The Aquarium and its Management . 265 
because that would be to annihilate the natural system “at one fell swoop." 
No, the water has never been changed, though, of course, it is necessary 
occasionally to make good the loss by evaporation. But we did try on a few 
occasions of extreme distress to aerate the water by the use of a garden 
syringe. Charging this from the tank the water was ejected back with force 
through some slight atmospheric distance, carrying streams of bubbles to the 
bottom of the vessel. This would be amusing, because the fishes would rush 
at the streams of bubbles and absolutely gulp them; but it was tiresome work, 
and, of course, was only performed by impulse and not by system. The end 
of every one of these experiments was the same. One or two of the newly 
introduced fishes would, after the lapse of about a fortnight, be found dead 
and “floating on its watery bier." Next a few more would die, and so on till 
the whole of the new comers were cleared off, and the old, well-seasoned 
members of the “ happy family " remained unhurt, but breathing more freely 
for the relief, and no doubt rejoicing to have got rid of the innovators. 
Suppose now that you have some gold-fishes, averaging four to six inches in 
length; if you desire to preserve them for any length of time by the natural 
system, and under circumstances at all resembling the case here described, 
for half-a-dozen of those fishes you must have a vessel holding at least twenty- 
four gallons of water. The smallest of your fishes will need three gallons, all 
larger four or five gallons. Most of the failures in tank management have 
resulted from over-stocking, but the modification of the light is an equally 
important matter. This chapter may reasonably conclude with three lines 
from Cowley:— 
Let Art use method and good husbandry; 
Art lives on Nature’s alms, is weak and poor ; 
Nature herself has unexhausted store. 
