THE BASS AND THE PIKE FAMILIES 



271 



will readily understand why it required 

 close scrutiny to see all of the specimens 

 in the tank. 



In the late fall when the water gets 

 cold, the appetite of the black bass de- 

 clines, and during the winter I have 

 known them to abstain from taking food 

 for fully three months. During this 

 period of hibernation it is rare to see 

 them swim, except when disturbed. 

 Their breathing is so slight and slow 

 that one needs to observe closely to be 

 sure that they are breathing at all. 

 Those not acquainted with their habits 

 could hardly realize that such a radical 

 change could occur in this snappy game 

 fish by a low temperature of water. 

 When spring approaches, and the water 

 becomes warmer, and nature tells the 

 fishes that spawning time is near, the 

 black bass "is himself again." The 

 male fish looks about and chooses a 

 mate, makes a nest by whipping the 

 gravel with its tail and rear part of the 

 body, till a depression is made, several 

 inches in depth and a foot or more in 

 diameter. He stays by the nest, guard- 

 ing it day and night, to prevent any of 

 the other fishes from appropriating it. 

 Do you think that fishes have little or 

 no intelligence? They plainly under- 

 stand that they have no interest in that 



nest, and keep away from it, except that 

 occasionally some, as it appears, may 

 forget about it. If any get too near, 

 the guardian of the nest darts at the 

 intruder and acts in such a decided 

 manner that they hurriedly swim away, 

 acting as if they would say : "Beg 

 your pardon; we forgot all about the 

 nest/' 



The male fish reminds the female 

 from time to time that the nest being 

 ready, it is her duty to deposit the eggs, 

 which, at the proper time, she does. 

 The male pays unremitting attention 

 to the eggs, and also to the young 

 when hatched, and until the yolk sack, 

 which is attached to the underside of 

 the little fishes, is entirely absorbed by 

 them; this is for their sustenance until 

 they are strong enough to swim and 

 procure their food. At this stage of 

 their existence, the parent fish ceases all 

 care of the young, and if the fry (as 

 they are called) cannot find a hiding 

 place, their own parents would just as 

 soon eat them as any other species. 

 This is "the survival of the fittest." 



Small-mouthed black bass have been 

 bred in the tanks of the New York 

 Aquarium. As soon as the young left 

 the nest it was necessary to remove 

 them from the tank at once to prevent 



PASS RESTING 



