The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1885-03-19
The Breeding Habits Of the Common
Catfish.

Although the catfshes, or horned
pouts, are to1erably common fishes, their
breeding habits have not been put on
record by any one until Mr.. J. A. Ryder
observed pair of the species known as
An,iarus dl6idus. 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 IA Did vibration. evidently for
the 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 iuters-
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 ova after
depositing them. Each individual egg
was about sixth of an inch in diameter
after it had become dstended with water
(as is the case always with eggs laid
in water), and the mass contained
about 1000 eggs. Their surfaces We're
adherent, but were not envelopcd with
gelatinous material, so that, lying loose
ly like pile of shot, they were con-
veniently placed for aeration by the
efforts of the male. How important
this continual supply of fresh water
containing free oxygen is to the de-
of tel. H., h..
experience of all those who have Matched
such ova artifcially, and its Importance
n the present case was emphasized by
the fact that all the ova left in charge
OF the male fish Matched out. while an
attempt to rear portion of them artific-
tally partially failed through the INSULT
cheney of the supply of oxygen. On the
fifteenth day after the eggs were laid the
young were able TO feed, and were found
to relish greatly pieces of liver that were
thrown TO them. This they would tug
at in 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 also
the young fish hanging to them. but II
was observed that. though the liverwas
eaten, the young fishes were elected un-
injured, showing that by some delicacy
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 this third 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. and were quite
similar to the adults. the more as al
ready the upper part of the body had
acquired its color. As soon as they
commenced TO feed they began to dis
perse through the aquarium, and the
male abated his habit OF tanning them
with his fins. 1t is probable that the
hab is Of other cat shes of the same
genus are similar. IT is now in order
Tor fishermen. amateurs and others Ia
tell the newspapers t at tiiey knew al
this before, but did not suppose il was
not generally known. = fhi'ad lpdin
Record