148 
Aquatte Lite 
and were closely followed by a string of 
eight. She continued to eject strings of 
eggs until a circular patch of about two 
by two inches was covered. All the chains 
of eggs were placed horizontally, no one 
crossing another, and there were about 
twenty eggs to the lineal inch. Each 
egg had a genatinous base by means of 
which it adhered to the glass. As the 
ova were being deposited, the male hov- 
ered over the female, it being evident 
from the movements of his genital papilla 
that the spermatic fluid was being 
ejected, and fertilization taking place. 
The spawning being completed, the 
male at once placed himself perpendicu- 
larly above the ova, frequently changing 
his position, his head being sometimes 
up, at others down. He remained over 
the eggs for nine days, the period of in- 
cubation, and I suppose he obtained his 
food at night, as he was never feeding 
at the time of my visits. In thirty-six 
hours the gelatinous base of each egg had 
become elongated into a peduncle, the 
eggs themselves being also larger, and 
provided with a globule of air on the 
yolks. On the third day he commenced 
to fan them continually by oscillating his 
pectoral and caudal fins. These actions 
kept the ova in a constant swirl, and were 
continued until the fry emerged and took 
shelter in the weeds. 
On the morning of the 20th I noticed 
the first signs of eyes, and at 9 P. M. they 
were distinctly visible. On the 25th, at 
g A. M., the fry were emerging from the 
eggs, nine days after their deposition. 
For a while they hung, head downwards, 
from the empty egg-capsules, by means 
of their tails, which were bent like the 
curve of a fish-hook. The motions of 
respiration and a tremulous movement of 
the pectoral fins were the first indications 
of life when they came into the world. 
At 8 P. M. the following day they had 
all dispersed among the weeds, where 
they were further guarded by the male 
for another twenty-four hours. The tem- 
perature of the water at this time was 
about 80 degrees. 
There were no sterile eggs in the first 
few nests, the first one being observed 
in the fourth. The eighth nest contained 
thirteen, and the number continued to 
increase as the season advanced.—Ke- 
printed by permission from THE Aus- 
TRALIAN ZOOLOGIST 
———>_—__ 
With the caption, “Mysterious Fish 
with Strange Arabic Inscriptions,” a 
recent magazine article presents a photo- 
graph of Holacanthus nicobartensis (var. 
Semicirculatus), caught at Zanzibar, 
where it created quite a sensation. The 
markings of the caudal fin form two dis- 
tinct inscriptions in Arabic, reading on 
one side, ‘““The Work of God,’ and on 
the other, “God Alone.” The fish was 
bought in the market, and when the 
strange markings were noticed, it was 
taken to an Arabic scholar. It was af- 
terwards shown to the Sultan, who also 
recognized the wording. 
The lettering is plain, and the discov- 
ery caused wonderment among the local 
Mohammedans. They declare it portends 
something about to happen, possibly the 
end of the war. Fabulous prices were 
offered for the fish by the superstitious, 
but it finally came to rest, in formalin, 
in the Government laboratory. It was 
later placed on public exhibition. 
———+___ 
What fishes may be associated in a 
“happy family” or community aquarium? 
The experiences of aquarists differ. Let 
me have a list of the species composing 
your “family,” mentioning the size of the 
tank. This is a point on which many 
readers ask help.—Editor. 
