; rs ST nt

t LA ACE

PAIL TO,
bie es

BENHATH THE WATERS;
Che Aquarium in America,

ae BY
ARTHUR M. eD WARDS, :

MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK LYCEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.

290 BROADWAY,
AND 219 REGENT STREET, LONDON,
PARIS: J. B. BAILLIERE ET FILS, RUE.HAUTEFEUILLE.
MADRID: ©, BAILLY-BAILLIERE, CALLE DEL PRINCIPE,
1858. .

Exrmrep according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by
0. E, BAILLIERE,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York®

W, H. Tixson, Printer and Stereotyper, 43 Centre Street.

£0
GCHARLES, M. WHEATLEY, ESQ.,
OF NEW YORK,
WHOSE GBNEROSITY OF DISPOSITION AND SCIENTIFIC TALENTS ARB WELL KNOWN,
THIS WORK IS DEDIOATED,
BY
HI8 OBLIGED FRIEND,

THE AULH GE,

©O- ONE? Nar 8%

CHAPTER I.
THE PRINCIPLES OF THE AQUARIUM.

The Principles of the Aquarium not a New Discovery—Mr. Warrington, Inventor of
the Aquarium—Tanks of the Zoological Society of London—Practice necessary in
the Management of Aquaria—Fish-globes—Animals inhale Oxygen and exhale
Carbonic Acid Gas—The ‘ Black-hole’”’ of Calcutta—Use of Plants in Nature—Use
of Snails in an Aquarium, . = = ‘i * $ 4 c $ x Pee ts

CHAPTER II.

VESSELS FOR AQUARIA,

Form of Vessel--Dimensions—Quantity of Stock to be introduced—Minnows attack
Hermit-crabs—Overstocking—Balance of Nature—Materials for Tanks—Wood—
Zinc—Iron—The bottom of the Vessel—Proportions—Octagon Tank—Circular
Form—The Beginner’s Tank—Breeding Jars—Covering the Tank—Ground Glass—
Rock-pools—Mr. Warrington’s Tank—Cement, : ‘ 2 ; . . 22

CHAPTER ITI.
PREPARING THE TANK.

Seasoning the Tank—The Bottom or Soil—Silver-sand not to be recommended—
Pebbles—Kind of Soil used important—The Amateur not always to be governed
by Books—Shell and Coral Bottoms—Rockwork—Cement for uniting Rockwork—
Rockwork to be simply formed—Aspect—Fast aspect best—Morning sun _ bene-
ficial—Some Fish can bear warmer Water than others—A Northern Aspect never
favorable—Danger of letting the Water freeze—Minnows beneath Ice—Marine’
Aquaria not needing much Light a mistake—Mr, Warrington’s Tank—Water to
be introduced carefully, . Z x ‘ 2 * 7 r 7 : 5 . 80

CHAPTER IV.
THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM,

Marine and Fresh-water Aquaria compared—A Fresh-water Aquarium to be recom-
mended to a Beginner—The Reasons why—Fresh-water Animals and Plants easily

xX CONTENTS.

procured—Transformations of the ‘“ Polliwog’—The young Frog—Transforma.-
tions of the Toad—‘t The Toad, ugly and venomous, bears yet a precious Jewel
in its Head’—Tadpoles excellent Scavengers—Tadpoles amateur Naturalists—
Value of an Aquarium to the Microscopist—Value of an Aquarium to the Natu.
ralist—Sticklebacks and their Nests—Caddis-worms and their Cases—Cases for
running Streams—Amusement for the Country—A home-made Aquarium—Simpli- —
city of the Aquarium—The Naturalist’s Diary, . ‘ . ic. ae On

CHAPTER V,
PLANTS FOR THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

The bottom of an Aquarium to be planted in the same manner as a Garden—
Water-cress difficult to make flourish—Arrangement of Plants—Common Arrow-
head cultivation by the Chinese—Arum—-Water-lilies—-Water-shield — Sweet
Flag—Forget-me-not—Sun-dew—Ferns—Valisneria Spiralis at West Point ana
Fishkill Creek—Hornwort—Its rapidity of growth—Water Starwort—Anacharis
Canadensis—Remarkable power of propagation—Appearance in England—Choking
up the Rivers—Chara vulgaris—Nitella flexilis—Circulation of Sap-Water—Crow-
foot—Awl-wort—Spiked Water-milfoil—-Marestail—Villarsia—Buck-bean—Water-
violet--Water Speedwell—Water Soldier--Pondweeds—Duckweeds—Frog-bit—G@roup-
ing Plants, . : ; ‘ ‘ 5 < : < : : ~ . P . 48

CHAPTER VI.

