Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-06-28

This cool Summer viii do more to hurt
the hobby of keeping tropical fishes IN
the home than anything that has hap
pened in long time.
It is difhcult to make some persons
realize that the word tropical" means
tropical; but it does not take many
degrees drop in house temperature to
convince the fishes of the same.
What is just pleasantly cool to
human being Is deadly, or approaching
it, to g. fish which comes from South
America, or India, or the Straits Settle
ment
The fish is a cold blooded animal
It has no heat making mechanism,
such as is possessed by other animals.
Drastic lowering Of temperatures.
especially II happening within a few
hours, leaves the fish unable to adjust
itself.
Obscure changes in tissues cannot
be brought about quickly enough.
At the same time the enemies Of the
fish, including various parasitic forms
of life so minute that a microscope must
be used to study them, find lowered tenn
peratures just to their liking
While the tropical fish in colder water
must conduct itself at q handicap, the
microscopic creature that may use it
as host finds everything just to its
liking.
This happens along with q slowing
down of all the vital processes Of fish
life. These creatures simply stop eating,
stop digesting, stop swimming. seem to
stop breathing. The latter is illusiOnary,
however for cooler water contains more
oxygen, therefore the fishes are easier
in their breathing.
It must be admitted, therefore, that
the necessary minimum temperature for
tropical fishes constitutes genuine
handicap in their keeping in the home
aquarium, especially for the careful
person who wants to do things correctly
Not every one does, of course, and this
applies to all the walks of life.
There are many degrees OF careless
ness to be observed everywhere.
1t is one of the standing laments of
life that often enough careless. indiffer-
ent persons seem to get along quite as
well as painstaking. careful persons who
do their best to live up to rules and
regulations.
In the small province Of fish keeping
at home, it is often observed that the
slap-stick keeper does pretty well by
his charges
There are two things. however, that
may be said to solace those who try to
treat their fishes as they would like to
be treated, were they in glass homes.
One never knows how many Of his
fishes the careless keeper loses.
Most of his successes are with such
animals as the famous guppy, which
admittedly can stand lowered water
temperature along with many other
miStreatments which would quickly
send many other fishes to the happy
fishing ground.
On such nights as during the past
week, many of the tropical fishes would
pass out of the pretty picture If left in
tanks sitting by open windows all night.
When outside temperatures 60 down
as low as Sc degrees at this time Of
year, as they did one morning a few
days ago, in the suburban areas, even
the largest aquarium will register a
much lower temperature if kept by an
open window all night.
Wherefore most persons who keep
these creatures have learned to lower
all windows in the room in which they
are kept.
Those who visit friends who have
tropical fishes know that their keepers
are in much the same nervous state OF
the old-time radio fans" who kept
earphones glued to their ears, and who