Evening star., 1933-02-06

! small creatures have spirit, and are
capable of happiness and an enjoyment
of life.
poor fish" are only such to those
who have never watched for any con-
siderable time such an establishment,
which, though unnatural in sense, in
quite another sense Is eminently natural,
since the creatures thrive and are at
home, despite their apparent limita-
tions.
Right here it may be well to say that
the adjusted aquarium, (perhaps bet
ter term than balanced aquarium') is
less of a prison than any other place
in which animals are kept penr1ed up
= The amount of space in all aquariums
except the too small fish bowls is
surprisingly large, in comparison with
the size of the creatures themselves,
and, above all, they find real slice of
their old habitats. such as is denied the
lions in their cages at the ZOOS. If one
will contrast the bare boards of the
Winter quarters Of lions with the sand,
aquarium, he will see at once that the
fishes are much the better off.
Direct sunshine, not just strong light,
increases metabolism, causing certain
subtle changes in the blood stream,
which are beneficial to the fishes, espe-
cially the tropicals. Even at a depth,
in their native waters, the sun is SO
much brighter, and so much more con-
stant, that they must get full eQuiva-
lent of ultraviolet and other essential
rays.
The nearest approach we can get to
those conditions is reached when we
place the aquarium in full sunlight.
One must use discretion, of course.
There must be balance between the
heat of the home and the heat of the
sunshine, or between the heat of the
artificial heater built into the tank and
thse Of the sun itself
Nothing, therefore, will take the place
of an accurate thermometer for keep
ing track Of the water temperature.
While this may be kept in the tank,
such constancy Is not necessary; but
1t is wise to test the water at least
twice day. at convenient times, per-
haps at 6 am. and around pm. One
shortly discovers the right conditions.
'Too much Of anything is bad" -
even of sunshine.
Some observation will be necessary,
in every case, to determine with some
accuracy the precise dosage.
When it is discovered, the fishes in
that tank will not only have more oxy-
| gen, UuI lIlClcdocd SPHItS, IeSuIIillB III
more piscatorial happiness, they will en-
joy their food more, and as a result will
eat more of it, and benefit from it.
| Above all, certain antiseptic action
will prevail, not only throughout the
sand, the plants and fishes, but through
out the establishment as a whole. This
| Is something outside and above the
effects previously mentioned.
1t Is rather feeling, as it were, Of
anttseptic action, a cleansing impression
made on human mind because some
how the appearance of everything is so
good that there Is sheer delight in
watching 1t.
This is the anstiseptic action of
winds, in the great outdoors, of cleans
ing rains which sweep down over a
dusty city and in half an hour freshen
the tree and the grass and the flowers
and sidewalks and houses.
Nothing but sunlight, we are con-
vinced, will have such an action in the
home aquarium. 1t has this effect for
both explained and unexplained reasons
Perhaps the latter are more than the
average person suspects. During the
past 10 years or so scientists through
out the world have made intensive
studies of sunshine, without in any re-
spect exhausting its mysteries. Despite
the advances, far larger than is COM
monty realized we have great deal yet
to learn about this wonderful light
which bathes the world Maybe out of
some home aquarium yet will come dis
coveries beneficial to mankind as well
! as to little fishes