THE FISH FOR THE FRESH WATER AQUARIUM.

Proper period for introducing Fish—Small Fish preferable to large ones—What is a
Fish ?—Gold Carp a native of China—Gold-fish bred in Warm Water—Difference
of Color—Minnows frozen in Ice—Deformities of Gold-fish—Feeding—Care
required in Feeding—Minnow—Yellow Perch—Niagara Gudgeon—Sticklebacks—
Dr. Lankester’s Description of them-—Sticklebacks not to be placed with other
Fish—Mode of Building their Nests—Male Fish taking charge of the Eggs—Tena-
city of Life of the Stickleback—New York species—Loach—Cat-fish—Carp—
Prussian Carp—Pond Fish—Small Pond Fish—Pigmy Dace—Black-nosed Dace—
Eels—Mode of eatirig Molluscs F . ~ < ; . : ‘ ; 62

CHAPTER VII.

MOLLUSCA, CRUSTACEA AND REPTILIA FOR THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM,

Use of Mollusca—Greatest Variety of Mollusca to be looked for in the Ocean—
Univalves and Bivalyes—Lymnea columella—Lymnea fragilis—Physa heterostro-
pha—‘‘ Walking on the Air,”—Eggs of Physa—Production of Young—Right-hand-
ed and left-handed Shells—Physa plicata—Planorbis bicarinatus—P. lentus—
P. armigerus—P. corpulentus—P. exacutus—P. parvus—Paludina decisa—Mela-
nia—Unio complanatus—U. radiatus—Anodon fluviatilis—Craw-fish—Fresh-water
Shrimps—Asellus communis—Branchipus stagnalis—Cyelops quadricornis—Bull-
frog—Croak of the Frog—Transformations of the Frog—Spring Frog—Marsh Frog—
Water Lizard—Red Salamander, . ; ‘ 4 : h : ‘ $ Pilg f+

CONTENTS. X1

CHAPTER VIII.
GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

The Tank to be well Seasoned—Feeding Fish—Bread to be given to Gold-fish—
Taming Fish—Care to be taken not to introduce too much Food—Cheese for
Fish—Accumulation of Conferve—Removal with a Sponge—Emptying the Tank—
Grouping—Sun-fish a Peaceful Inhabitant—Sun-fish nibbling Minnows’ Tails—The-
Tailless Minnow—Varieties of Snails—Fish coming to the Surface to breathe a
Bad Sign—Aérating the Water—Definition of an Aquarium—Temperature of the
Water—Shading the Tank from the Sun—Air blowing on the Surface of the
Water advantageous—Dead and Sick Animals to be removed—Disease¢s of Fish, 85

CHAPTER IX.
THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

Marine and Fresh-water Tanks contrasted—Advantage of Flat-sided Vessels for
Marine Aquaria—Rock-pools—Bottom of the Tank—Shell bottom—Rockwork to
project above the Surface of the Water for the Fiddler Crabs—Introduction of
Vegetation—Water—Washing Plants—Procuring Sea Water—Cask for holding it
—Artificial Sea Water—Its Manufacture—Seasoning the Water, < . . 93

CHAPTER X.
PLANTS FOR THE MARINE TANK.

Difference between Marine and Fresh-water Vegetation—Green Alge best for the
Aquarium—Danger of using olive-colored Algw—Ulva latissima—Monster Fronds
—<Action of Sun on the Ulva—Ulva lactuca—Ulva linza—Plants on §Snail’s
backs—Enteromorpha compressa—The Ocean Grove—HFE. intestinalis—Bryopsis
plumosa—Cladophora arcta—C, rupestris—Diatomaceew—Four Plants growing one
on another—Codium tomentosum—Porphyra laciniata—Grinnella Americana—
Ptilota elegans—Chondrus crispus—Padina povonia—Desmarestia, etc., . 101

CHAPTER XI.

