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THE 



AQUARIUM 



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COMMENTS 



AND 



QUERIES 



Please advise how to care for sunfish 

 in the house, and what to feed them. 



W. B. Wright. 



Prepare a rectangular all glass or 

 metal bound tank, with about a 2" lay- 

 er of well washed lake sand in the bot- 

 tom, and plant one-half of this surface 

 with any of the water plants advertised 

 in this publication. A tank about 15" 

 long, 10" wide and 11" high would be 

 large enough for four, three-inch sun- 

 fish. Feed once a day, preferably in the 

 morning, with any of the standard ad- 

 vertised foods, alternating twice a week 

 with either scraped "lean" raw beef, or 

 fish worms, chopped if very large. The 

 only care necessary is not to feed more 

 than the fish will consume daily; the 

 quantity can only be determined by ob- 

 servation. 



How can I keep fish worms indoors 

 over winter? 



Get one or more empty Fels Naptha 

 soap boxes from your grocer, and see 

 that the sides and bottoms are securely 

 nailed on. Put a 2" layer of black loam 

 in the bottom and distribute a good lay- 

 er of worms over this ; then add other layers 

 of earth and worms until you have three 

 layers of worms and the upper covered 

 with about 1" of earth. Next get three 

 pieces of 1" board which when placed end 

 to end will about cover the surface. One 

 inch of the surface should be exposed 

 around the edge of the cover. Next 

 place a brick on each of these boards, 

 and set the box in a moderately cool 

 place and keep the earth moist by oc- 



casional sprinkling. Every sixty days 

 mash a cold potato that has been boiled 

 in the jacket, and mix thoroughly with 

 the top layer of earth. When you wish 

 to have worms for feeding lift ofF one 

 of the bricks, raise up the board, and 

 you will find them on the surface. Do 

 not dig up or disturb the contents of 

 the box more than is absolutely neces- 

 sary to supply your requirements. 



A Common Mistake 



An aquarist can scarcely make a 

 worse mistake than that of adding colder 

 water to that which is in his aquarium. 

 The sudden change of temperature re- 

 sulting from such a course of action, 

 almost invariably cause the fish to take 

 cold. The glands of the skin which se- 

 crete the natural waterproof covering of 

 the body become inflamed and emit an 

 excessive amount of slime, which turns 

 white, giving the body a fungus ap- 

 pearance. The gills become congested, 

 and in advanced stages the tail and fins 

 shred and crumble away, and the fish 

 soon dies. 



About the best treatment is to place 

 the fish in a strong salt solution for a 

 few minutes, taking care not to prolong 

 the immersion to the point of exhaus- 

 tion. Repeat the bath once or twice a 

 day until the patient recovers. 



I do not think of a book on the sub- 

 ject that emphasizes this danger enough; 

 though many of them devote much 

 space to fungus, which is in reality so 

 similar to the effects of chilling, that the 

 beginner often cannot tell the differ- 

 ence, and does not know what the 

 trouble is. I remember well the trouble 

 I used to have. I think it is safe to say 

 that at least two-thirds of the death-loss 

 to amateurs is due to this cause. A 

 dairy thermometer will prove a useful 

 and inexpensive aid to any aquarist. 



