Evening star., 1935-01-24

The danger Of tropical fish leaping
out Of the home aquarium Is an ever
present one-that is why the wise
enthusiast keeps a glass cover over
the top.
Old-time fanciers filled their tanks
half full in order to get around the
necessity for some sort Of protective
cover.
BY doing this, however, they re-
duced the amount of water per fish
and permitted some Of the precious
| warmth in the water to escape.
The modern small aquarium Is as
near as possible work Of art, as
well as q home for interesting crea-
lures from far away.
BY keeping the water level high,
both Of these objectives are attained.
The fear that the fish will gasp
for air" If a lid is kept over them has
been shown by years Of experience to
be needless.
The creatures do we'll enough when
proper conditions are afforded them
! in regard to amount of water per
! fish, good growing plants, plenty OF
light, and artificial aeration when
necessary.
Nothing is more unsightly-and un-
filled with water.
The water line is ugly in itself. and
the full front Of the glass, which
ought to be a complete animated
picture, is cut by 1t as by knife,
If too low.
From the esthetic standpoint, there
is no excuse whatever for anything
less than an aquarium practically
filled with water. From the practical
standpoint of management, there is
none whatever, for the fishes need
all the water they can get.
Just how high in the tank the water
ought to come must be left to the indi-
vidual owner.
Common sense will dictate between
an inch from the top and half an
inch. This permits about as much
water as possible and still leaves some
air over the water. Experts declare
that this amount Of air is enough,
that the water will draw from it some
oxygen and be able to release into it
part of the carbon dioxide gas which
accumulateS as the result Of life
processes in the water.
It is a peculiar thing about aquarium
management that there are endless
possibilities for experimentation, but
that few enthusiasts take advantage Of
them. More or less, they do as they
are told, from word of mouth or read
ing, when all the time real expert
mentation is within reach, even of the
beginner.
It would be a most interesting ex-
pertinent to carry the water in tank
as high as the glass cover. This would
rule out all air space and, according
to popular belief, would kill the fishes
in no time at all.
But would it? We have never seen
tank with the lid actually touching
the surface of the water, although
often the underside Of the cover glass
is wet from evaporation.
Another aquarium superstition, held
by some, is that the temperature Of
the water should not be permitted
to vary degree from some pre-
determined point, say rs degrees.
Yet even the most meticulous en-
thusiast knows that the water may
change as much as 10 degrees in "a
hours, so long as it does not go
through this range too quickly. In
fact. this up-and-down in temperature
is more Natures way than an un-
varying temperature the whole day
around.
Il n n
The one objection to having the
water high in the tank, as far as we
have been able to ascertain, is that it
undoubtedly facilitates the jumping
out of the aquarium of the more
mettlesome creatures in it.
Fishes differ as humans.