FISH FOR THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

Some Fish will live in either Fresh or Salt Water—Fish require Real Sea Water or
Artificial Sea Water that has been well seasoned—Anemones may be introduced
into Fresh Artificial Sea Water—Advantage of Fish in an Aquarium—The Min-
now or Killi-fish—‘‘ Minny” a tame Fish—Singular effect of Fright on the
Minnow—Big Killie—Common and Spotted Bergall—Sand Smelt—Sticklebacks—
Variegated Goby—Sea-weed Blenny—Fringed Blenny—Eels—Striped Mullet—Sea-
Scorpions—Pipefishes and their curious Habits—Suckers—Six-banded Chasmodes—
Sand Launce—Sea Horse, z A . % - 7 n ‘ : 5 ALO

*

CHAPTER XII.

CRUSTACEA AND MOLLUSCA FOR THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

The Scavengers of the Marine Aquarium-—Aiding them in their Labors—lermit

xii CONTENTS.

Crabs—“ Hermits’ Habitations—Pugnacity of Hermits’— Hermits ” changing
their Lodgings—Death of ‘ Hermits’’—Fiddler Crab—The American Soldier Crah—
Edible Crab—Soft-shell Crabs—The Lupa’s mode of burying himself—Sea-spider
—King-crab—Effect of feeding Hogs on them—Lobster—Shrimp—Buccinum obsole.
tum—Natica duplicata—Pyrula canaliculata—Fusus cinereus—-Crepidula—Oysterg
—Anomia—Mussels—Clams—Scallops—The blue * Eyes,” . fs ‘ A sae) OE)

CHAPTER XIII.
ZOOPHYTES,

Scientific definition of a Zodphyte—Mr, Tugwell’s definition—Classes of Zodphytes
—Hy draforms—Asteroids—Helianthoids—Insensibility of Zodphytes to dissection—
Hydra viridis—Turning a Hydra inside-out—Echinus—Starfish—Serpulam—aA ppear-
ance of an Anemone—Parts of an Anemone—Spike-cases—American species—
Actinia rapiformis—Actinia marginata—Actinia dianthus—Rapacity of Anemones
—Anemones seizing Men—A. coriace—A, dianthus—A. carneola—A. obtruncata
—A, sipunculoides—American species, es ier . A PER AO YY

CHAPTER XIV.
GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

Feeding Fish—Fighting for Food—Crabs’ mode of Eating—Rapacity of Minnows—
Overstocking—Hermit-crabs die first—Remedy for Overstocking—Scavengers—
Aérating the Water—Fountain—Net—Filtering the Water—Artificial Sea Water—
Amount of Plants necessary—Opacity of the Water at certain seasons—Remedy—
Evaporation, . . : . ‘ ‘ ‘ ° ‘ $ . ene + 144

CHAPTER XY.

COLLECTING OBJECTS TO STOCK THE AQUARIUM.

Advantage of collecting Objects to stock an Aquarium for yourself—Sea-side
Equipment—A Visit to Hurlgate—The Tides—Danger of treading on the Fucus—
Crabs under stones—Barnacles troublesome to Naturalists—Botryllus—Eolis—
Eolis not a Nudibranchiate—First Rock-pool—Anemones—Sertulariw—Multiplicity
of Life in the Ocean—Corkscrew Coralline—Bird’s-head process—A mile of Star-
fish—-The Whelk—Fresh-water Stock—Visit to Union Hill—Anacharis Canadensis
on New York Island—Sunfish, ete, . . ae Sete : oe eee LOG

ERRATA,
Page 70, third line from bottom, for cyprynis read cyprynus.
Ay, (9, HOCOna So ss “ P. ewaentus read P. ewacutus.
** .09) ninth: <8. ve “ chondrus crispus read cystoclomiwm.,

[ purpurascens.
PSS Gr bene he te Bt “ T. tabbacaria read F, tabbacaria,

LIFE BENEATH THE WATERS.

CHAPTER I.

THE PRINCIPLES OF THE AQUARIUM.

