Published Semi-Monthly at the New York Aquarium, cor. 35th Street and Broadway. 
VOL. 1. NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11, 1876. ^ NO. 1. 
THE STICKLEBACK AND HIS NEST. 
It is not without good and worthy reasons that 
the place of honor on this, the first page of the 
initial number of the Aquarium Journal, is 
given to an illustrated description of the odd 
little Stickleback and his submarine home. It 
will not be denied that the Whale is a bigger fish 
and the Octopus a more famous one, but fo* 1 
consummate skill and ready wit 
the plucky and ingenious little 
fish known as the Stickleback—- 
or as the wise heads have chris¬ 
tened it, “ Gasterosteus”—leads 
them both and all the rest of the 
water world beside. Though we 
have registered a vow to avoid in 
these and all subsequent descrip¬ 
tive papers all bewildering tech¬ 
nical terms and titles, yet we 
should be lacking in due respect 
f or the intelligence of our read¬ 
ers did we not believe that what 
is now written will lead to fur¬ 
ther inquiry, and therefore shall 
take it for granted that they will 
desire to know all and even more 
than we can tell regarding the 
subjects of the present series of 
submarine sketches. 
The Sticklebacks belong to 
the order of Spine-finned Fishes 
known scientifically as Acan- 
thopteryg 11, and in which theta 
rays of the fins are in the fornq 
of spines. As -the New York 
Aquarium tanks contain living 
specimens of these fish it is left 
for the visitors to learn of their 
form and structure by direct per¬ 
sonal observation, and we pass at 
once to a notice of the one great 
accomplishment which places the 
Stickleback far in advance, so 
ar as intelligence goes, ofall rivals 
both great and small. The ac¬ 
complishment to which we refer 
is that by which this fish is able to build a nest 
for the home and protectitu( of its young, or 
rather for the eggs or spaw.. from which the 
young are hatched. The illustration here given 
will serve as a guide to a brief description of the 
methods adopted by these house builders of the 
sea. The nest is very like that built by cer¬ 
tain birds, and in the plan of construction the 
same general methods are ndonted. 
STICKLEBACKS and their nests* 
Having hrst chosen the site, which may be 
some secluded little moss-covered retreat among 
the pebbles or the branches of some hardy sea 
plant, the worker begins the collection and ar¬ 
rangement of the materials out of which the 
nest is made ; these consist of the delicate little 
leaves and branches of sea weed which abound 
in all ponds, lakes, or even in the great ocean. 
With these the work of nest building is begun 
and completed—the only in- 
sed "being "tKe mo ui'li 
and active liitle nose of the 
builder. First comes a bit of 
tangled weed for a foundation, 
which is held in place, it may 
be, by some bits of straw that a 
favoring breeze has cast upon the 
water, and which serves in the 
place of tie beams and rafters. 
I3y the aid of these few simple 
materials, many of them brought 
from a distance in (he mouih of 
the builder, the nest is completed, 
and when finished has the ap¬ 
pearance of a little green puff 
ball or thistle bud. On one side, 
or at the top, a small opening is 
left, and within is a soft green 
bed for the reception of the eggs. 
These eggs, when first laid,-are 
of a yellow color and about the 
size of the smallest dust shot or 
poppy seeds. As they approach 
maturity they turn to a darker 
color. Mr. Couch, in his His¬ 
tory of British Fish, gives a 
very interesting account of per¬ 
sonal observations which but 
serve to confirm the claim we 
have set up for the superior skill 
and wisdom of the Stickleback. 
He tells us that in a large dock 
for shipping on the river Thames 
thousands of Sticklebacks were 
bred, and he often amused him¬ 
self for hours observing them. 
While multitudes were enjoying 
