102 



aquatic ILitt 



Owing to the difficulty in distinguishing 

 the sexes, and the ferocity of the species, 

 most aquarists have "passed it up." The 

 handsomest male I ever saw, and the 

 largest, was long in the possession of Dr. 

 Frederick Schneider, of Brooklyn. But 

 he could never find a female sufficiently 

 large and self-assertive to mate with this 

 seven-inch warrior. Franklin Barrett, of 

 Philadelphia, has long had a big one, 

 whose disposition earned for itself the 

 name of "Relentless Rudolph." 



The coloration of the species, like all 

 cichlids, is extremely evanescent. The 

 male during breeding periods is truly a 

 handsome fish. The entire ground color 

 becomes velvet black, speckled with large, 

 metallic, turquoise-blue scales, while the 

 outer margins of the fins, except the pec- 

 torals, are scarlet-red. The abdominal 

 region is dirty white. In body contour 

 the female is more rotund than the male. 

 In the male the fins are prolonged into 

 points, while those of the female are 

 rounded. Her general color is dusky 

 olive. 



In breeding time, when the water be- 

 comes warm enough in their native 

 haunts, the cichlids-in-general seek clear, 

 shallow places, depositing their eggs on 

 the surfaces of flat stones. These are 

 fanned zealously with the pectoral fins, 

 and are thus kept clean until they hatch. 

 As with, our North American sunfishes, 

 all intruders are driven none too gently 

 from the vicinity. Within three or four 

 days the fry appear, helpless and very 

 unlike the parents. The family is then 

 moved to a nest, a mere hole in the sand, 

 a proceeding oft repeated during the days 

 following, until the yolk-sac is absorbed 

 and the fry become able to swim freely. 

 Then the babies rise in a shoal, guarded 

 by the parents as they prey upon the 

 minute life of the water, passing as they 

 grow from the infusorians to the more 

 satisfying and growth-promoting Daphne. 



For about two months the old fish guard 

 their swarm against all comers. After 

 this time the parents should be removed 

 and separated from each other. 



Few cichlids are "better scrappers" 

 than nigrofasciatmn, and the aquarist 

 who elects to try them should provide 

 himself with a ten-inch globe for every 

 adult. For breeding activities a wide, 

 shallow tank, free from plant-life, will be 

 needed. This should be as large as pos- 

 sible, and certainly not less than three 

 feet long. 



Brooklyn Society 



A very successful meeting of the 

 Brooklyn Aquarium Society was held on 

 Thursday evening, March nth, at the 

 Bedford Branch of the Public Library. 

 An exhibition of tropical fishes was on, 

 and seventy-five enthusiastic aquarists 

 were there. Mr. Hugo C. Nelles, Presi- 

 dent of the Ridgewood Society, spoke of 

 the growth of the organization, and em- 

 phasized the need of closer fellowship, 

 harmony and co-operation. 



The exhibition was competitive, awards 

 being made by Judges Heede and Moody 

 as follows : 



Best display (P. scalare), silver cup to 

 F. B. Johonnot; greatest variety, cup to 

 R. D. Bright. 



Diplomas were the high awards in the 

 following classes : Barbus — first, Johon- 

 not ; second. Bright. Haplochilus camer- 

 onensis — first, Bright ; second, Shenk. 

 Platypoecilus maculatus rubra — first, Jo- 

 honnot; second, Donovan; third, Miss 

 Bright. Dania rerio — first, Shenk; sec- 

 ond, Hoare. Xiphophorus helleri — first, 

 Johonnot. Labyrinth fishes — first, Shenk 

 (Trichogaster lalius) ; second, Shenk 

 (Macropodus opercularis). Poeciliid 

 hybrids — first, Johannot ; second, Hoare. 

 Balanced aquaria — first, Mrs. Post. — J. 

 H. Shenk, Corresponding Secretary. 