The Principles of the Aquarium not a New Discovery—Mr. Warrington, Inventor of
the Aquarium—Tanks of the Zoological Society of London—Practice necessary in
the Management of Aquaria—Fish-globes—Animals inhale Oxygen and exhale
Carbonic Acid Gas—The “ Black-hole ” of Calcutta—Use of Plants in Nature—Use
of Snails in an Aquarium,

Tur principles on which the Aquarium, or, as some writers
have called it, the Agua-vivariwm, is founded, are not of
recent discovery ; on the contrary, they have been known
for some time—but it is, undoubtedly, to Mr. Robert War-
rington that we owe most of the practical knowledge that
is now found to be so useful to amateurs in the manage-
ment of these beautiful parlor ornaments. -Mr. P. H. Gosse
has, also, contributed vast quantities of valuable information
in his books which amuse, and, at the same time, instruct
the reader. These two gentlemen, together with Messrs.
“Hibberd, Lankester and also a host of minor workers in
this field of knowledge, have opened to the student of natu-
2

|
14 THE PRINCIPLES OF

ral history an almost boundless and untravelled space, the
outskirts of which are the useful and wonderful discoveries
that they have given to him during the last four or five
years, and which are so fascinating in all their details,
that they attract and rivet the attention not only of sci.
entific men, but of those who, until lately, have looked
upon the votaries of science as forming a useless class,
This revolution has been brought about by the vast strides
that science has made during the last twenty years, aided
principally by two seemingly insignificant instruments : the
Microscope and the Aquarium.

In a lecture given by Mr. Warrington before the Royal
Institution of Great Britain, on the 27th of March, 1857,
that gentleman gives us a history of the Aquarium, with
the reasons that led him to think of establishing such a
collection, in which the animal and vegetable existences
would be so balanced that the water should not need
changing. After considerable trouble and persevering study,
and several accidents that would have discouraged many
men, he succeeded; and, in a paper read in the month
of March, 1850, before the Chemical Society of London,
he gave to the world an account of his success. His first
experiments were with fresh-water plants and animals, and
on the complete success of the tanks containing these, he
commenced operations with marine objects. In this branch,
he has been more successful than any other naturalist that
has given the results of his experience with the Aguwariun
to the public.

It was in the year 1852, that the Zoological Societ
of London determined to erect a house in their gardens

THE AQUARIUM. 15

in the Regent’s Park, extensive enough to hold several
large tanks, in which both fresh-water and marine plants
and animals might be kept for observation ;-in the
spring of 1853, this house was thrown open to the pub-
lic; and immediately the subject of the Aquarium was
rendered popular and observers multiplied immensely. These
tanks in the Regent’s Park have been mostly stocked by
Mr. Gosse, whose experience in the management of the
vessels is very great, though his first attempts, as he
tells us in his book on ‘the Aguariwm,” were for the
purpose of keeping fish alone alive, so that he might be
enabled to study their habits. He soon, however, found
that he might obviate the changing of the water every
day, by introducing plants—and an Aquarium was estab-
lished.

An Aquarium should be constructed on such principles
that it will be, to a certain extent, a world in minia-
ture, being self-supporting, self-renovating and, in fact, na-
ture on a small scale removed into our parlor. In order
to obtain this perfection of management, some practice is
necessary, and though we may fail once or twice in the
attainment of our object, let us remember that every slight
mishap is to be ascribed to a fault of our own, to some
point, however seemingly insignificant, yet essential, which
we have failed to take into consideration. Each such
failure leads us to a vast amount of useful facts, not. to
be obtained otherwise, and which it is our own fault if
we do not take advantage of. The thing can be done
by you as it has been done by others: so “never dis-
pair.” It has required and -taken years of patient toil

16 THE PRINCIPLES OF

and perseverance to accomplish what has been done jy
the knowledge required for the proper management of the
Aquarium, and still it is in its infancy. Perhaps before

long we shall have Aquaria, in which we may he abl
to observe the habits of the shark, the whale and, pep.
haps, the veritable sea-serpent itself, and interest Ourselyeg
in watching them secure their prey. And again, we very
likely shall have tanks in which the rise and fall of the
tide will be imitated so exactly, as to allow us to keep
certain animals and plants that it is not possible to make
flourish in an Aguarium where the water is always at rest,
We may have storms in our miniature ocean that may
turn out to be but “tempests in a tea-pot,” but which
will answer all the purpose of their mightier brothers.
Some time back it was the fashion (and is still to q
certain extent, but I am glad to see it is rare) to keep
gold-fish in globes for our amusement, but unintentionally
for their discomfort. It is said that Madame Pompadom,
to her other sins and weaknesses, added that of setting this
fashion of studying the, really, tortures of poor fish. When-
ever I see several gold-fish in a glass globe, I feel in.
clined either to turn them out into the nearest stream, or
to make their life of confinement bearable by throwing
into the water some kind of water-plant. Keeping birds
in cages is not so cruel as keeping fish in globes, as they
are usually so kept; the birds have plenty of food, air
and sunshine, but the fish are retained in imprisonment on
short commons, deprived of these necessaries to their well-
being and comfort. Many persons wonder why they have
never been able to raise, or, at least, to keep alive fish

