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The Fijteen-spined Stickleback is nearly marine in
its habitat and will not do well in the freshwater
aquarium or pool.
*The Sun Fish.
In the streams of Florida,
Illinois and the adjacent States this fish is as
common as tiddlers are in England. ' Pumpkin
seeds ' is the title given by the small boys of
those states, and very apt it is too. Imagine
a sole or plaice that swims vertically, the scales
of which are large and iridescent, and the
colour a mixture of bright blues and greens;
to this add large, semi-transparent fins and a
disdainful demeanour, and you have the
Sunfish. It is a most pugnacious fish and
objects to strangers, although it grows to little
more than five inches in length. Sunfish
will breed in the pond, but are not really
sufficiently hardy to stand a winter out of
doors. Bloodworms, daphnae or pieces of
raw meat are welcomed by this carnivorous
fish.
* Black-banded Bass.
This fish closely resembles in shape and habits the Sunfish ;
it has the irritable nature of the Perch, to
which the Basses and Sunfish are nearly related, and prefers animal food to vegetable.
The colour is fawn upon which black transverse bands are superimposed. The cost is
from one shilling and sixpence to three shillings
each. Sunfish may be obtained at ninepence
or a shilling each.
* Peacock-eyed Bass.
This fish is slightly more
elongated than the Sunfish ; also it is somewhat
less vicious to other fishes, although otherwise
its habits are the same. The eye attracts
attention at once by its size and iridescence,
a large, black centre with a yellow rim reflects
a multitude of colours. The body is a shimmering olive-green and does not exceed four
inches in length. At the base of the dorsal
fin a large spot is situated resembling closely
the purple ' eyes ' in the tail of the peacock.
They may be purchased for one shilling and
sixpence each.
*Diamond Bass.
This is another rather
delicate and dainty fish, dainty in movement
and colouring alike. The shape is typical
of the sunfish kind ; the colour is a background
of pale fawn with transverse rows of black
lozenges. The fins are almost transparent and
tipped with pink. In spite of their small size
they fight among themselves like Trojans.
They may be obtained for the same price as
the Peacock-eyed Bass.
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