eight or nine inches long — causes him to be incon- 

 venient ; and, moreorer, he his difficnlt to manage, 

 and would prohablj require altogether a special 

 treatment. One of the smaller Wrasses, however, 

 Crenilahrus cornubicus^ is a desirable guest ; his 

 minnte size, and varying and often gay colours^ 

 rendering him very attractive. He is an active and 

 eager searcher for food, bnt never takes any loosely 

 floating object, only darting at and detaching such 

 atoms as are attached to the different species of 

 Algae. 



The Pipe-Pish, Syngnathm acus^ is interesting 

 in the tank, and also the two- spotted sucker, Lepi- 

 dogaster Mmaculatus^ a prettily coloured and curious 

 little fish, which has the faculty of attaching itself 

 to the side of the tank, or any other hard flat surface, 

 by means of two singularly-formed ventral fins, which 

 act like the leather suckers by means of which boys 

 enjoy the sport of lifting heavy stones at the end 

 of a string. The spawn of this fish is like tiny 

 amber beads, and is attached to shells and other 

 substances. 



Among the Crustacea fitted for an Aquarium, the 

 common Prawn, TalcBmon serratm^ holds the first 

 rank. In the first place, his cleansing properties, in 

 devouring all decaying animal matter, are most im- 



98 



