The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-10
IN AN AQUARIUM.
Fish Are More troublesome Than
Human Babies.
From the New York Press.

From the New York Press.
mo one who has never worked in an
aquarium or has had anything to do with
the handling of fish," declared Mr.. spen-
ser, the veteran fish expert of the Caste
Garden Aquarium, "has any idea Of the
worry, the ceaseless anxiety and the new
er-endins work which such a position as
mine means.
People who just drop in casually have
an idea that the job is a snap, that the
fish ali take care of themselves like grown
up Iolk and that all we have to do is to
leeu them and draw our salary. tell you
they are mistaken. Why a tank fun of
hsh is worse than a nursery full of young
babies.
They can be just as foolish and 'cussed'
and cause just as much worry and tribu-
iatlon as a swarm of babies with ratties
and other things to swallow. You have to
watcn them and nurse them just as care
tully, too. Take those beautiful brook
trout, for instance. give them a bath ev-
cry day. Sounds foolish, doesn't it; but
1t s true. Every afternoon they get a salt
water bath and the water has to be tenn
pered just right, and they have TO remain
in It just so long, to the minute.
IL were not careful about these nice
little details there is no telling what would
them the salt water bath to remove the
fungus growth which is caused by a bruise
or wound received in TRANSFORMATION.
Most of the fish we have received here
were in excellent physical condition, but it
is almost impossible to bring them any
distance without bruising them some, and
the salt water is the liniment we use to
cure them. 1t not only heals the sore, but
removes the fungus.
DO they like it? They just revel in it.
You should see them poke their old noses
around in it when turn on the salt water
Why, you would think they were a lot of
young girls at the seashore. 1t generally
takes week or two to get them in per-
tect shape again, and then ii requires con-
slant care to keep them in good health
Then there is the task of getting the
fish accustomed TO their new climate
Those trout in the far end Of the tank you
see are quiet and peaceful. They have
grown accustomed to their confinement
and have become reconciled to their fate,
but just watch the ones in this end-jump-
ing, plunging and rearing all the time
They were put into the tank only last
night and they are uneasy and restless
It's no easy affair to keep them from
jumping out. There is a wire screen over
the top but that does not stop them
That big fellow there actually had the
impudence to push il away and get out
three feet away.
Il presume he just hurried himself at
the screen and lifted it off bodily. 1 was
so worried about that that l went home
and dreamed all night about ten-pound
trout jumping through iron gratings and
steel bars.
'They are homesick generally for a
week or ten days. Away from their nat
ural haunts they naturally don't take
kindly to their surroundings at once. The
old bullheads and catfish burrow around
in the pebbles looking for mud. OF course
they don't find it, and it makes them lone
some and discouraged. If we did give
them mud they would bury themselves
in it and no one would ever see them
again. In time they become used to their
new cleanliness, butts it hard breaking
them in.
Then there is the feeding That is the
toughest job of all. We have to break the
fresh water fish to salt water diet. The
bullheads are learning to eat clans now
They never saw or heard of one until they
came here. They are gluttons, though
and they seem to relish them and grow fat
on them.
THE trout are living now on salt water
killies. They are tough and indigestible
and do not make as wholesome food as
the fresh water ones. They will have to
eat them, though, or go hungry. Some of
the weaker fish have a tough time of it,
They never would get anything to eat if
we did not favor them and almost feed
them out of our hand.
THAT baby seal is just like a youngster
that has had a taste of pie and refuses to
eat bread and butter. They gave him a
few whole fish to humor him and now he
scorns anything else. have seen him stick
up his nose at a nice clean piece of fish
that any other seal that had not been
spoiled would have been glad enough to
get"