ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY NEW YorK STATE COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND HomME ECONOMICS AT CoRNELL UNIVERSITY Cornell University Library Qt 78.B7 T Somes cated fish, an il mann DOMESTICATED FISH A TEXT BOOK ON a THE CARE AND CULTURE OF GOLDFISH and EXOTIC FISH HOME AQUARIA BY W. L. BRIND, F. Z.S. PART TWO Copyright 1014 the editor. 7 TO MY READERS! _ You can ‘obtain: all ‘you need i in, : the. line of Fish and Supplies at fair current : market prices from the adver- tisers ‘in’ this publication; who. are per-_ sonally known to and vouched for by a ag nn nr gemma a a PN eae N | ir ‘Buy and | Selll mea i N | eee sca ar oe ea ee Tropical Fish Goldfish © Plants. Aquaria and. Supplies _ a Undertake Cominiissions- a vend Answer Questions, Ww. L “BRIND, Aquarist pO. Drawer 351 ~ _ Bergenfield, N. J. - “An illustrated monthly davis : N PET-STOCK WORLD co. \ . N To Be: ‘Sucteéssful. with your. Pets Read THe | | eae PET. STOCK to Rabbits, Canaries, Mice, Rats, - t F ish, Bantams, Pigeons, Pheas- | ants, Cats, Dogs and i in fact all 3 pets. are given pablicity. \ - PRICE 50c PER. YEAR, Station. 0, Baltimore, Md. \ Please Mention thie Publication DOMESTICATED FISH An Illustrated Text-book of Reliable Information for Amateur and Professional Aquarists on the Identification, Care and Culture of ORNAMENTAL DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN FISH Illustrated with drawings from life by the author from living specimens in his own collection Text and Illustrations by WALTER LANNOY BRIND, F.Z.S. OF BERGENFIELD, NEW JERSEY ‘Simon Peter said, I go a-fishing; and they said, we also will go with thee.” John 21-3, ERRATA IN. PART I. AND ADDENDA Pterophyllum Scalare has now been found to belong to the family of Centrarchidae or Sunfish, and its spawning habits are similar—making a nest in a hollow in the sand and guarding it. Daphnia are improperly referred to as “Insects.” They are crustacea or small animals with external “shell” instead of interna] “bones.” Girardinus Guppyi has been renamed and is now known as “Lebistes Reticulatus.” (Peters). Refer to pages 3 and 4 (Part I) for general information on breeding and on care of young fish of all kinds. PART TWO Illustrating and Describing Ten Species Copyright 1914 in the United States, Great Britain and Colonies by W. L. Brind 15 (2) zw o18 eC PERIOPHTHALMUS KOELREUTERI (Pallas) Mud-Springer. Family of Gobiidae. This extraordinary fish is an inhabitant of coast-waters extending from East Asia through southern Asia, Australia, West, South and East Africa. It is very plentiful wherever found and inhabits clayey sea shores as well as the openings of fresh water affluents and swamp land where the brackish water is persistent. It is particularly fond of the Mangrove swamps at the mouths of rivers and is one of the commonest fish of the Indian Ocean. At low tide the Mud-Springer crawls out of water and hops and wriggles over the muddy and weedy shore. It was first introduced to Aquarists by J. Umlauff of Hamburg in 1896 from Japan. The first scientific name of this fish means “the fish who looks around” on account of its peculiar eyes which project above the head, as shown. The peculiar formation of the pectoral fins indicating a short fore- arm, as in a reptile, is noteworthy. The coloration of the fish is light olive brown with metallic light blue spots. The first dorsal fin is dark blue bordered horizontally with black and with a white line between the blue and the black, while the second dorsal fin has a transverse horizontal blue stripe edged above and below with white. Regarding the sexual distinctions, the pliant rays of the first dorsal fin in the male are longer than in the female and the general coloring brighter, while in general demeanor, as in most fish, the male is the more audacious. Regarding its spawning habits, nothing definite is known. It is a hardy fish and lives in water of from 16 to 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahr.). Care must be taken by keeping the aquarium covered with glass to protect the air from getting much colder than the water and also to prevent the fish from springing out. NO PLANTS and a liberal admixture of sea water or table salt in the water are the proper conditions, while