loo NATURE AND THE CAMERA 



spoil the picture. Occasionally one finds a fish so 

 well behaved that he will allow the deposit to be 

 swept off, staying quiet the meanwhile. Such fish 

 are very rare. A piece of white coral looks so clean 

 that one is tempted to place it in the water with- 

 out previous washing, and too late we discover our 

 mistake. 



Many of the aquatic plants are so light that they 

 float, thereby causing great annoyance. Especially is 

 this true of the grasses. Heavy split shot attached 

 to the ends is a good preventative, but these must 

 be carefully tied if the plant is brittle, as most of 

 them are. Another plan which can be used to good 

 effect with grasses is to take a thin strip of sheet- 

 lead and attach the grass along this at intervals. It 

 saves much time in the end if, before placing the 

 fish in the aquarium, all the accessories are carefully 

 arranged and secured. 



In selecting the surroundings to be used, some- 

 thing should be known of the habits of the fish. 

 For instance, trout require stones or rocks, with a 

 little light vegetation, such as grass. Yellow perch 

 need only plants. The bluefish should have no ac- 

 cessories, while the angel- and parrot-fish look more 

 natural if placed among weed-covered rocks and a 

 luxuriant growth of plant life. Any fish that lives 

 on a muddy bottom should either be photographed 

 on the white oilcloth or on sand. But don't be 