THE AQUARIUM. - 17

in globes ; but such a thing is against all rules of nature,
and, therefore, impossible. If we keep gold-fish, or, indeed,
any other kind of fish, in a globe of water, they sooner
or later die, and if we do not change the water often,
that catastrophe will the more spcedily occur. But let us
procure a handful of any submerged aquatic plant, that is
to say, a plant that grows beneath the surface of fresh-
water, and, having washed it well, throw it into our fish
globe, and we will, if the vessel does not contain too
many fish, find we shall not have to change the water
for days, nor, perhaps, weeks. It is on this principle of
the action that the plants exert in keeping the water fit
for the inhabitance of fish, that the Aquarum is con-
structed.

It has been found by experiment that animals take into
their lungs the gas, oxygen or vital air as it is also
called, one of the components of the atmosphere, and give
out this gas, combined with another substance, carbon or
charcoal, which is one of the constituents of all organized
or living matter, be it animal or vegetable. Now, when
carbon (a perfectly harmless substance) is combined with
oxygen (a life-giving body), there is formed a very poisonous
compound, termed carbonic-acid gas, being the same body
that collects in wells, in some of our mines, and which is
also given off from stoves, often causing disease and death.

Who does not know the dreadful tale of the sufferings of
hundreds of persons, shut up at night in a prison called
“the black hole,” at Calcutta, to which there were but two
openings, the door, that was locked, and a small window,
placed near. the ceiling? Now, as carbonic-acid gas, which

18 THE PRINCIPLES OF

is considerably heavier than common air, formed in the room,
and it did so very quickly from the continuous breathing
of this crowd of persons, it settled at the bottom, and filling
the room up as if it had been water, drowned the in-
mates as surely as if it had been that substance. Next
morning, when the door was opened, the persons confined
were found crowded together as near the window as they
could get, and dead and dying in large numbers. So, if we
place our fish in water and leave them there, they will, in
time, exhale enough carbonic-acid gas to impregnate the
water, and, at last, cause their own death. But, let us see
how nature has provided for this expediency—for in pond,
river,; and ocean, the same action must be going on as in
our fish-globe. To provide oxygen for the aquatic animals,
nature has given plants—those which grow in fresh water
resembling, very much, those living on the land, whilst
those in the ocean are of a totally different character—a
difference which I will explain when we come to speak of
the marine Aquarium.

Plants inhale carbonic acid, and appropriating the carbon
to build up their own tissues, give off the oxygen for the
use of animals, so that this gas oxygen becomes but a
carrier of carbon from the animal economy to that of the
vegetable, and when the sun shines on the plants in our
Aquariwm, very often their leaves will be seen to be covered
with an innumerable assemblage of minute globules of that
gas, glistening like dew-drops upon grass.

It is true that plants and fish, with nothing else, would
flourish for some time: but Mr. Warrington, who tried it,
and to whom the most of our information concerning the

-

THE AQUARIUM. 19

management, if not the invention of the Aquarium is owing,
found, that after a time the plants in the ordinary course
of nature died, and the fish refusing to eat them when
dead, they began to decompose and so foul the water. At
a loss what to do to stop the ravages of disease among his
pets, he was driven to search in the book of nature—in its
broad pages, the ponds and rivers—and find out how an
all-wise Providence had provided for such an emergency.
He threw a net and brought up from the bottom of a
pond many dead and decomposing leaves, and to them
were attached, busily at work in eating them, numerous
little water-snails, nature’s physicians. It is said that he
was so overjoyed at the discovery, that he burst into tears ;
but this did not hinder him from securing a quantity of
snails, and placing them in his tank, where, in a day or

two, the water became perfectly clear, and remained so.

This, then, is the great secret of the Aguarm: the
plants supply the animals with the oxygen they need ; the
animals supply the plants with carbon ; and the snails and
other scavengers—for there are others used in the Aquarium,
as we shall see further on—remove vegetable matter, which
would otherwise decay and destroy the animals.

