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THE FRESHWATER AQUARIUM AND ITS MAINTENANCE 
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It is a grave mistake to immediately introduce recently acquired fishes into 
an established aquarium. ‘They should be kept for some time under 
observation and only introduced when full assurance has been reached that 
they are free of contamination. Aquatic plants should also be placed in 
water containing a tablespoonful of Phenol Sodique to the quart of water 
several hours before being placed into an aquarium; then rinsed in clean 
water, carefully examined, all decayed parts removed and the leaves cleared 
of dirt, alge and conferve, as serious ailments to the fishes are often pro- 
duced by inattention to these particulars. 
Restiessness. When the supply of oxygen is insufficient, the fishes 
come to the surface gasping for air. Relief may be given them by dipping 
and pouring back some of the water and by increasing the number of 
plants, selecting the best oxygenators; but if these measures do not improve 
their comfort some of the water should be siphoned from the bottom, 
refilling with fresh aerated water, poured a number of times from one 
vessel to another, or introduced into the aquarium in a finespray. While 
the aquarium should be cleaned when the fishes persist in coming to the 
surface, this should not always be taken as an indication of unsanitary con- 
ditions, as they have the habit of doing this at daybreak and in the evening. 
The gasping of the fishes on the surface is to take in air with the water, 
to cause its partial absorption in the mouth before passing the water into 
the gills. . 
Excessive restlessness may also be due to a variety of causes; in- 
sufficient oxygen, the accumulation of objectionable gases in the water, im- 
purity of the water itself, and the presence of parasites and fungi, too small 
to be seen. These will be treated of under ailments and remedies. 
Changes from colder to warmer weather also unfavorably affect the 
fishes as a portion of the suspended air is thereby expelled from the water; 
and cloudy weather has some effect, as the plants will not liberate as much 
oxygen when they lack the stimulus of strong sunlight. 
It is not advisable to put ice into the aquarium to furnish oxygen or 
to cool the water; fishes are just as liable to pneumonia_as_other animals; 
this being the ailment that kills many of them when transferred from 
aquaria to tanks in the open air too early in the Spring. 
Errect oF Gases, FUMES AND ObDors. Authorities on the sub- 
ject of goldfish culture disagree as to the injurious effects of illuminating 
and coal gases, tobacco smoke, and the dust borne by the wind or raised 
by sweeping. Water readily absorbs fumes and odors, and if these are 
excessive, they cannot be otherwise than injurious, though with care and 
forethought no further precautions need be taken. ‘The hands should not 
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