A Sleeping Fish.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVII, Issue 26, 26 June 1912, Page 35

A Sleeping Fish.

Some curious habits in a fish have been observed by the French zoologist, B. Komeis. The fish in question, which bears the name Paratilapia multicolour, was kept in an aquarium containing suitable seaweed, and observed through several seasons. The female fish places the eggs in the pockets in her mouth, and keeps them there until they hatch. After hatching, the fry is thrown out into the water in the morning, but towards evening the young fish come back to the mother’s mouth, inside of which thev

spend the night. A resting condition resembling sleep was also observed. Ordinarily these fish rest near the bottom of the water. But after the eggs are laid the female seeks the surface of the water, so that at times her back fins were actually out in the air. When at the surface she pressed her side fins close against the body, and remained quite motionless for as much as two hours at a stretch. With the exception of very slight movements of the gill-covers there was nothing to indicate that the animal was still alive. Dr. Komeis supposes that the advantage in this habit lies in the fact that the female, having eaten no food for a long time (during the breeding season) and being obliged to economise the reserve fats in her body, avoids motion as much as possible. Floating near

the surface is perhaps connected with the fact that here the fish can get sufficient oxygen with the least amount of