The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1884-10-30
The Breeding Habits OF the Common
Catfish.

Although the catfshes, or horned
pouts. are tolerably common fishes, their
breeding habits have not been put en-
record by any one until Mr.. j. A. Ryder
observed pair of the species known as
.AaaiurHs al6idus These fishes, male
and female. were confined in an aqua
rum. One morning mass of ova,
about eight inches long, four inches
wide and half to three-fourths thick,
was noticed at the bottom of the tank,
while over it lowered one of the pair of
fishes. keeping pectoral, anal and ven-
trail fins in rapid vibration, evidently for
tire benefit of the ova beneath. This fish,
as was afterward proved by dissection,
was the male, and this assiduous nurs-
ing-father watched carefully over the
eggs, forcing water through the inters-
tees between them by the rapid motion
of his fins. until the Young escaped from
the egg membranes, which they did
from the sixth to the eight day after
the deposition Of the eggs. The female
took no further notice of the oya after
deposling them. Each individual egg
was about sixth of an inch in diameter
after it had become distended with water
fas is the case always with eggs laid
in waterl, and the mass contained
about 1000 eggs. Their surfaces were
adherent, but were not enveiopcd with
gelat nous material, so that, lying loose
~ like a pile of shot, they were con-
yeniently placed for aeration by the
effort OF the male. How important
tn $ continual supply of fresh water
containing free oxygen is to the de-
velopment of fish ova is shown by the
eSl en..e o. all those who have hatcncd
such o arti cially, and its importance
n the present case was emphasized by
the fact that all the ova left in charge
o the male fish Matched out. VIII lie an
attempt 10 rear portion of them arlific-
tally partially failed through the INSULT
cien y OF the supply OF oxygen. On the
i,'teenth day after the eggs were laid the
young were able to feed, aud were found
to relish greatly pieces Of liver that were
thrown to them. Ihis they would tug
at in q way that proved their possession
of teeth. The parent fishes would fire.
quently take into their mouth pieces of
the liver thrown TO their young, and in
so doing would apparently swallow a so
the young fish hanging to them, but ii
WIS oD>clNSu tNti, though Inc liver was
eaten, the young fishes were elected un-
injured, showing that by some delicaey
of touch the parents recognized the
presence of their offspring previous TO
swallowing the morsel. The barbels
appear very early in life; the pair which
proceeds from the angles OF the mouth
commence to bud ON the h'rd day OF
development, and the two pairs of chin
barbels on the fifth On the fourteenth
day the rays of the fins were already
formed, and the young had fairly passed
through the larval state. aad were quite
similar TO the adults, the more as al
ready the upper part of the body had
acquired its color As soon as thew
commenced to feed they began to dis
perse through the aquarium, and the
male abated his habit Of tanning them
with his fins. II is PROBABLE that the
HABITS Of other eatfshes of the same
genus are similar. II is now in order
for fishermen, amateurs and others TO
tell the newspapers that they knew ell
this before, but did not suppose it was
not generally known. - Philadelphia
Record.