THE CARE OF HOME AQUARIA 



47 



J.% 



YOUNG TAUTOG OR BLACKFISH. 

 A very hardy and interesting- fish for the marine aquarium. 



stocking renders the salt-water aquarium impracticable for the 

 person of average means who lives at a distance from the sea. 



To one who is within reach of the shore, however, the ma- 

 rine aquarium offers a never-ending and ever-varied field for 

 Ftudy and investigation. Animals and plants may be obtained 

 the year round, and many of them live well within the restricted 

 limits of the aquarium. The many species of hydroids and sea- 

 anemones, marine worms, small starfishes, bryozoans, mollusks 

 of many kinds, crabs, shrimps and other crustaceans and sea 

 squirts or ascidians, as well as fishes, are to be obtained. These 

 give a variety to the miniature scene which cannot be paralleled 

 in the fresh water aquarium. 



Some of the small salt-water aquaria at the New York 

 Aquarium have been maintained in a balanced condition for sev- 

 eral years one for as long as twelve years. Of course, both 



animals and plants have been added to the stock occasionally, 

 but the balance has not been interfered with during that time. 

 Fresh water in small quantities must be added to the marine 

 aquarium occasionally to replace that which evaporates. The 

 addition of sea water would, in the course of time, cause the 

 salinity to become too great, since the salts do not evaporate. 



