The Arizona sentinel., 1893-08-05
SOME STRANGE FISHES.
Peculiarities Of Recent Importa
 tions from Japan.
The Paradise Fish Its, Growth and Habits-CaDnibelistic Tendencies of the Mother Fish-How It Should
 Be Cared For.

Recently some very curious nest building fishes have been imported to this country from Japan, where they have been domesticated for many cen turies. The people of the mikado's em- pire seem always to have been addicted to keeping fnny creatures as pets, says an exchange. They may be said to have created the goldfish and the silver fish by propagating carefully selected freaks from common carp. In this way not only did they originally produce the brilliant hues which now adorn these fishes, but by breeding for such points they have obtained the varieties with triple tails, exaggerated fins and other peculiarities of high value in the market. Left to themselves the gold fish and the silverfish revert within Q few generations to their pristine dull ness of tint and commonplace form, and because they have been cared for so long they are no more able to look out for themselves when liberated than canary birds are.
 Unlike goldfish, says the Chicago News, the newly imported paradise fish, breeds in confinement, to which it seems to be much better adapted, being very tame, surprisingly intelligent and requiring no change of water in the globe or aquarium, save a sufficient al- lowance to make up for evaporation. However, it is chiefly remarkable for its nest-building habit. At the time of mating, the male, which is ordinarily of a dull-silver hue, exhibits brilliant stripes of red, blue and green, its ven tral fins showing streaks of bright est orange. When the female is about lay her eggs, he makes nest at the bottom of the water, composed entirely of air bubbles. For this purpose he swallows air and ejects it in the shape of bubbles, which are held and made permanent by glutinous capsules from a secretion in the mouth of the fish. Thus a mass of them is got together.
 When the female lays her eggs she would devour them immediately, but the male will not permit her to do so. He takes them in his mouth, and, going beneath the nest, ejects them, when they rise and find a resting place among the bubbles. Or, sometimes, he will conduct his mate under the nest, so that the eggs as she lays them will ascend and lodge in the nest. The laying be- ing concluded and all the eggs disposed of in this manner he keeps guard at the nest, not allowing the female to ap- proach it and even attacking her fierce ly if she attempts to do so. At the same time he occupies himself continually in making fresh bubbles to take the place of those which burst, and at intervals he Spouts streams of air around the nest, apparently for the purpose of keeping it thoroughly aerated.
 After about five days, during which this performance is kept up, the young are matched out. They cannot swim, but cling like little tadpoles to the bubbles. If one falls to the bottom, as happens every now and then, the papa fish darts after it, takes it in his mouth and conveys it beneath the nest, and then disgorges it among the bubbles again. Thus he continues to take care of his offspring for several weeks, until they are able to look out for themselves. They grow fast in globe and attain length of about three or four inches. Care must be taken that the paradise fish be not exposed to cold, which readily kills them, whereas the goldfish is said to be so hardy in this respect that it will re- cover health and animation after hay ing been frozen in ice. These f1nny nest-builders seem to be exclusively carnivorous, chopped angleworms being the most suitable diet for them, or, if they are not obtainable, raw beef cut fine. Any fancier can procure pair to order, if he has them not in stock, and they will breed rapidly, producing half & dozen broods year.