Humane Education 



The Proper Treatment for Goldfish 



The best place to keep goldfish is in a balanced aquarium. To 

 make this, place at the bottom of the aquarium a layer of sand; 

 in this we plant any water weeds we find living entirely beneath the 

 surface, placing a few small stones upon them so as to hold them 

 fast. Now place a sheet of paper over them and pour in water 

 gently until the aquarium is nearly full; then remove the paper 

 which was used to prevent the uprooting of the plants while the 

 water was being poured in. In such an aquarium the oxygen given 

 off by the plants keeps the water pure so that it does not need to be 

 changed. The aquarium should not be kept in the strong sunlight 

 or its sides will become covered with a green slime which is a low 

 form of vegetation. 



For cleaning this aquarium we should have a glass pipette 

 long enough to reach the bottom. The Acton Electric Co., 1133 

 Broadway, New York, have devised an aquarium vacuum cleaner 

 which is very efficient. Frog tadpoles introduced into this 

 balanced aquarium prove helpful in keeping down the growth of 

 low vegetation. 



The ordinary fish globe is not fit for an aquarium because its 

 curved sides allow but a small portion of the surface of the water 

 to come in contact with the air if it is filled to the brim. Often 

 goldfish die of suffocation when kept in these globes. If a globe 

 must be used it never should be filled more than half full and thus 

 leave as large an area of the surface of the water as possible in con- 

 tact with the air. 



If a balanced aquarium is not used the water should be changed 

 at least three times a week. In changing the fish, remove them by 

 hand or with dip-net to a pan of water while the aquarium is being 

 emptied cleaned and refilled. Care should be taken that the water 

 in the pan and the fresh water in the aquarium should be as nearly 

 as possible the same temperature as that from which the fish were 

 removed. 



If practicable the aquarium should be set near a north or an east 

 window : a window-shade should be used to regulate the light so 

 that in the summer the aquarium does not become heated by direct 

 sunlight. In winter the fish should have all the sunlight possible 

 in our northern climate. 



168 



