THE CARE OF SMALL AQUARIA 



By RAYMOND C. OSBURN, Ph. D. 



ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE NEW YORK AQUARIUM. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Small aquaria as objects of interest and decoration in the 

 house have become so common that their presence no longer 

 attracts special comment, though the custom of keeping them is 

 of comparatively recent origin. Goldfishes have been bred by 

 the Chinese and other oriental peoples for several centuries, but 

 chiefly in small out-door pools in the gardens. 



The balanced aquarium has been clearly defined by Mr. 

 Henry D. Butler, in a book entitled, "The Family Aquarium" 

 (New York, 1858), in the following terms: "The aquarium is a 

 receptacle for aquatic animal and vegetable life in fresh or 

 salt water, which need never be changed. The old-fashioned fish 

 globes were not aquaria in the proper sense, because it was abso- 

 lutely necessary to change the water in them pretty frequently, 

 lest the fish die. The vitalization of the water without this 

 change comprehends the leading principle of the aquarium." 

 Undoubtedly the failure to grasp the principle of proper balance 

 was the special factor which prevented the small aquarium from 

 becoming popular at a much earlier period. 



The facts that animals require oxygen in respiration and 

 that green plants give off oxygen in excess were discovered and 

 published as early as 1778, but lovers of aquatic life were slow to 

 apply this knowledge. In fact, it was not until 1850 that the 

 first properly balanced aquarium was described by Mr. Robert 

 Warrington of Manchester, England, in a paper entitled, "On 

 the Adjustments of the Relations Between the Animal and Veg- 

 etable Kingdoms, by Which the Vital Functions of both are Per- 

 manently Maintained." 



Warrington found that goldfishes could be maintained in- 

 definitely in a glass jar in which was placed some tapegrass 

 (Vallisneria) to supply the oxygen and with the addition of a 

 few pond snails to clean up decayed vegetation. Further experi- 

 ments were then conducted by him along similar lines upon ma- 



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