In the Aguariwm the snails are called to perform another
duty that their former life has not prepared them for, but
for which they are admirably adapted, and that is, cleaning
the glass sides of the tank and keeping them so bright
that nothing shall obstruct our view of its inhabitants. In
time, the glass becomes covered with a deposit of minute
plants, which belong to a class called conferve. Between
their branches .there exists a little world of microscopic

20 THE PRINCIPLES OF

animals, which form part of the food of our fish. The fish,

it is true, eat the animals, but they leave still the conferve
that cover the glass, and prevent an unobstructed view of
the habits of our pets. These plants are the natural food
of certain genera of snails, and the principal business of the
latter, when they are introduced into a foul tank, is to go
to work and remove the conferve from the glass, for our
special benefit. There is one species of snail, called by con-
chologists Lymnea stagnalis, that will not perform ‘its duty
of cleaning the glass, but prefers, like a drone in the
hive, to eat our more tender plants; but my readers will
be. glad to learn that this mischievous molluse is not found
in our country, |

The great difference between a fish-globe and an <Agua-
rium is, that in the one, we keep fish only, whilst, in the
other we cultivate many beautiful and wonderful plants
and animals which would not flourish if we changed the
water often. This is a great desideratum, as changing
the water endangers, to a certain extent, our carpets by
the spilling ; and then again, in an Aguariwm the fish are
not always subjected to continual excitement as they are in
a fish-globe, where they must, as most likely everybody
has observed, come to the surface to breathe, unless we
change the water continually. This is an unnatural action
in the fish, that. is seldom or never seen in a pond or
river. We can change the water continually, by having
a jet in the form of a fountain, and where we can have
this contrivance, as we can in the city of New York, fish
will generally thrive without the use of plants ; but, then,
we lose the beautiful sight of the green foliage. There

THE AQUARIUM. 21

are some fish and animals, however, that will not thrive in
running water.

I have given the principles of the Aquarium in as plain
language as I could, and without a knowledge of which it
is worse than folly to attempt to keep one in order. The

-

management of these pretty parlor ornaments is simple’

enough when we once get into the way of keeping it pro-
| ‘perly ; and it is this ease with which it is kept that has
made the Aguwariwm so popular in England, where a parlor
is hardly considered furnished without one. They are even
introduced into nurseries, to amuse and instruct the child-
ren; but though it may be amusement to the children, I
can hardly think it can be so to the fish, as our youngsters
“are rather too fond of finding out “ what’s inside the drum
that makes the noise” to conduce to the well-being of an
Aquariwm, unless it be well watched.

o*

CHAPTER II.

VESSELS FOR AQUARIA.

Form of Vessel—Dimensions—Quantity of Stock to be introduced—Minnows attack
Hermit-crabs—Overstocking—Balance of Nature—Materials for Tanks—Wood—
Zinc—Iron—The bottom of the Vessel—Proportions—Octagon Tank—Circular
Form—The Beginner’s Tank—Breeding Jars—Covering the Tank—Ground Glass~
Rock-pools—Mr, Warrington’s Tank—Cement.

Tue vessel which we are about to turn into an Aquarium
may be of any size or shape, though those with flat glass
sides are preferable, as they do not distort the vision, while
vessels that have curved sides do: and in them, from the
unequal refraction and the form of the vessel, objects are
magnified and distorted in outline. As to dimensions best
suited for a parlor Aquariwm, I should recommend one
containing from eight to twelve gallons for marine, and
from two to twelve gallons for fresh water. .

A tank that holds eight gallons will, however, be found
the most convenient for either fresh-water or marine collec-
tions. I have several of this size in operation, in which I
keep the following animals: In the first, which is a marine
tank, I have three or four Actiniw, about a dozen whelks,
two or three univalve-molluses (picked up on the shore at.
the same time), four or five minnows, one or two crabs |
of the genus Lupa, and sufficient vegetation in the shape

