56 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 
HORNWORT TAPE GRASS 
MYRIOPHYLLUM 
ANACHARIS 
CABOMBA 
Plants suitable for the Aquarium. 
One light meal daily is sufficient for captive 
fishes, though they should have plenty of plants 
to browse upon when so inclined. They will 
live for a long time on the algae growing on 
aquarium plants, and there is no need to worry 
about them if one wishes to go away for a week- 
end or slightly longer. Use a food ring and 
always feed in the same place, not only in order 
that the fishes may know where to seek food. 
but that, in siphoning, you may be better able to 
remove any food particles that have become 
secreted. 
The aquarium should be made ready for its 
occupants a day or two in advance of their 
coming, if possible. For goldfish a spot should 
be chosen where the winter sun will shine upon 
the aquarium for an hour or two a day, and 
where in summer it receives strong light but 
little or no sun. For tropical fishes more sun 
is necessary, and if possible the aquarium con- 
taining them should be placed where it will re- 
ceive a little sun every day in the year. 
The breathing surface of a fish globe is not 
suitable for a goldfish, and globes are suitable 
only for the fry of tropical toy fishes. An all- 
glass, straight-sided aquarium or one with metal 
frame and slate bottom is best; those with tin 
bottoms are not durable, but can be improved 
by placing a thin layer of putty on the tin and 
pressing it down securely with a strip of glass 
cut to fit. Such putty as oozes out around the 
edges can be cut away with a knife. A glass- 
bottomed tank made in this way gives good 
service. 
A layer of an inch or more of pebbles should 
be introduced, banking them up on the side 
nearest the light in a round aquarium, or at 
each end in a square one. In the banked-up 
areas the plants may be set. Or, a layer of an 
inch or more of garden soil may first be in- 
troduced, with a similar layer of clean sand or 
pebbles on top of it. This affords the best 
foundation for plants to take root in. Select 
dry soil, pack it down well, and place only 
thoroughly washed pebbles on top of it. With 
the finger bore a hole here and there for the 
plants, and pack the pebbles well about their 
roots. Lay a saucer or piece of glass in the center 
of the jar and pour the water directly onto it. An 
aquarium thus started will be clear as crystal 
from the beginning, with no mud or sediment 
and a minimum of air bubbles. 
It is well to plant a couple of sprays of 
straight-leaved tape grass (Vallisneria) or 
arrowhead (Sagittaria) for oxygen; and such 
other plants as one pleases for ornament. 
Among rooted plants fanwort (Cabomba), mil- 
foil (Myriophyllum), hornwort (Ceratophyl- 
lum), willow moss (Fontinalis), Anacharis or 
Elodea, pondweed (Potamogeton), stonewort, 
(Nitella gracilis), and many others make a 
pleasing addition to the straight-leaved species, 
although most of them are subject to degenera- 
tion in the limited space of a home aquariun:. 
Bladderwort (Utricularia) may also be used, 
but this carnivorous species with bladders that 
catch small live animals, should be avoided in 
stocking the aquarium for infant specimens, or 
the plant may capture most of the fry. For 
floating plants one may select crystalwort 
(Riecta), our common pond plant Salvinia 
natans—usually found with duckweed (Lemna) 
the Florida floating ferns (Ceratopteris pteri- 
doides or C. deltoidea), or the beautiful water 
hyacinth (Kichhornia) that florists often have 
for sale in the spring. 
The floating fern is the only strictly aquatic 
fern, and reproduces by the formation of small 
