Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/73

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48
Spring.

again in a small but constant stream which poured from the little spout, each drop carrying with it into the water of the globe a small quantity of fresh air, including, of course, oxygen gas. (See Fig. 48.) And the little speckled trout lived and thrived, and, for aught I know to the contrary, is still swimming around in his crystal prison, waiting, with ever-ready mouth, to swallow up the blue-bottle flies thrown to him by his friend the jeweller. It is a great mistake to suppose that it is necessary to change the water in an aquarium every few days. The tank should be so arranged as to seldom if ever require a change of water. This is not difficult to accomplish.

If possible, have your aquarium made under your own eyes. Suppose you wish one, two feet long; then it should be sixteen inches wide and seven inches high; or 24"×7"×16". Figure 49 shows an aquarium of the proper form and proportions.

Fig. 49.

Figure 50 shows the popular, but unnatural and improper form. With a properly made aquarium, after it is once stocked with the right proportion of plant and animal life, there is no necessity of ever changing the water.

Both animals and plants breathe, and what is life to the plant is poison to the animal. Animals absorb oxygen and throw off carbonic acid gas; this gas the plants inhale, separating it into carbon and oxygen, absorbing the carbon, which is

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