for food the Mud-Springer is partial to small worms, snails, flies, mosquito larvae and other live food but will also eat raw meat, chopped clams, or scrambled egg. 16 LION-HEAD OR COREAN GOLD FISH Ranchu, Shishigashira or Maruko. Cyprinus Auratus var. Family of the Cyprinidae. Sse eI GN SS) OAS ea eS This truly remarkable type of gold fish is one of the odd varieties which have been produced by the Japanese through careful attention to the development of type pecul- iarities in inter-breeding. A perfect Lion-Head has no trace of any dorsal fin whatever and the body should be as nearly egg-shaped as possible and of a solid red gold color. The dorsal fin and tail should be double, the latter fan-shaped and fully divided vertically in the center into two complete equal tails. The head which to the mind of the writer more closely resembles that of a buffalo than of a lion is thickly wattled all over with masses of fleshy protuberances similar to the wattling on the head of a turkey gobbler. On account of its clumsy shape this fish is not a fast swimmer, but is chiefly interesting on account of its freakish appearance. It does best in a temperature of about 23 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahr.) and spawns similarly to other gold fish— (see Part One of this work). It is, however, more delicate and difficult to keep. Large perfect specimens of the Ranchu (6 inches long or more) command very high prices—sometimes as much as $100 per fish. 7 HAPLOCHILUS CAMERONENSIS From Cape Lopez. (Boulenger.) Ribbon-Tailed Tooth-Carp. Family of the Poeciliinae. FMlaniini AL parr This beautiful little fish is a native of Cape Lopez in West Africa and is one of the handsomest of all small aquarium fish. This remark applies, however, only to the male, as the female is of an insignificant pinkish brown with small dark claret spots and is a warm olive brown on the back. The female does not have the beautiful ribbon- like tail of the male. The coloring of the male is a beautiful blue, richly spotted with red, the spots being arranged in three rows. Back of the ventral fins the spots are cross-shaped which show up splendidly against the light blue ground color. The pectoral fins are deep orange while the anal fin and tail are deep yellow and bordered with carmine red stripes. The dorsal fin bears numerous red spots. The tail is shaped like a lyre and has yellowish white ribbon-like attenuations of the outside rays. The limit of size to which this fish grows is about two inches. Only a small aquarium is necessary for breeding them. They need no great heat but the colors show better in water up to 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahr.), and the small adhesive eggs take 10 to 12 days to hatch at that temperature. These fish spawn in fine bushy plants, and if the plants are thick the fish will not eat the eggs. The closer the vegetation and the darker green it is the better colors the fish will show. Feed live food as much as possible, though dry insect food is also eaten readily. A peculiarity of this species is that it can be crossed with H. calliurus and also with the stem form of Cameronensis, of which this is a distinct variety. 18 HEMICHROMIS BIMACULATUS (Gill) Red Chromide. (Member of the family of Cichlidae) This beautiful fish is a native of Africa and is found all the way from the Nile to the Congo and the west coast of Africa generally. The coloring is more brilliant than any of the members of this family, and strange to say is usually more brilliant in the female than in the male. Sometimes, however, the brilliant colors are not evident, particularly when the fish is kept in cold water or is frightened. The prevailing color in the height of the breeding season is scarlet red, particularly on the throat and under parts of the body, though this color also extends to the margin of the tail and the dorsal fin generally. The males have longer, coarser heads and larger mouths than the females and the dorsal fin and anal fin are more pointed at their extremities, while in the females the ends of these fins are rounded. There are two dark spots on the body, as shown on the illustration, as well as one on the gill-cover. There are numerous metallic blue spots on the gill-covers and sides as well as on