MARINE AQUARIA 



Pisces. Of the Marine fishes only those forms will be mentioned 

 which are readily obtainable, the native Eastern and Middle States 

 coast species, and strays of the Gulf Stream, which may survive in the 

 marine aquarium. These are: 



Herrings or Clupeida. These fishes are distributed throughout the 

 whole of the North Atlantic, and the young make interesting aquaria in- 

 mates. They may be obtained in abundance along the shore in summer. 

 Of these the Common Herring, Clupea harengus, the Sardine, Sardinella, 

 and the Menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, are the most numerous forms. 



Toothed Minnows or Pceciliida occur in brackish water near the mouths 

 of rivers and along the coast. They are all small fishes varying in the 

 adult from 2 to 6 inches. The most common forms are Pursy Minnow, 

 Cyprinodon variegatus ; the KiWiEsh, Fundulus heieroclitus ; the May Fish, 

 F. majalis; and the Rainwater Fish, Lucania parva. All are very hardy 

 and will survive in the aquarium. 



Sea-horses or Hippocampida. The strange shape and interesting habits 

 of these fishes make them very desirable aquarium inmates which survive 

 for long periods. The abundant form on the Atlantic coast is Hippocam- 

 pus hudsonius, very similar in appearance to H. hippocampus of Europe. 



Pipe-Fishes or Syngnathida. These fishes are closely related to the 

 Sea-horses and are found everywhere on the Atlantic coast. The head is 

 small and the body elongated, somewhat resembling the eel. The com- 

 mon form is Siphostoma fuscum, a most interesting aquarium fish. 



Sticklebacks or Gasterosteida. These interesting nest-builders have 

 three salt and brackish water species which thrive in the aquarium. These 

 are the four-spined Stickleback, Apeltes quadracus ; the ten-spined Stickle- 

 back, Pygosteus pungitius, which also inhabits fresh water, and the Two- 

 spined Stickleback, Gasterosteus bispinosus. Schools of them may some- 

 times be encountered in midsummer in bays and brackish water estuaries. 

 Their habits are described on page 72. 



Silver-Sides or Atherinida. These small carnivorous fishes are found 

 in numbers near the shore in brackish water and at the mouths of rivers. 

 They resemble the smelt. Two species occur on the Middle Atlantic 

 coast, Menidia cerea and M. notata, known as the Sand Smelt and the 

 White Bait. 



Mullets or Mugilida. The young of this genus will survive in the 

 aquarium. The adults reach a size of 2 feet and over. The most numer- 

 ous marine forms are the Grey Mullets, Mugil cephalus and M. curema, 

 both numerous in salt and brackish water during the summer. 



CrevalVes or Carangid^e. The young of three species of these fish are 

 abundant during the summer months along almost the entire Middle 



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