162 Fresh Water Aquarium 



back is a soft, almost velvety olive brown, 

 separated by a light yellow lateral line from 

 that of the sides, which are of a slightly 

 lighter shade of the same color as the back. 

 The belly shows a broad, but not sharply 

 defined stripe of a light yellowish' brown, 

 which in the male, gains in intensity dur- 

 ing mating time. The frequent black points 

 and markings mentioned by some authors 

 are missing on some and barely perceptible 

 on others of the specimens serving us for 

 our description. The caudal fin is round in 

 outline and shaded from a very light gray 

 near the root, to deep black towards the 

 edge, the latter being a narrow transparent 

 and colorless band. The dorsal fin is almost 

 as high as it is long and is placed at about 

 an even distance between the nose and the 

 caudal fin. All the fins are colorless and 

 transparent. 



The peculiarity that gives the fish its 

 scientific name is that the vent or anal open- 

 ing is placed close to the throat instead of 



