Evening star., 1936-06-25
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

tank than the fishes will eat, It spoils
quickly and pollutes the water in no
time. II the number of plants is made
quate for the amount of animal life, or
If the light Is too intense for too long
time day, something is likely to 60
wrong overnight.
Proper balancing of such items means
good tank management and will be
found to have the same application
whether little boy has bowl of gup-
pies or a few goldfishes or whether
successful business man or an eminent
doctor has his battery of electrically
lighted, heated and air-conditioned tanks
housing many exotic fishes, some Of them
50 rare as to cost real money.
The air blown through the water not
only adds its mite of oxygen and cleans
the tank Of harmful gases, but 1t also
adds life to the water by setting up
motion which in Nature is caused by
winds and waves.
While an average aquarium is really
a small body of stagnant water, this
cannot be said of the tank in which
aeration is used several hours q day
The continual bursting of the bubbles
on the surface, with their rapid run
ming forward over the water to the lin
its of the glass walls, the enhanced water
surface caused by the r-protruding
bubbles, sets up motion which closely
emulates that Of Nature.
Indeed, Nature is surpassed, in one
respect. for 1t may be believed that not
very often does she cause columns of
air to bubble up through the water any,
where.
The imaginative aquatic enthusiast
can see before his eyes the gentle rush.
ing of this cleansing column of air bub-
bles each one sweeping up some inimical
gas or odor, each one bursting at the
surface, releasing it.
BY the amount of these bubbles, so is
increased the actual surface of the
water. When it is recalled how limited
this surface. in comparison with the
ponds, streams, rivers and bays of Ma
ture, 1t may be seen easily how vital to
the health of the tank inmates is this
increase of actual surface by the pro-
truding bubbles. 1t is pleasure to
watch many of these smaller bubbles
run into each other, amalgamate and
swell to the size of soap bubble as
blown by children. This magic bubble
swells and swells, aided somewhat by
the froth of the water.
- ~
Aquarium conditioning. as here
described, has an almost indescribably
happy effect on fish life. 1t 'peps' them
up, relieves them of gasping, increases
their appetite and. above all, gives them
a sheer piscatorial happiness which is
pleasure for the right-minded human to
witness.
If all fishes in aquaria were kept "ac-
cording to the rules" there would not be
so much need for auxiliary help. AS
it is, very few of the millions so kept are
given enough water per inch of fish life.
Very few know what it is to receive the
aid of the proper number of square
inches of air surface per inch of fish.
Practically all enthusiasts, although
many of them know better, think that
lust one more little fish will do no
harm"
Hence the common spectacle of gold
fishes gasping for air in tiny bowls and
miniature tanks; of tropical fishes
crowded so thickly that they scarce can
swim.
In all such cases air-conditioning is
literally life-saver With goldflshes a
hand aerator may be used with success,
best applied in the morning, for at least
200 "puffs" per two gallons of water.
If persons who own fishes but have
never tried air-conditioning could see
what it does for them they would use
this method at once, especially in hot
weather, when thousands of aquarium
fishes are just two gasps from oblivion
most of the time, although their owners
may not know 1t.