Evening star., 1933-01-18

The greatest single mistake made In
the home aquarium, We are convinced,
after fooling around for the past half
year with variety of fishes, is trying
to crowd too many animals into a
given amount of water.
Trying Is right; it just cannot be
done
You can put them in. but they will
take themselves out, unfortunately, by
the very fundamental process OF sink
ing into disease and death.
And this applies to tropical as well
as to the more humble goldf1shes, al
though some aquarists seem to think
that it does not
Right here 1t may be well to say that
the more one experiments with the
tropicals, the more respect he comes to
have for the goldfish.
1t is easy and natural, perhaps, to
sneer at the small carp sold by the
millions every year throughout the
world, after one begins to experiment
with the various fishes which come
from warmer waters and which, there
fore, seldom seem to gasp for oxygen
in the home tank
1t is easy, but it is not fair to the
goldfishes. They are still pleasing pets
and still must be numbered among the
most beautiful of aquarium inmates
Many an experimenter, after run
ming through the cycle of the more
expensive tropicals, turns again to his
first love in fishes, better able to see
its good points because of his expert
ence.
Out of that experience he arrives at
this fundamental: That one cannot
crowd any of them, If one wants a
healthy and satisfactory tank.
The goldf1shes, of course, show tho
result of too many fishes per gallon
much quicker, and more drastically, as
it we're
They come to the surface of the
water and gasp for air.
Every one, no matter how little in
terested in aquariums, has seen them
do it.
They do it by their thousands in
thousands of homes, and thousands OF
them annually succumb, although their
owners refuse to admit the fault was
their own.
The old standard rule for the gold
flsh is one inch of fish, exclusive OF
head and tail, per gallon of water.
How many newcomers follow It?
IT may be conservatively answered
that not a single person observes the
rule.
1t is rule of perfection, OF course,
as so many rules are.
So much the experimenter discovers
for himself, but he finds out that it is
fundamentally correct, principally be-
cause the amateur will not or cannot
get right the other requirements essen
tial to healthy aquarium.
If he can get them right. he will
be able to get along nicely with bit
more fish. but until he does, he had
better stick to the one inch-per- gallon
rule.
1t will be better for the fishes, and
better for the owner, because there is
no pleasure at all in watching them
become mopey, sluggish. ILL.,
1t is distinctly harassing for the
owner to watch these animals pass out
of existence, when all the time he rec
ognizes that some ignorance on his
part, In all likelihood, is the cause of
their demise.
This essential ignorance, one all too
easy to be ignored, is failure to prop
erly understand the necessity Of the
creatures for oxygen, not only in their
everyday breathing but also in relation
to their metabolism, or vital processes,
mainly concerned with their food
intake.
The inch-per- gallon rule is the oldest
and it was intended to apply to gold
fishes. Since It's PRONUNCIATION the en-