The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1891-03-14
Single Copies S Cents
ALL ABOUT FISH.
PAPA FISHES THAT TAKE CARE OF
THEIR LARGE FAMILIES.

THEIR LARGE FAMILIES.
Professor Theodore gill, Of the Smith
snuian Instituiion, Tells OF Them The
Ways Of the Catfish and Suunsh Fish
That Bring Forth Their Young Alive.
D It is generally supposed that fishes
Al p no care whatever Of their young.
"a ing them entirely to the attention
Of nature, sa Professor Theodore Gill
II the Smithsonian. "But the fact is
very much otherwise with many species.
he most remarkable point, however,
fegatdmg certain kinds Of finny Great
IT s in their parental relations is that
males do the care taking, and not the fe-
Aales. Very interesting discoveries
ave been recently made with regard to
tho habits Of nest building fishes, the
ca fish among others
II you will go out any time during
the month of August in this latitude,
ytu will see in the streams and ponds
ok catfish Of the common sort. each
one accompanied by a swarm Of small
FRY. IN each case the old one ia male
sni lie is engaged in taking care Of his
of spring II an intruder comes near he
will dash at him and drive him away.
Il has been known for a long while that
c, fishes had this way Of guarding their
coung. but only lately has it been as
certaiued that it was the papa fish which
il the care taking. Some time back
there was pair Of catfshes in one of
.he squaria at the building Of the fish
commissi N. At spawning time eggs
were laid, and one Of the parents kept
watch over them, not permitting the
other TO come near. The young were
iIuly matched and thrived, being cared
Tor in this way until they were big
enough to look out for themselves
Then the fish which had stood guard
was taken out and dissected, the result
oeing that ii was found to be the male.
@m their native ponds and brooks you
vii fnd large broods of young catfish
a. lig as three-fourths of an inch in
leagti remaining together in hocbs,
each flock accompanied by the male.
Sometimes the latter will swim slowly
along in tire center Of the flock and at
o. ler times alongside. In laying their
eggs tie parent cattishes select spot
~ here he " ater is quiet if possible pro
ttcted l'y aquatic plants, and there they
m Ike nest, perhaps inches 10y 8, in
c osing the spawn. This nest has a soft
ocler envelope aud over it the male
huyrrs, forcing fresh water through the
mass h rapid vibrations of its fins until
afier ab out week they nre Matched.
-Sou eimes the male catfish takes
cafe of .ts young in still more peculiar
M nuer There is kind found in the
sea The eggs laid by which are as big as
small bullet These eggs are found in
ths ouths Of the males, which do this
to pro sct them After the eggs are
laid lie papa catfish takes them into his
mouth and keeps them there until they
are all hatcied, when they go out and
te Se care Of Themselves
"But this method is not tconfned to
tie catiishea. There are found In Africa
and South America species which re-
seinble ihe sunfish of our own streams
These 'cichlids, as they are called, are
also plentiful in Texas and Palestine,
Trey are often found with their cheeks
fairly lmlging with young. In the sea
of Galilee the cichlids are so numerous
that the miraculous catch Of the time
when St Peter fished there might be re-
peated any day, it being the manner Of
these fishes to move about on top of the
water in solid masses, covering many
q iare yards and making noise like
that II rain pouring.
The common sunfish also takes care
Of It's eggs as do other species Of its
family which are peculiar to North
America such as the black bass. rock
bass, and crappie. In the spring pair
of thesa fishes will come near shore,
ard carcfully clear away a circular
SPOT foot or two in diameter, remov-
ing all tie weeds and stones In this
clearing the female lays her eggs, and
ths male Immediately takes charge,
lowering over the nest and driving
away all inlr0ders This continues
until the baby fishes are Matched and
allie to take care of themselves.
The pipe fishes, which are found in
every ses, save where 1t lie very cold,
also take care of their young, and In a
very curious manner The new laid
eggs are taken charge Of by the male,
Which la+ sort of fold on each side Of
its body. Beneath these flaps he keeps
the eggs until the young are Matched
and flicienlly grown 20 take care Of
theniselyea In the group which in
cludes the sea horse the male has q
pouch under its tail, wherein IL retains
The eggs until the little fish have been
hstched for day or two, at the end OF
which time they make their way out
auI a., tlsaf.. u COZ, form ariftnr
an the case Of all these species Of
fishes which take care Of their young q
curious adaptation Of natural law to
circumstances Is found Those which
take the greatest pains in sheltering
their offspring have the fewest eggs,
peri aps less than one hundred at lay.
On tie oti,er hand, other sorts Of fishes
which pay not the slightest attention to
their young produce hundreds of thou
sands and even millions at a single lay
TIE extreme in the other direction Is
found in the gigantic ray known as
lhe devil fish of southern waters, which
grows TO be 90 feet in width II bears
but sin yle young one at a birth. the
mother re tanning it inside her body until
it has grown 20 be four feet broad The
youthful devil fish, coming into the
world so Zig, is in little danger from any
enemy, aud one at birth is enough to
keep up the stock There Ars very
many kinds Of fishes which are called
'Yivipsrous' because they bring forth
their young alive. Three fourths Of ths
sharks are Of that nature.
some Ratio.
1T Is odd that the value Of diamonds
does not increase in the ratio Of their
size. remarked the snake editor