TROPICAL AQUARIUM FISHES 



Vallisneria. or other rooted plants, and spread them out well. (See 

 chapter on Plants.) After the proper arrangement of plants is made, 

 add from an inch to two inches of sand and pebbles, being- careful not to 

 completely cover any of the leaves. Now fill the aquarium and with a 

 slender stick lift up any leaves which have been held down by the sand. 

 After the leaves have been brought into an upright position, take hold 

 of them and pull upwards until the crown of the plant comes just to the 

 surface of the sand. Aquatic plants with crowns seem to do better if 

 the crown is not quite covered. The crown is the point from which the 

 leaves put out. 



Care should be taken in planting not to allow the leaves to become 

 even partially dry. This can be accomplished by frequent sprinkling, 

 and the work should be completed as rapidly as possible. 



Bunches of Cabomba, Anacharis and other plants, can be added last. 

 These need to be weighted dow^n with bits of lead or tin wire. In filling 

 the aquarium it is a good plan to place a piece of paper in the center of 

 the aquarium and let the water strike on this. By this method the plants 

 will not be seriously disturbed. The use of a watering pot for filling will 

 also prevent any serious disturbance of the planting. The aquarium 

 should be allowed to stand at least a day before the fish are introduced; 

 but a week would be better, so that the plants may become active in time 

 to be of real use to the fish. 



The use of pebbles only in the bottom of an aquarium is not to be 

 recommended, because particles of food may fall between the stones 

 where neither the fish nor snails can reach them, and the decomposition 

 thus set up is liable to foul the water. 



Testing Aquaria. Before putting plants or sand in the aquarium 

 it is well to test its tightness. More often than not the larger sizes leak 

 after removing or standing dry. These leaks can usually be corrected in 

 a few days by filling with very muddy water, stirring it occasionally. 



Fish Globes. Ignorance is responsible for most barbarity, and one 

 of the commonest forms of both is the keeping of fishes in globes. The 

 globe is in every way opposed to the correct principles of aquarium- 

 keeping. When it is filled, the air surface of the water is extremely small 

 in proportion to the bulk of water. The convex form acts as a lens to 

 perpetually focus light into the eyes of the fish. Even the side light of a 

 straight-side aquarium is known to be less desirable than top-lighting in an 

 opaque tank. What then must be the eflfect of a focused side-light? A 

 proper plant growth in a small globe is almost impossible. All of these 

 evils are multiplied by the apparently universal over-crowding in these 



