120 PEE SH- WATER AQUARIA. 



Prussian and Crucian Carp may be readily bought of 

 aquarium-dealers in London; and the Speigel sometimes. 



The Gudgeon {Gohio fluviatilis) (Fig. 90) is a general 

 favourite. It is a favourite with the aquarium-keeper, for it 

 is hardy, handsome, and easily tamed ; it is a favourite with 

 the fisherman, for it is a bold biter and provides excellent 

 sport; and it is a favourite with the epicure, for when freshly 

 caught and properly cooked it is most delicious to eat. An 

 old writer says that this fish used to be swallowed aUve as a 

 cure for consumption. The Gudgeon is generally found in 

 those rivers in England which possess a gravelly bottom. It 

 may be readily taken with rod and line, or with a net. The 



Fig. 90. Gudgeon (Gobio fluviatilis). 



fish can be collected together by scraping the bottom of the 

 river with a heavy rake : this raking disturbs and exposes the 

 animal hfe upon which the Gudgeon feeds, viz., larvae of 

 insects, water-worms, and the like. As these fish are gre- 

 garious, it is wise and kind to keep a few of them together, 

 but they will not die if kept in solitary confinement : they 

 seem soon to learn how to be happy and contented in the 

 aquarium. The bottom of the tanks in which Gudgeon live 

 should be covered with a layer of gravel of extra depth, 

 for without such precaution these fish, being bottom feeders, 

 would interfere greatly with the clearness of the water. The 

 Gudgeon generally spawns about May, and the ova, it is said, 

 take nearly a month to hatch. This fish, while in the 

 aquarium, should be fed upon small garden worms, water- 



