THE 



AQUARIUM 



ir 



and besides much food is ready for them 

 there, A few days after the youn^ are 

 born, they are strong and alert enovigh 

 to dodge the okler fishes in the aquari- 

 um. It is advisable once in a month or 

 so to partly renew the water in a tank 

 containing Girardinus. The best way is 

 to draw off with a thin rubber hose the 

 refuse on the bottom, and after the 

 cleaning restore the old level of the 

 water with fresh water of the same 

 temperature as that discarded. This 

 partly renewing the water in the tank is 

 beneficial to the fishes' health. 



The Aquarium. 



A Series of Articles on the Construction, Equipment 



and Maintenance of Aquaria, and the 



Breeding of Goldflsli. 



C. G. B. SCHENK, Milwaukee. 



///. Equipping the Aquarium. 



TO equip our aquarium we require 

 sand and plants. Coarse sand is best 

 for the plants. If the sand is fine and 

 "packs" tight, small pebbles may be 

 mixed with it. Stones, shells and 

 ornaments should be left out by the 

 beginner. Food or dead snails collect 

 in the crevices and decay, causing 

 trouble if not promptly removed. The 

 cleaner the bottom of the tank, the less 

 chance for sickness among your fishes. 



Put in a bottom of two or three inches 

 of sand. Two inches at the front will 

 be sufficient, but this depth may be in- 

 creased to three at the back where most 

 of the plants will be placed. 



Desirable aquatic plants cannot always 

 be obtained in the smaller cities and 

 towns, but may be secured from the 

 dealers who advertise in The Aquarium, 

 several of whom make a specialty of 

 propagating the right sorts. 



The object of the plants, aside from 

 adding beauty to the aquarium, is to 



provide oxygen for the fishes. Water 

 plants when in a healthy growing con- 

 dition throw off oxygen which the fishes 

 must have to live: the fishes throw off" 

 a gas which the plants absorb, therefore 

 if you have sufficient plants to provide 

 the fish with the necessary oxygen, you 

 have a self-sustaining aquarium, the 

 water in which need never be changed. 

 This water will be absolutely pure, 

 provided care has been exercised to 

 avoid decaying food, dead snails, etc. 

 Evaporation will take place,and occasion- 

 ally you will have to fill your tank. 

 Lest you have read what is stated above 

 hastily, without grasping the meaning, 

 let me repeat — when you have sufficient 

 plants in your aquarium to provide the 

 fishes with the required amount of 

 oxygen, y o u need never change the 

 water. 



This makes it obvious that the more 

 fishes you have, the more plants you 

 will need. A better way to pvit it 

 is — the less plants you have, the fewer 

 fishes you can successfully keep, for 

 naturally there is a limit to the number 

 of plants you can place in your tank. 

 Sufficient room must be left for the 

 fishes to swim around comfortably. 



There are many varieties of plants 

 which can be grown in an aquarium, but 

 we will only consider the more im- 

 portant kinds which are the best oxy- 

 "lenators, leaving the additions of others 

 to the reader as his fancy dictates from 

 time to time. Vallisneria and Sagittaria 

 are the best of all aquarium plants. 

 They are easily grown and are good 

 oxygenators. Cabomba is a good summer 

 plant and Anacharis a good winter 

 grower. There are many other varieties 

 which add much to the beauty of the 

 aquarium. 



Place the aquarium where the sun- 



