14 AQUARIUM MANAGEMENT 



can be seen releasing a steady stream of fine bubbles. These are almost 

 pure oxygen. 



Strong diffused light with an hour or two of direct sun is approxi- 

 mately ideal. Ordinary artificial light is worthless so far as any effect on 

 the plants is concerned. 



Direct sun in the summer months is dangerous to small aquaria, as 

 it is liable to raise the temperature too high for the fishes. 



FEEDING 



This is the fourth of our major topics, but by no means the least im- 

 portant. Again we shall see what we can glean from Nature's way of 

 doing things. 



Fishes in natural conditions are nearly always hungry (except some- 

 times when their lunch is served on a barbed hook). Also they never get 

 enough to satisfy their appetites. This is our cue. Feed sparingly. Gold- 

 fish over one year old should never have all they can eat. When they 

 swim coaxingly to the near side of the aquarium, using what eloquence 

 they have to beg for food, it is a great temptation to yield, but true kind- 

 ness bids us steel ourselves against doing so if the feeding time has not 

 arrived. 



There is no feeding rule which can be successfully applied to all con- 

 ditions and times. Remember that all of a fish's functions are directly 

 affected by temperature. They are cold-blooded animals, and when cold 

 they are slowed down in all ways, needing less fuel to keep going. 



Unlike warm-blooded animals, food does not fortify them with heat 

 against the cold. In excess it merely clogs their systems with substance 

 which poisons because it is eliminated too slowly. 



When the water is 60 degrees or higher it is allowable to feed once 

 daily. When 55 to 60 degrees, every other day is sufficient, while from 

 three to six days is often enough at temperatures from 40 to 55 degrees. 

 This has to be done with a certain amount of personal judgment. 



A meal should be small enough that it is entirely consumed in five 

 minutes. Any surplus food remaining after that time should be removed, 

 but experience in feeding soon makes this extra work unnecessary. 

 Results will be better if only one person is responsible for the feeding. 



It is better to err by feeding too little than too much. 



The ingredients of the food should approximate in content that which 

 the fish would secure under natural conditions. A goldfish would not on 

 its own account be likely to find oatmeal, crab meat or hen's eggs, but 

 these and other substances contain the elements which, when properly 

 combined, approximate natural fish food. Definite food formulae will be 

 found in the chapter on Fishfoods (Page 67). 



