83 



THE FAMILY AQUARIUM. 



first, their decomposition affects the general health of the 

 sojourners in the Aquarium, we are compelled to dispense 

 with their presence altogether. The Oar-weeds and Tan- 

 gles {Laminaria) , as a general rule, are all open to this 

 important objection. They cannot endure captivity, how- 

 ever young, and however assiduous you may be in your 

 attentions. They decay rapidly, and begin to slough off 

 in slimy shreds, at once very homely and very pernicious. 

 The class called Fuci are not so precarious, but their de- 

 formity excludes them from all consideration under this 

 head. The Sponges will not live under any circumstances 

 in a tank. As they are really not plants, but animals, it 

 may seem somewhat out of place to allude to th^ fact 

 here ; but as most people persist in considering them vege- 

 table in their nature, we treat them as such for the pre- 

 sent purpose. In obtaining, therefore, small pieces of 

 rock, with plants attached, you cannot be too particular 

 to render them as clean as possible. They must be 

 completely divested of all spongy growth, as well as of all 

 other vegetation that will not thrive in your Aquaeium, 

 for the moment they begin to decompose they give off a 

 most obnoxious gas, sulphureted hydrogen, whiiih rapidly 

 converts your tank into a miniature ocean of ink — a Black 

 Sea without hyperbole. 



Should you propose to supply yourself with specimens 

 for your Aquarium while on a visit to Newport, Nahant, 

 Cape May, Eockaway, Bath, or other bathing-places, a 

 suggestion or two in regard to the manner of usefully 



