SOME FRESHWATER AQUARIUM FISHES 



lake or pool which never seem to be too thick, muddy or fetid for it to 

 inhabit. Like the carp it buries itself in the mud during the winter months 

 and there remains in a semi-torpid state until the adventof warm weather. 



The young are most beautiful aquarium inmates though more timid 

 than goldfishes. Their colors are so delicate and fleeting as to be almost 

 prismatic, when the fishes are viewed in a strong light. In form they are 

 long, slender and rather flat-sided; the mouth is narrow, the eyes large 

 and the small nostrils are erect. The fins are clear transparent white in 

 fine contrast with the handsome colors of the body. Two forms are 

 generally bred, the Green and the Golden tench. 



The Common or Green Tench, Tinea caruleus, is a finely scaled 

 handsome fish, especially the young when about 2 to 3 inches in length. 

 The colors are rich olive-green on the back and abdomen with a fine 

 metallic golden-green lustre which fairly scintillates with prismatic colors 

 when viewed in the aquarium with the light at the back of the observer. 



The Golden Tench, Tinea auratus, is an albino variety of the Com- 

 mon Tench originally bred in Silesia, and is of bright orange color, spotted 

 with brown dots on the sides, fins and tail. The small fishes. Fig. 42, 

 are so nearly transparent when viewed towards the light that all the interior 

 organs and the very functions of life may be seen through the transparent 

 substance of the skin. . When viewed with the light at the back of the ob- 

 server, the colors are most charming and resemble an opal more than any 

 other object. With the exception of the Goldfish and the Paradise fish, 

 the Tench is probably the handsomest aquarium fish, very hardy, easily 

 kept, and perfectly harmless, and should find a place in every aquarium. 

 It may be fed with the usual goldfish foods. Its culture should be en- 

 couraged, as it is a very fine pond fish of lively habit. 



THE CARP 



The Carp, Cyprinus earpio, is one of the most widely distributed of 

 the pond fishes. A number of forms have been produced by European 

 breeders of which the following are the more .interesting. 



FIG 43 — Young Scaled Carp, Cyprinus carpio communis 

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