CHAPTER XVIII 



THE MARINE AQUAEIUM 



To the lover of marine zoology a little aquarium at home 

 has always been a desideratum, but has usually been con- 

 sidered to present insurmountable difficulties. 



Unlike the fresh- water one, which thrives best when most 

 neglected, it appears to require constant attention and 

 change of water. 



It goes wrong from the first, and becomes a malodorous 

 failure at the last. 



The gorgeous anemones retract their tentacles, loose their 

 hold upon the rock, and roll about. The surface be- 

 comes covered with a scum of colonies of putrefactive 

 bacteria, and the gay little fishes float, in extremis, wrong 

 side up. 



I think this is about the experience of the majority of 

 aspirants to the possession of a small aquarium. And yet 

 some succeed in maintaining one with little trouble. What, 

 then, is the secret of success ? 



I write this for those who are living far from the sea, 

 where sea-water has to be purchased, and is not at all times 

 obtainable. 



Firstly, the choice of a vessel. This should be of such 

 form as to present a surface of water to the air considerably 

 greater than the depth. A fish that will live for months 

 in a pint of water in a pie-dish will not live six hours in a 

 pint of water in a jug. 



The bell-shaped glasses obtainable at all the glass and 

 Y 337 



