instructions on how to breed 

 them. It was necessary to provide a suit- 

 able home, and as a uniform temperature 

 of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit was 

 needed, I had my first tropical aquarium 

 built. This provided the exact condi- 

 tions prevalent in the tropics, namely, 

 warm water and atmosphere above it, 

 and deep, rich soil for the plants, which 

 insured a splendid growth. 



The pair soon showed their pro- 

 nounced approval of my efforts, for they 

 at once entered into possession of the 

 "palace," which was a six-inch flower pot 

 laid upon its side, with the entrance fac- 

 ing sidewise to the east ; the aquarium 

 faced south. The maneuvers of the fish 

 were comical. The male began by adopt- 

 ing an intense blue-black color, with 

 white spots in diagonal rows on the sides. 

 His eyes gleamed like live coals. The 

 entire fish was a scant two inches long, 

 and was full-grown. The female was 

 light pinkish brown, with a decided 

 salmon-tinted patch on the abdomen, 

 indicative of ripe spawn. The male 

 swam about her in a most amusing man- 

 ner, sometimes backwards, then side- 

 ways, again with his body at an angle, 

 but all the while watching her closely 

 with fiery eyes. Finally he retired within 

 the flower pot, swimming backwards un- 

 til he was entirely out of sight. Soon 



! 



after the display of the fascinations of 

 the male, the female decided to investi- 

 gate the pot, and followed him cautiously. 

 The inspection being satisfactory, the 

 eggs were deposited on the ceiling of the 

 pot, to which they adhered closely. This 

 accomplished, the male chased his mate 

 into the farthest corner of the tank, and 



Polycentrus schomburgki 



made her "stay put." At this time I 

 removed her to another tank, otherwise, 

 unless prevented by the male, she would 

 have eagerly devoured the eggs. 



From the moment the eggs were de- 

 posited, and until they hatched, three 

 days later, the male assiduously fanned 

 them with his fins, sending a constant 

 stream of soft, warm water among them. 

 As soon as hatched the little fish literally 

 hung to the leaves of the plants. A few 

 days later, having developed sufficiently, 

 they detached themselves and chased in- 

 fusorians, later devouring tiny Daphne. 

 As soon as they had grown sufficiently to 

 resemble their parents, the male was 

 moved to his mate in the other aquarium. 



(Polycentrus, many spines; schom- 

 burgki, in honor of Schomburgk.) 



