264 Fresh Water Aquarium 



near the water, so near in fact that it can 

 dive in as soon as it notices the slightest dan- 

 ger or disturbance. For this reason it is 

 rather difficult to catch. Its color varies 

 with the localities and climates in which it 

 is found. In the Eastern States it is grayish 

 blue with irregular black blotches of differ- 

 ent size; while in the Southern States it is 

 of a lighter shade of the same color, but 

 the blotches are yellowish, so that it hardly 

 seems the same animal. Those collected 

 near the Atlantic coast showed dark blotches 

 on a brownish ground. 



This Triton is a lively and rather desira- 

 ble inmate for the aquarium, although it 

 should not be kept with valuable fishes, on 

 the fins of which it may wage a disastrous 

 war. If fully grown it may attain a length 

 of 10 inches. While it will remain most of 

 the time in the water, it must have the op- 

 portunity to leave it at will. 



The Brown Salamander (Desmognatus 

 fusca) lives in or near the water, under 



