Aquatic Lite 23 
tioned that a year previously, Mr. Wil- 
liam Welsh, of the Bureau, while on a 
canoe trip on the Pee Dee and its tribu- 
taries, carried specimens collected in 
South Carolina for a week in a five- 
gallon can, finding in this test that they 
survived better than Gambusia affinis 
and Fundulus chrysotus. Only Cholo- 
gaster cornutus Agassiz, the “fish of the 
ble on the bottom, near a plant leaf at 
the surface, or by the stems of an aquatic 
plant. To line up against the stem of a 
plant, at whatever angle it may stand, 
and then remain motionless, seems to be 
a favorite pose. The translucency of the 
body, except where it is marked with 
dark bars and stippling on the surface, 
aids in concealment when the fish are 
Habitat of the Pigmy Sunfish, Elassoma zonatum, at Mound, Louisiana 
Dismal Swamp,’ seemed to be more 
hardy. 
Practically nothing has been known of 
the habits of the pigmy sunfishes except 
that they live in sluggish waters, and 
are rarely taken. In aquaria they have 
proven rather shy, extremely so at first, 
and they display a remarkable faculty 
for hiding. After a dozen or more had 
been placed in a small aquarium with 
‘aquatic plants, it was almost impossible 
to believe that they were still there. A 
careful and close examination finally re- 
vealed a few, motionless against a peb- 
among plants or debris. In the open 
water the distinct dark bars and spots, 
contrasted with dark spots between, 
render them quite conspicuous. 
In spite of the predilection for stag- 
nant water and the habit of remaining 
motionless a good deal of the time, the 
pigmies are not sluggish. This is_ re- 
vealed when entomostraca or mosquito 
larvae are placed in the aquarium. Im- 
mediately the fish appear here and there, 
alert, excited, and making quick pounces 
upon their prey. A pigmy sunfish will 
seize a wiggler more than half its own 
