i 



I 



) 



) 



£ — ., 



MANAGING THE AQUARIUM 



WILLIAM T. IMMES 



»^# 



Blue Calico Comet 



Original Water Color by Franklin Barrett 



I 

 \ 

 \ 

 \ 



-4 



There is one question which the be- 

 ginner always asks of the experienced 

 aquarist — "How often should I change 

 the water?" The answer: Except under 

 unusual circumstances, not at all. This 

 is sure to bring forth expressions of sur- 

 prise and wonderment, and a demand to 

 know how in this way one may avoid 

 having the water become stagnant and 

 ill-smelling. As a matter of fact, a prop- 

 erly conditioned aquarium only needs 

 water added to make up for evaporation, 

 while a general house-cleaning and re- 

 planting may be desirable (but not neces- 

 sary) from one to three years apart. 



The governing principles are so simple 

 that it is surprising to find the general 

 public ignorant of them. The big fact 



is that the fish exhale carbon dioxide, 

 which the plants need in food-making, 

 the plants breaking up the combination, 

 retaining the carbon and returning the 

 oxygen to the water, to again be used by 

 the fishes in respiration. The answer, in 

 a general way, then, is to have enough 

 plants to handle the products of the 

 breathing of the fishes. This arrange- 

 ment makes what is known as a "bal- 

 anced aquarium," which is capable of 

 remaining undisturbed for years. The 

 writer has an aquarium which has not 

 been drained for five years. 



The proper conditions naturally group 

 themselves into five considerations — 

 plants, light, number of fishes, feeding 

 and temperature. The general principle 