|

VESSELS FOR AQUARIA. 23

of Ulva and Enteromorpha, to keep the water in a fit

state for the inhabitation of the animals. In my second
tank I have Actima mesembryanthemwm, three specimens ;
A, fragacea, two specimens; A. tigrina and Bunodes gem-
macea, of each one specimen ; A. marginata, five specimens ;
minnows, thirteen specimens ; three crabs of the genus Lupa,
seven hermit-crabs, one or two Serpule and Ulva latissima
and lactuca, Linteromorpha compressa and intestinalis, Clado-
phora rupestris, Grinnellia Americana and Ptilota elegans—
but this is rather too full, though it seems to sueceed. In
my other marine tanks there is a little variety in the
animal life; thus sometimes when I introduce hermit-
crabs I omit the minnows, as I find that if I happen to
forget to feed’ my minnows until they get ravenously hun-
gry, they will attack the hermits, and after nibbling off
their antenne, at last drag them from their shells and
attempt to eat them—but are oftenest disappointed, as a
Lupa will be most likely to carry off the prize, though not
to devour it in peace, for the fish will gather round and
dispute the ownership of every morsel. In a fresh water
Aquarium of this size, I usually place three small gold-fish,
one sun-fish of not too great a size, two small dace, and
three or four minnows; and in one tank I have (besides)
three little black-spotted sun-fish. To these I add a dozen
or two snails of the genera Lymnea, Physa, Melania, Pa-
ludina or Planorlis, and sufficient Ceratophylum, Lemna,
Chara, or any other plant or plants to aérate*the water.
When we wish, however, to keep larger fish than min-
nows of four inches in length, we should make use of a
tank. of proportionate size, and not be sparing of room,

24 VESSELS FOR AQUARIA.

as one of the worst accidents that can happen is the
overstocking or crowding of the animals. The creatures ]
have mentioned above are about the proportionate num-
ber that will be found in a rock-pool or a portion of a
pond of the size of the tank I use, that is to say, ten
gallons capacity ; and, indeed, in beginning to keep an
Aquarium, it is better to rather understock it than run
the risk of losing all our pets at once, as we shall be
most likely to do if we introduce too many at a time,
But when the tank has been in vigorous operation for
some weeks, we can carefully introduce more animals un-
til we have the balance of the animal and vegetable life
complete. Let it always be made a rule, in the stocking
and management of an Aquarium, to follow the teachings
of nature as nearly as possible ; for, of course, if we are
not guided by the discoveries of those who have gone be-
fore us, we shall be the more apt to fail, and have to
go over the same ground as they have gone over to ar-
rive at the goal of their knowledge and practice.

The materials of which the tanks are usually made are,
in the case of circular ones, glass alone; and in that of
the oblong form the sides are composed of plates of the
same material, and a framg of either wood, iron or zine,
although for small tanks: wood is strong enough ; yet, in
regard to those of over a foot long, it would not bear
the weight of the water unless it were made heavy and
unseemly, or, if it -did bear the pressure of the con-
tained water whilst the tank was at rest, still, when it
was moved, the cement about it would be liable to start
from the glass in consequence of the bending of the wood -

ee

VESSELS FOR AQUARIA. Oh

—and again, it might, if it were not well seasoned, warp,
and so ruin the tank. Mahogany is the only wood that
can be used with any safety for this purpose, as it is
well seasoned in the forest before we get it. I have a
tank made of thick mahogany which has been in use some
months, and does not yet show any signs of warping, as it
was very carefully made. I have, in some cases, made use
of black walnut for small tanks, that is to say, those of
fifteen inches in length; and they have stood very well;
though I cannot recommend wooden tanks of any kind
or size. Zine is certainly superior to wood for Aquarium
frames; but, still, there are objections to it: for if it be
ornamental and portable, it is so brittle a metal in the
cast state that any ordinary sized tank, having a frame
made of it, would not bear any great pressure of water ;
while, if it were made with sheet malleable metal, though
it would not .break, it would be apt to bend, and so start
the cement. Zine is the metal most used in England for
small Aquaria, as it is a cheap material ; but I cannot
recommend it for the purpose, and there is no reason why
we should use it in preference to iron,

Tron is by far the best substance for the frame of an
Aquariuin, as it is cheap, strong, durable, and can easily
be made ornamental and thin enough to be comparatively
light, without endangering its strength at all. I have some
_ tanks that are made entirely of iron and glass, which are
| extremely durable, but rather heavy, though that, as I
7 have said before, is not necessary. The bottom can be
made of a slab of some well seasoned wood, as maho-
_-gany or white pine, and covered internally with cement

26 VESSELS FOR AQUARIA.

of some kind and a plate of glass, so that the water never
comes in contact with the wood at all, and there is no
danger of its warping. Marble, soapstone, or slate can also
be used for Aquarium bottoms, but they make the tanks

heavy, and in the case of marble, expensive. But tanks

made with stone bottoms will not travel well, from the

difficulty of screwing the iron frame to the bottom tightly,

without chipping it; and if it be not screwed tight, the
cement will be apt to start away from the stone or glass
when the tank is jolted at all. The best tanks, in this
respect, I have seen, are some I have in which the bot-
tom is made of cast-iron and covered internally’ with glass.

