144 
Aquatic Lite 
tween 60 and 7o deg. suits them better. 
During breeding activities the tempera- 
ture must be not less than 70 deg., pref- 
erably higher. 
Breeding pairs should be provided with 
a fairly large tank, with plenty of sand 
in which to excavate the nests. Plants 
are not necessary, as they will persist- 
ently uproot them. The South American 
natives call the fish the shoat, which 
means pig, probably because they root 
about continually. ‘The aquarium should 
contain two or three large stones or a 
flower pot laid on its side, on which they 
will deposit the eggs. I have found a 
flower pot useful because it affords a 
shelter for the female should the male 
become aggressive. 
It is sometimes difficult to mate a pair, 
as the male will not always accept the 
female provided by the owner. I have 
found that the best way to prevent dis- 
sension is to divide the aquarium with a 
piece of glass, placing the male in one 
compartment and the female in the other. 
Thus they may see and become accus- 
tomed to one another. After a few days I 
remove the partition and leave them to- 
gether for a short time. If they scrap 
the partition is replaced, the procedure 
being repeated until they become amiable. 
Having mated, they will proceed to dig 
large holes in the sand all over the 
aquarium, which is an indication that 
they are ready to spawn. 
For the deposition of the eggs, they 
usually select one of the larger stones or 
the flower pot, and carefully clean it. In 
the absence of either I have known them 
to place the eggs on the side of the tank. 
The surface having been carefully 
cleaned, the female deposits the eggs 
upon it, dropping them in a circle. Then 
fertilization is effected by the male. Both 
adults guard the eggs in turn, hovering 
above and fanning with their fins to keep 
a constant circulation of water about 
them. In four or five days the parents 
move the eggs to a nest previously pre- 
pared; a mere hollow in the sand. 
When the fry emerge from the eggs 
they are unable to swim, but manage to 
wriggle around in the nest, presumably 
searching for food. The brood is moved 
several times to new nests, being carried 
in the mouths of the parents. This move- 
ment is probably due to the exhaustion 
of the food, infusorians, in the region 
about the nest. After several days the 
young swim freely, and follow the par- 
ents ina shoal. At this stage the adults 
become very aggressive, and will attack 
anything they think may harm the young. 
Both parents are active in the care of the 
babies and return them to the nest every 
night. 
Some aquarists advocate removing the 
male when the young are two or three 
days old, but I find that if well fed, both 
parents will take care of the brood until 
they are seven or eight weeks old. The 
young mature rapidly, and will breed 
when about nine months old. 
Food should consist largely of animal 
matter, such as raw beef, rain worms and 
meal worms. If these are not available, 
they will eat the dry prepared foods used 
for other tropical fishes—Read at a 
meeting of the Pittsburgh Aquarium 
Society. 
——— 
How long do “tropical” fishes survive 
in our aquaria? It would be interesting 
to compile a list of species with the maxi- 
mum length of life in confinement. In- 
stances have been reported of Danio 
rerio and Tetragonopteris rubropictus 
living five years. Readers are requested 
to communicate their records to the 
editor. 
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The wise aquarist preserves AQUATIC 
Lire for future reference. Do you? 
