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As regards the number of fishes for this
aquarium, the old rule of an inch of fish to
a gallon of water should be observed. The
aquarium is not a repository for fishes,
although this mistaken idea is only too prevalent ; there should be a just balance of plant
and animal life-not too many plants and not
too many fishes ; the aquarium will, with
understocking, soon adapt itself to what it
can accommodate comfortably. The same,
of course, applies to the pond.
Our aquarium, in holding roughly twelve
gallons of water, should, according to the
book of rules, accommodate six fishes two
inches in length not counting the tail. This
is the maximum, and I have no hesitation
in saying that the aquarium will be better
if only five such fishes, more or less according
to length, are placed therein.
A glass cover, raised slightly from the rim
of the tank with thin pieces of cork, will keep
the cat off and also prevent a great deal of
dust falling on the water. The heavier particles of dust will fall to the bottom and make
the sand look dingy, the finer dust will remain
on the surface and will form a film and this
will impede the absorption of oxygen from the
air. To remove this film, draw a piece of
newspaper several times over the water.
The aquarium should be placed so that it
does not receive the full heat of the sun during
the day, and at night the cold draughts.
A window, therefore, is not the best place
for the aquarium. A certain amount of sunshine is necessary, the fishes like it and most
of the plants grow better under its influence.
Sunlight causes a green film to form on the
inside of the glass, the snails cannot remove it
all ; the water, too, will turn green. The
fishes seem to like this green film, but many
aquarists paint the side facing the light with
green paint and this effectively stops it ;
myself, I would rather see a green film on the
inside of the glass than green paint on the
outside, it is just a matter of opinion.
In any case a strong table will be necessary
to hold the aquarium, the one here described
will weigh over half a hundredweight when
filled with water. Metal stands may be
purchased at about twenty-five shillings each
to hold the various sizes of aquaria.
Finally, unless the aquarium is not properly
balanced, the water will not require changing.
Water, however, tends to go ' stale ' in time ;
in the pond, from evaporation and the consequent refilling by the rain, there is a slight,
though constant, change in the water. The
evaporation in an aquarium is very slight and
so I suggest that about once a month a cupful
of water is removed and a similar quantity
of tap water added.
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