16 Fresh Water Aquarium 



it is necessary to provide shelter and hid- 

 ing places answering the individual require- 

 ments of the different inhabitants. A great 

 number of ornaments and appliances, differ- 

 ing in shape and material, are offered by 

 dealers for this purpose. Ornaments of col- 

 ored china or terra-cotta representing minia- 

 ture ruins of castles, or rocks and grottoes 

 with different openings are popularly used 

 in aquariums of moderate size, but, while 

 they may be tolerated where nothing better 

 is obtainable, they should not be used where 

 better material for the same purpose can be 

 had. The ornaments are too artificial to 

 blend harmoniously with the other and most 

 important contents of the aquarium. Far 

 preferable are ordinary, colored stones, 

 tastefully arranged by simply grouping them 

 together without any binding medium, or 

 fastening them together with cement in such 

 a way, that they form grottoes or passages 

 with openings and dark recesses suitable for 

 hiding places. By far the most attractive 



