THE AQUARIUM, APRIL, 1897. 
steady the roots of them, while others 
are placed in groups of threes or fours 
together, leaving small crevices between 
each stone to catch the refuse matter 
that will collect in time. 
FILLING THE TANK. 
The aquarium is now ready to re- 
ceive the water. If you live in a city 
that has waterworks, use water from 
the hydrant, provided that it is clear: 
if you cannot have that, take clear cis- 
tern or spring water, but the water 
must be clear and fit for anybody to 
drink. Any water that you would not 
like to drink yourself is not fit for an 
aquarium! Muddy water is as detri- 
mental to aquatic plants as dust is to 
garden plants. If the water is less than 
60° F., some warm water should be 
added, as otherwise the plants would 
get chilled. Pour the water into the 
tank slowly and carefully, in order not 
to wash out the roots of the plants, 
filling it up to withintwo inches from 
the top. Now take a small stick, and 
by its aid carefully arrange the branches 
or blades of the plants to suit, then 
sprinkle a pinch of common table salt 
on the surface of the water and your 
aquarium is started. 
STOCKING THE AQUARIUM. 
If you wish to do so, you can place 
the fish in the water at once, but if there 
is no particular hurry, it is advisable to 
wait a day or two, in order to have the 
water settle and to give the plants a 
chance to straighten up and have the 
sand settled about their roots. After 
elapse of that period you will see most 
of the plants covered with minute sil- 
very bubbles, these are oxygen bubbles 
and you may consider your tank charged 
with same and in perfect condition to 
support animal life. Now take the 



101 
wiper, which is a sponge fastened to 
the flat end of a stick, and slowly wipe 
the inside of the glass of the aquarium, 
making the motion up and down, avoid 
touching the sand as this would scratch 
the glass. The aquarium will now ap- 
pear as clear as if it contained no water 
at all. Now introduce the fish gently, 
one ata time, getting them gradually 
used to the temperature of the water 
by slowly mixing it with the water in 
which they were, then add to your col- 
lection two or more frog tadpoles to 
consume the refuse and otherwise deé- 
caying matter and also a few pond 
snails of the ramshorn type, for the same 
purpose. 
NUMBER OF SPECIMENS. 
The question, how many fish can live 
in an aquarium of a certain size, is 
equal to, how much money must a man 
have to be rich—the answer is substan- 
tially the same. The shape of the tank 
and the location in which it is placed. 
determine the number of fish that can 
comfortably live in it. Should the 
location be bad as regards light, the 
amount of oxygen generated in the 
tank will be less, while if the situation 
is highly favorable in every respect, the 
evolution of the life-giving gas will 
reach its maximum degree. The quan- 
tity of water required for a given num- 
ber of fish is furthermore regulated by 
their size and the nature of the treat- 
ment they have received before they 
came into your possession. If, for in- 
stance, they were kept in running water, 
or were newly caught in a large pond, 
they will naturally require a much 
larger quantity of water than if they 
had already been accustomed to a life 
of captivity. Some fish need a great 
amount of oxygen while others get 
along with remarkably little. An aqua- 
