Evening star., 1935-12-17

sion, spend some time resting Whether
this is sleeping. in our sense, is another
question. Yet it may be believed, without
doing violence to natural history, that
fishes of all sorts do sleep in some way.
Their eyes, of course, cannot close, having
no lids, but the fishes remain motioEleSS,
often among the plants, or close to the
sandy bottom, in what seems very much
like sleep to an outside beholder who has
the ability to put the famous two and
two together.
Every one who owns one aquarium or
more has had the experience of turning
on the light suddenly in a darkened
room to find all the fishes motionless
near the bottom.
Many of them are discovered at their
most beautiful coloration, usually much
darker than normally seen in the light.
This also brings up a question: Do
aquarium fishes like the increased
amount of light which the glass sides of
their small home give them?
Such a question as this will seem
foolishness to those not interested in the
aquarium. To those who are, however,
it is fair question, just as is another
one, whether swapping on strong cleo
trio light over their tanks actually shocks
or stuns them, as we have seen stated.
In Nature all the light which a fish
receives is top light.
Some amount of this may filter down
to the very bottom of stream or other
body of water not more than 6 feet in
depth, but it can be realized that after
foot or so down the light will be very
subdued.
Fishes have marvellous eyesight, which
IS aided by the fact that their eyes are
always very wide open.
They can see particles of food, either
on the surface or falling through the
water, in subdued light. 1t is our belief
that most feeding in the aquarium is
done in too bright light. This is based
on an idea, which we believe fair
enough, that in Nature the fishes never
have bright light, except when catching
insects which alight on the water surface.
A somewhat darkened aquarium, if it is
in a window is preferable at feeding
time. Never fear that the creatures can
not see.
Just what a fish must think of the
artificial boundary of glass which pre-
vents him from swimming farther is an
other question.
Nothing in Nature fits the animal to
cope with transparent something or
other which nevertheless stops him.
This is something entirely out of the
experience of all the timeleSS ages of
fish history.
Most of the small specimens used in
modern aquarium study find the glass
puzzllng when first introduced to it.
They swim restleSSly up and down. up
and down, especially if the side is curved,
as it sometimes is in smaller receptacles.
In day or SO, however, they almost
always lose this .restleSsneSS and accept
the glass as part of their environment.
Thereafter they merely let it bound them,
not puzzle them. In this we may see.
in little, the salvation of all life-to accept
that which it cannot change. Yet the
glass wall is so foreign to piscatorial
experience that we cannot help but
praise fish nature for accepting it SO
philosophically. One more question: Can
fish be a philosopher? When We
look at Jack Dempsey" in his limited
quarters of glass, we feel sure one can,
and be real philosopher, too. Let us
recall the famous conversation in
Shakespeare: Master, how do the fishes
live in the sea?" LAS man does a-land,
the big ones eat the little ones"