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The variegated or sheepshead minnow, 
Cyprinodon variegatus, is an abundant 
species along our Atlantic coast, ranging 
from Massachusetts to the Rio Grande. 
Stragglers may be found in salt water, 
but it seems essentially a fish of brackish 
situations, though it ascends the rivers in 
fresh water. This adaptability makes 
acclimatization in the fresh water aqua- 
rium a comparatively simple proceedure. 
The dominating color in both sexes 1s 
olive, mottled on a silvery background in 
a suggestion of upright bars, those of the 
male being of a darker shade. The back 
of the male, between the head and the 
dorsai, carries a patch of shining pale 
blue. The pectoral fins are orange; ven- 
trals, edged with light yellow; anal dusky 
at base, orange border; dorsal 
dusky, front margin orange and rear 
black; caudal or tail fin with a dark bar 
at tip and another at base. The female is 
pale olive; whitish or yellowish below. 
The dorsal carries a black spot or ocellus 
at the rear toward the top; caudal red- 
dish with a black basal bar; other fins 
The female 
with 
pale. is smaller than the 
male, which may reach a length of three 
inches. 
Our pair proceeded to spawn in an 
aquarium holding less than two gallons. 
The eggs were discovered scattered about 
the tank, adhering to the plants, indi- 
cating that they were expelled and fer- 
tilized one at a time. The fry appeared 
six to ten days later. I found them ex- 
ceedingly difficult to raise. Though the 
tank contained but six inches of water, 
they struggled day after day to reach the 
surface, until finally I reduced the depth 
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(The Variegated Minnow | 
| ERNEST LEITHOLE | 
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to an inch, and added a pinch of salt. 
They were the most helpless lot of fry 
that have come to my notice. The four 
that survived out of the original thirty 
did not swim freely until they were a 
month old. The lack of vigor may have 
been due to changed environment, the 
The Variegated Minnow 
Youngster above, mature male below 
species normally spawning in brackish or 
salt water. After the fifth or sixth week 
the four babies developed a ravenous ap- 
petite, and devoured great quantities of 
mosquito larvee and other foods. Growth 
was rapid, and when they were an inch 
long I placed them in my large commu- 
nity tank. The next morning they were 
dead! It is probable that this was due 
to the change of water. 
(The variegated minnow has been suc- 
cessfully bred in salt water aquaria. 
Hildebrand, in a recent paper, observes 
that the eggs are produced at intervals of 
