BREEDING THE CHANCHITO | 
DWIGHT WINTER 
LS 2a! SSE eee ree 
: 
| 
| 
: 
: 
: 
! 
: 
: 
THE CHANCHITO 
se 
8 Oa a as eo a 
The Chanchito, Cichlasoma facetum 
(syn. Heros), is found in the ponds and 
slow streams which are tributary to the 
La Plata River, South America. In 
shape it is rather compact, resembling 
very much our local basses and sunfishes. 
In color it is glossy green to yellow, vary- 
ing in different individuals, with broad 
black vertical bars, the color extending 
onto the dorsal and anal; caudal and 
dorsal fins dark; eyes greenish yellow, 
becoming reddish brown during the 
breeding season. During the periods of 
sexual excitement the colors become 
more pronounced and beautiful. Wild 
specimens may reach a length of nine 
inches or more, but those reared in con- 
finement seldom exceed five inches. 
It is not always possible to distinguish 
| OP ta) OL 
the sexes, in fact, more often impossible, 
as the colors and shapes of the fins are 
alike in both. However, in full-grown 
males, the ventral is slightly longer and 
reaches to the beginning of the anal fin. 
It is asserted by one writer that the ab- 
dominal line of the female is more 
rounded, but this is very hard to detect, 
except in very old fish. With the ap- 
proach of the breeding season the female 
becomes much larger and thicker, and is 
then quite easy to distinguish from the 
male. 
Owing to its hardiness—it can stand a 
great deal of knocking about—the chan- 
chito has always been a great favorite 
with aquarists. I have kept them in 
water as low as 40 deg. F., but this is not 
to be commended. A temperature be- 
