The Inhabitants of the Aquarium 127 



brown on the back, with faint, irregular 

 markings of a darker color. The belly is of 

 a bright silvery gray. A dark band sepa- 

 rates the deeply forked caudal fin from the 

 body. The head and eyes are rather large 

 in proportion to the rest of the body, which, 



Fig. 57. Golden Tench, Tinea chry- 

 sitis. 



as long as the fish are young, has none of 

 the heaviness of the full grown fish. 



The young Tench is lively and graceful, 

 and free from the sluggishness of the older 

 members of the tribe. As it feeds mostly 

 from the bottom, it is excellent as a scaven- 

 ger in absorbing vegetable as well as animal 



