Evening star., 1933-05-31
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

To be sure no chlorine Is present
however, In any form. it should first b<
boiled, when intended for the aquarium
then set out in the air to cool and re.
charge itself with oxygen, after which
it must be taken indoors to warm ur
again. !.
II any one regards. this as too much
trouble, then he may not call it trouble
to lose his fishes, but we do.
Now comes q rule which requires VIII
power. It is simply to let the new
aquarium stand for at least q week, OF
two weeks would be better, before in
Producing the fishes.
II Il
That this is rule Of perfection We
are well aware We have never followed
it ourself, because we were too anxious
to get the fishes in!
This is the case with most persons
but all of us are wrong in doing It.
Certain bacterial actions take place
In new water, and they should be per-
mitted to occur in the planted tank be-
fore the animals are placed in it. :.
This is the theory. In practice II
might not be so important, If the crea-
lures were introduced slowly, pair by
pair, as the animals were supposed to &c
into the ark.
Every one Is in too great a hurry
however, and wants to have flashing
aggregation of swimmers in exactly nc
time at all.
The result often Is that small specks
aquarium.
The plants (but not the inmates)
H. hnny i,, "a y,H al
course.
Without good plant growth, the aver
age amateur will not be able to get
proper oxygenation, which is essential
not only for the fishes, but for the in
hibition of certain inimical bacteria, in
cluding those already discussed.
We are proceeding on the assumption
that the average amateur will not have
electrical oxygenation, not only because
it costs money and cutters up the
house, but more because he does not
want it. His desire is for the balanced
tank" in which plants produce oxygen
for the animal life, and the creatures
give of carbon dioxide for the use OF
the plants.
A delicate balance is to be secured
here; 1t Is not easy of attainment; there
Is no chance Of doing it unless the
plants grow and are healthy.
This means that the aquarium must
have good light. Our personal belief
is that there is no substitute for one or
two or even more hours Of sunshine
every day. A..
"A green tank is a healthy tank,
say the old-timers, but then in the
next breath they talk so much about
algae, caused by light, that they scare
the beginner from putting his tank in
the sun.
Put it in the sunshine, but remember
to keep track of the water temperature
with the thermometer If this is too
much trouble, then give up tropical
fishes and go back to dogs. Ninety de-
grees Is peak
Proper feeding, we believe, is the
crux OF the whole matter. Too much
food will help cause bad water, but too
little will make puny, sick fishes, and
too limited variety result in certain
disaster. A variety of foods is essen
tial. Practically all of the common
tropicals available to the amateur may
be kept on dried foods, but to attempt
to do 1t with just one or two varieties is
to court failure. Feed little bit twice
day. in the early morning and In
late afternoon, and change the food at
every meal. The fishes like variety the
same as you do. Above all, they like
more than one meal day, Just as