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A ridge of sand one and a half
inches deep should line the edges at the
bottom. This will leave a hollow in which
the loam can be placed ; then, when a layer
of sand is placed on top of that, the loam is
not visible either from the sides or the top.
The sand should incline slightly to the front,
detritus and other waste matter will then fall
to the one edge and so the task of removing
it will be easier. Stone chips may be placed
over the sand, but there is a slight drawback
to stone chips and that is, uneaten food may
become lodged in the crevices out of the fish's
reach, and so decompose. The advantage of
using the chips is that the plants will have
some protection from being uprooted.
To stock the aquarium under discussion
(i.e., 24 ins. x 12 ins. x 12 ins.), plant in the
centre towards the back, a root of Sagittaria
natans and on either side of it, four roots of
Vallisneria. In the centre of one of the
shorter sides plant a large clump of Star Wort,
and on the other a similar clump of one or
other of the cold-water Myriophyllums. The
clumps should be planted as described in the
chapter on plants. In the two front corners
plant either Elodea crispa or E. densa, and,
on a stone in the centre of the aquarium, a
sprig of Fontinalis.
For the surface of the water any of the floating plants will suit, in any case duckweed,
frogbit and crystal wort should be introduced.
Before planting starts an inch of water
should be run into the tank ; if the water is
just poured in anyhow, our carefully arranged
strata will be disturbed ; to avoid this a piece
of paper can be laid on the sand and the
water poured on to it ; the same procedure
must be observed when filling with water
after planting, otherwise not only will the
soil be disturbed, the plants will be uprooted.
Allow the aquarium to stand now for at
least a fortnight, longer if possible, so that the
plants will have a chance to establish themselves. If any of the plants die, others can
replace them and it is a good plan, after about
a week, to place a dozen ramshorn snails in
the aquarium ; they will devour any dead
vegetation and by so doing will help to promote
growth in the plants. If the snails do not
accomplish the task efficiently it is advisable
to snip off, with a pair of scissors, dead leaves
or any sickly-looking stem.
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