Aquatic Lite oY) 
of the male secures them from attack of 
aquatic foes. 
The nest of the Fighting fish has a 
more important function, for without 
iemanGdithe  Caje Ol theymales the egos 
would sink and perish. 
Into an aquarium containing a pair 
of Paradise fish and their family, a few 
days old, I introduced a spray of Blad- 
derwort. Next day nearly all the little 
A Bladderwort (Utricularia) in Flower 
An American Species 
Photographed by Chas. M. Breder, Jr. 
fishes had disappeared, and the missing 
ones were discovered in the bladders of 
the plant. Some were seized by the head 
and some by the tail, and a little patient 
watching was rewarded by seeing a 
young fish caught. One of the fry was 
caught by the extreme tip of the tail; it 
had been swimming close to one of the 
bladders and possibly touched the mouth 
when it was instantly trapped. 
At intervals its struggles were fran- 
tic; at the end of seven minutes the tail 
was entirely engulphed and continued to 
wriggle within the bladder, while the 
head and body were shaken without. 
The little fish lived for an hour and a 
half, but it was not until the following 
morning that the whole was taken into 
the bladder. 
Fighting Fish in Battle 
When two of these fish are placed in 
the same vessel they proceed to take 
each other’s measure, shoulder up to 
each other in school-boy fashion, and 
back, and push around the “ring,” the 
small fins vibrating rapidly all the time, 
colors glowing, and each little being 
quivering with excitement and wrath. 
This goes on for some minutes, until, as 
the spectators are growing impatient, one 
fish suddenly flips his head around, 
makes a dart, and a considerable dent 
in the tail of his adversary shows at 
once that he has got home. Hence- 
forth there is no hesitation until one 
Onathesothermeniess speccavin! | elmineote 
lar fish fights on which money depends, 
the battle is continued until one fish 
turns tail and is chased around the bot- 
tom by the other. But this is usually an 
affair of an hour, and frequently of three 
or four. The determination and pluck 
of the fighters are wonderful. The or- 
dinary wild fishes do not evince nearly 
so much as those that have been bred 
and reared for the purpose. The tail is 
the part which shows most damage, for 
it is very easily torn; but a good grip on 
a side fin is much more effective. When 
one pins the other by the nose a very 
exciting struggle takes place, the two ly- 
ing fastened together like professional 
wrestlers, and then shaking each other 
backward and forward with might and 
main. 
They often seem extremely exhausted, 
but still fight on bravely, and sometimes 
it is a matter of difficulty to part them. 
They display considerable agility in 
evading their opponent’s mouth, and also 
in suddenly twisting around and taking 
a piece out of his tail. In twenty min- 
utes or so these appendages, which look- 
ed so brave and bright as they went into 
the fray, are torn to ribbons. ‘The fishs’ 