the tail and on the dorsal and anal fins and the back is a warm olive brown. The breeding habits of this fish are very interesting and are almost identical in all the members of the family of Cichlidae. The eggs are adhesive and are deposited preferably on a smooth flat stone or in an aquarium on the convex side of a large flower-pot broken in half and laid on its side, convex side up. The parents take it in turn to swim over the eggs which hatch in about four or five days according to the temperature of the water. As soon as hatched the parents dig deep holes in the sand and carry the young ones in their mouths and deposit them in a deep sand hole, transferring them from one hole to another in case of danger. After a period of a week or so the young ones rise off the bottom and first begin to hunt food and are then led around by their parents as a hen leads her chickens and are as zealously guarded. The adult fish prefer live food, small worms, etc., but failing this will eat scrambled egg or scraped raw beef. They grow to about six inches in length and a temperature of 18 degrees to 28 degrees Celsius (65 to 84 degrees Fahr.) suits them very well. These fish must be kept in an aquarium by themselves without plants and like abundant space, shallow water and a deep sandy bottom. Feed the young ones with the finest dry insect food until large enough to eat small daphnia and cyclops. 19 TETRAGONOPTERUS RUBROPICTUS (Berg) The Blcod- Fin. Member of the family of Characinidae. ge eons oe L——— pe 2 S 2 y F x/ 22S —s ; PO Se ore These beautiful little fish are natives of Eastern South America, occurring in the Argentine Republic in the La Plata region and in the department of the Andes at an elevation of as high as 9,000 feet above the sea. They were first introduced into Germany in 1906 by Carl Siggelkow and first bred in confinement by Paul Schame of Dresden. In general appearance the fish is very pleasing, the tail and fins, (with the exception of the pectoral fins and the small adipose fin, both of which are clear), are a beautiful blood-red, while the entire body is a metallic blue green. These fish are very lively and desirable pets for the aquarium and they are also quite hardy. They like a temperature of about 22 degrees to 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahr.) and spawn small adhesive eggs in myriophyllum clumps or other bushy fine-leaved plants, The males can best be distinguished from the females by a small hook on the first ray of the anal fin which is not visible to the eye but which always becomes entangled in a fine muslin or cheesecloth net when the fish is lifted out of the water so that instead of dropping out of the net when the latter is turned inside out the male fish almost invariably becomes entangled and hangs by the hook. This is a hardy fish and easy to keep in the aquarium, and while it naturally prefers live food it does very well on dry insect food. 20 BETTA BELLICA (Sauvage) Giant Fighting Fish. Family of Anabantidae. == hh = eos coe = og = a aes = z= ee ae 2 = = = = PM a" =< 2 I eck . \ = — > WL Brown From Li This superb fighting fish is one of the handsomest, if not the handsomest, of the fighting fish group. It grows to a length of about 6 inches and is of a brownish- heliotrope color, each of the scales being edged with metallic iridescent blue-green and gold. The ventral fins, tail and anal fin are all much prolonged in the male, terminating in brilliant metallic blue-green and gold as indicated in the illustration. The female can best be recognized by the shorter fins and tail, though the expert Aquarist will recognize other features peculiar to all Labyrinth fishes and will make mental comparisons with Betta Rubra, the red fighting fish, illustrated and described in Part I of this work. : While this giant fighting fish will live without apparent inconvenience in water of a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahr.), yet it enjoys a very much higher temperature, up to 28 or 30 degrees Celsius at breeding time, which, strange to say, occurs very late in the year—in my fishery Betta bellica now has a nest to-day (November 21st). The breeding habits are identical with those of Betta rubra (which see). Only one Aquarist in Germany, Mr. Hippler of Berlin, has succeeded