

HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 



send -particulars to- The Official Receiver in Bank- 

 ruptcy, Carey Street, Lincoln Inn Fields, or, if 

 they will, send it to me, and I will submit to him 

 in due course. 



Jordan and his associates should return their 

 fees to the unfortunate young men, and I am out 

 to see this done. 



Saii Francisco Aquarium Society. 



RAISING 



THE EGYPTIAN MOUTH BREEDER 



IN CAPTIVITY. 



Seint by Dr. Frederick W. D' Evelyn. 



This rather small aquarium fish was one of 

 the most interesting that I ever had occasion to 

 add to my large collection, and was an ever- 

 changing source of wonder and , delight at the 

 time they were breeding. 



Its scientific name, Haplochromis strigigena, 

 is most presumptions for so small a fish, about 

 two inches long, at maturity, but said fish lives 

 up to all the expectations its name may require 

 of it. 



They are natives of Northern Africa, carni- 

 vorous by nature, and aSide in bodies of water 

 ranging from 65 degrees to 85 degrees Fahr. 

 Very trim to look upon, they are so gorgeous dur- 

 ing the breeding season that words fail to des- 

 cribe any idea of colouring. Appearing as though 

 set with precious gems of various hues, is as near 

 as most aquarists come to describing them. 



Very scrappy in disposition, they are in- 

 clined to_fig-ht with one another at all times, and 

 we find it hard to get a pair that settles down to 

 business and a mutual understanding. Even the 

 very young babies are pugnacious and proceed 

 about their business with a chip on their shoul- 

 ders and are always ready to battle. 



Among the larger specimens a deal of damage 

 is done during fighting, and it behoves one to 

 separate fine fish. 



Haplochromis must be well fed on live food 

 in order to get them to mate and readily breed, 

 to say nothing of carrying the female through 

 on a fourteen or fifteen day fast while incubating 

 her eggs. There is a difference of opinion re- 

 garding the size of the tank necessary for breed- 

 ing and some aquarists have said that the mouth 

 breeder will not proceed with the nest building 

 in a receptacle holding less than twenty gallons. 



This claim I have set aside inasmuch as I 

 have bred them in a small battery jar containing 

 at the most, two quarts of water. 



There had been some disagreement between 

 the original pair, but one fine morning I saw the 

 male fish very busy at the bottom of his tank. 

 The female showed little interest in his opera- 

 tions. About noon, however, with a temperature 

 around 80 degrees, she awakened to the fact that 

 she had quite an ardent lover to spurn and after 

 an hour of unnecessary delay in accepting his 

 attentions, she becam ecurious regarding the hole 

 the male fish was gradually forming in the fine 

 white gravel. 



The start of this hole was caused by the 

 male dragging his anal and tail fins in a small 

 circle, as he pivoted continually, in an effort to 

 display his wonderful colour and fin development 

 to the lady of his desire. From the moment the 

 female approached him, and picked up two or 

 three mouthfuls of gravel (by way of investiga- 

 tion) his excitement was most intense. 



He straightway converted himself into a 

 miniature steam shovel, and went about digging 

 the nest in a very business-like way. From a 

 central point, he ran the fine gravel up over the 

 lip of the depression distributing it very even'v. 

 Toward the- finish of the nest building he would 

 start at the bottom of the pit and opening his 

 mouth, would plough all that it was possible to 

 jam into it and disgorge it over the edge. The 

 nest when finished, was about 3 inches in diame- 

 ter by lh inches deep and seemed to meet with 

 his entire approval. At intervals the female would 

 lend an encouraging mouth, but really did little 

 digging. 



She was finally coaxed into the nest and after 

 much excited circling about (much as a dog 

 prepares to lie down) she came to a tremulous 

 stop, quivering close -to the bottom of the nest, 

 the male, at right angles, gently nosing her 

 side. With a noticeable jerk an egg was deposi- 

 ted and she immediately swing round to the ex- 

 act position that the male had previously occu- 

 pied, while he lost no time in covering her former 

 position and fertilizing the egg just deposited. 

 While the male fish was in the act of fertilizing the 

 single egg, the mouth of the female was held so 

 close to his vent that much of the spermatozoa 

 must have been taken into it and no doubt ac- 

 counts for the fact that we see no infertile eggs in 

 this operation. 



As soon as the male had finished fertilizating 

 the first egg, the female proceeded to take the 

 same into her mouth. There was much excite- 

 ment over the collecting of that first egg- The 

 male danced his approval and gave her all of his 

 moral support. 



From that time on, the spawning of each 

 egg was a repetition of the first, and the whole 

 proceedure was carried out without a hitch. By 

 the time the female had gathered the result of the 



