TO the thousands of visitors who goggle at its Piranhas, Lung Fish and Stingrays, Bolton Aquarium is a fascinating, free attraction. But, behind the glass tanks on view, a rescue operation is underway to save species of fish under threat of extinction over 5,000 miles away in Madagascar. And so successful has this two-man operation proved to be that Bolton has just become the home of a new cichlid (tropical freshwater fish) called the Lamena - the first time this particular species has ever been seen in the UK. Now, Aquarium boss Tim Kershaw and his assistant Pete Liptrott are looking forward to turning the six Lamena into hundreds more. And, in a scene that could have come straight out of "Jurassic Park," the duo have instituted a programme of nurturing that will ensure rare species like these thrive, not only in Bolton, but in other Aquaria and private tanks around the country.

"No, I don't think our visitors have any idea of the work that is going on here," admitted Tim.

"But it's true that it has made Bolton an acknowledged part of the work to save endangered species around the world."

This quiet but vital development started around 1990 when Tim first began increasing the number of endangered fish held at the Aquarium. It moved further forward when Pete Joined Tim in 1993. Regularly checking worldwide lists of species under threat, they gradually built up Bolton's supply.

"We decided that we would like to examine the fish of Madagascar and try to breed as many as we could," explained Tim.

Because of the remoteness of this island off the coast of South Africa in the Indian Ocean, new species are now being identified there.

The Bolton Aquarium had already had great success breeding Madagascan Rainbowfish. Since May last year, they produced over 1,000, some of which have already brought revenue back to the Aquarium. When they decided to acquire more stock, detective work lead them from Jersey to the USA, and finally ended with Mr Laif DeMason of Old World Exotic Fish Inc. in Miami.

He had available five species of Malagasy fish, all under threat but which had been bred in captivity in the States. Two were decided upon: Paretroplus Lamena and the pin-striped Damba.

Tim got sponsorship from fish food and equipment manufacturers to help pay travel costs for the fish, and Virgin Airways offered to ship them free from Miami.

That was in December and the fish are now well at home in Bolton, and about to go on view to the public.

The young fish are around two and a half inches long and will grow to six to eight inches, acquiring a lovely golden hue on the way.

The Lamena and the Damba will now join the town's 70 other species in 24 tanks which each year attract around 90,000 visitors to the Aquarium in the basement of the Bolton Library and Museum building. Tim and Pete feed the fish twice a day on a variety of foods including plant meal, fish eggs, live brine shrimp eggs and even a meat mixture made from ox heart.

"We're trimming down on that, though, to cut down fat content," added Tim.

The two men are experts on the fish in their charge, even able to detect changes of mood - apparently, when the fish are happy and dominant, their colours are more vivid. And they also know the "personality" traits of individual fish."Oh, yes, some of them are agressive, some shy - they're all different," added Tim.

The duo are quietly proud of the Aquarium's achievements and feel that the public - especially schoolchildren who study endangered species in class - could well benefit from the presence of these vanishing fish from far-flung parts of the world. "We'd certainly like to have more information on view," stated Tim, "to help people understand exactly what saving the environment is all about."

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