in breeding this fish. My pair spawned in a nest of about six inches in diameter three weeks ago. I removed the female at once and just before the eggs would have hatched the male ate them all! If I am fortunate enough in obtaining eggs again I will remove the male as the eggs will undoubtedly hatch without his assistance, as is often the case with other Labyrinth fishes. Betta bellica was first introduced to Aquarists by Julius Reichelt of Berlin, and was brought by him from Sumatra. It is illustrated and described in his catalogue of June, 1906. Betta bellica will eat scrambled egg, chopped fine and fed in single pieces, but much prefers small worms and other live food. 21 PLATYPOECILI SPECIES 1.—Platypoecilus Maculatus (Giinther) 2.—Platypoecilus Rubra (Stanch) 3.—Platypoecilus Nigra (Brind) 4.—Platypoecilus Pulchra (Boul.) . Family of Poeciliinae. These hardy, live-bearing little fish are all natives of Mexico, and as their habits and requirements are practically identical, one illustration covering these four varie- ties suffices. They inter-breed indiscriminately and are among the desirable fish for the begin- ner’s aquarium. The first one is sometimes known as the blue Platypoecilus as it usually shows a bright metallic blue patch on the side, the general coloring being light olive with white underneath. The males sometimes show a scarlet red suffusion in the dorsal fin and a double row of black spots. Females in the young fish can be distinguished by the black posterior margin on the anal fin. The intromittent organ does not develop until the male fish is almost full grown. P. rubra, or the red Platypoecilus, is a very handsome fish, fine specimens of the males being scarlet red all over. The females resemble very closely those of P. Pulchra, except that they have a general light reddish suffusion throughout the body. This fish is a native of Southern Mexico, as are also the next two varieties, so consequently these last three require somewhat warmer water or a minimum of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahr.) for their well being. P. Nigra is easily recognizable on account of the velvety black suffusion which is stronger in the male than in the female and it sometimes almost covers the entire sides. P. Pulchra, or the checkered Platypoecilus, is a handsome little fish with a black network appearance over the otherwise comparatively insignificant olive brown body. The males only of P. rubra and P. nigra are shown above, while the females represent P. maculatus and P. pulchra. These fish are easily kept in the aquarium because they are satisfied with dried insect food, though, as in other fish, live food is preferable where obtainable. 22 a . “Attention Live- ‘puri Fish Breeders! Protect y your new-born fish from the attacks of the female by using the “LIFE-SAVER CAGE” , an Will positively eave the life of every new-born fis without any abot on rou part. Made of:glass an: non-corrosive wire. By » postpaid, 75c. KF. J. DECKELMANN (Formeri 521 59h STREET, BROOKL the L. v Co.) . N,N eo a mm oe European Fish Reptiles, Amphibians Frequent consignments from different parts of the globe, Fanciers supplied with mixed me nem DIRECT IMPORTATIONS. OF ALL KINDS OF |EXOTIC FISH AND ALL RARE BREEDS OF |IGOLDFISH As well’as Accessories, Aquaria Fishfoods, Plants, etc. WHOLESALE AND RETAIL ADDRESS J. J. HALTERBECK FISH IMPORTER 735 Lexington Avenue: (Bet. 58th and 59th Streets) New York City, N. Y. \ : collections | THIS aos. : BAS - American Dealers! Note! , VALUABLE SPACE. We can make fair exchange FOR SALE State your “wants . TO AN ADVERTISER 500 ee : ia Lizards i WHO DESIRES Bull Frogs a Small Terrapins (Turtles) N } PERMANENT aa \ PUBLICITY L. CURA & SONS N : ‘1 and 6 Vine Street | London, E. C., England. N The Best Fishfood BLUE - RIBBON FISHFOOD Made from imported in-. gredients which are not ob- eioale in the United States and which I import myself and supply WHOLESALE AND RETAIL "at prices based on quantity AQUARISTS NOTE! Na; fishfood has feel merit aie it ia om : ‘posed of properly prepared. aquatic life, animal and vegetable, ee as ‘fish find in, nature, “W. -L. BRI ND P. 0, Drawer 351 Bergenfield, N. Je. Fl cere A rename oe te ae Pan oa es a ——e Peat Pei Please Mention this Publication i rae ‘ae ep =_