The proportions most approved of in England for the

form of oblong tanks are twice as long as the depth or
width, that is to say, forming a double cube, though, for
marine Aquaria, I have usually found it advantageous to
have the tank a little wider than these proportions, so as
the more nearly to imitate a rock-pool.

When we wish to have an Aquarium of a more
ornamental form than an oblong, we can have it
octagon, like that in Plate I., Fig. 8, which is the repre-
sentation of one contrived by Mr. P. H. Gosse. It is con-
siderably wider at the top than at the bottom, so as to
expose as great a surface as possible to the atmosphere.
Again, we can make an ordinary chemist’s bell-glass into a
vase Aquarium by inverting it and setting the knob into a
wooden stand, or use the glasses made for the purpose of
covering cake, inverting one of them, and placing it in a
wooden stand (as with the bell-glass), so that it can be

turned round for observers to view the contained objects —

VESSELS FOR AQUARIA. a7

on all sides. A representation of one of these is given in
Pl. IL, Fig. 1, stocked with sagittaria, nitella, ceratophylum,
and calitriche, together with gold-fish and minnows. When
one of this kind is placed on a tastily-made cast-iron
stand with casters, it makes a beautiful ornament for a
parlor window, and can be further decorated by having a
hanging basket suspended over it filled with some pendant
flowering plants.

For a beginner, a good vessel for him to try his hand
at the keeping of as an Aquarium is a glass jar, holding
about two gallons—such as is used by confectioners, and
having a wide mouth: the curved sides of such vessels, how-
ever, distort the figures of the fish when viewed through
them, and therefore, perhaps, all things considered, it is
best to get an oblong tank at once, in which he can sec
his pets in their real form and size. To the Aquarium
tank, it is advisable to attach three or four glass jars,
holding about a gallon each, to which stock can be re-
moved at any time to observe it more closely, or these
jars can be used for raising snails, growing chara, or any
other plant. As adjuncts to a large Aquarium, the best
things are a few of the flat-bottomed vases I have de-
scribed above, as a sandy or gravelly bottom can be better
placed in them than in jars, and besides, they can be
turned in their stands.

It will often be useful, and sometimes necessary, to
cover the tank, in order to keep out dust, prevent undue
evaporation, and guard against the any of our fish,
as many of them By os to. jump- “Out § alt to prevent

such mishaps, I have found the bee things 0) be plates

me |

28 VESSELS FOR AQUARIA.

of glass, either ground rough or clear—though ground
glass, perhaps, is the best, as it does not allow the direct
rays of the sun to pass through it and impinge upon the
water so as to heat it unduly, which would be deleterious
to the animals, but .rather diffuses the light so as to make
it beneficial to the growth of the plants. To keep the fish
‘ within fresh water Aquaria, we may use lighter covers than
glass ; for instance, a piece of bobbinet stretched over
a frame of wire. The gold-fish and dace I have found
most apt to leap out, and sometimes the minnows will do
so. Another good kind of cover can be made of. perfo-
rated zinc ; but it should not be painted in any way, as
morsels of the paint will be liable to chip off, and falling
into the water endanger, by its presence, the health, and,
indeed, life of the fish, If we use glass covers, we
shall, from time to time—that is to say, four or five times
a day—find it necessary to leave them off, as will be made
manifest from the close smell perceivable on lifting them
off—the marine tanks especially, if there be much vegeta-
tion in them. | :

For the purposes of Aquaria, there are used in England
several forms of vessels, such as vase-shaped and others,
besides the ones I have mentioned. And for what are
termed rock-pools—that is to say, shallow vessels imitating
the natural receptacles of that name, and used for the
purpose of keeping Actimea, glass milk-pans will be found
very suitable: however, the form and size of the tank.
must be left, to a certain extent, to the fancy of the
naturalist.

Mr. Warrington’s tank (Pl. I, Fig. 2), is of a pecu-

Cae
eis

VESSELS FOR AQUARIA. 29

liar form, and contrived for the purpose of a marine Aqua-
rium, in order to keep deep-sea organisms, and for which
it is admirably adapted. Mr. Warrington himself speaks
of it as follows: “ After five years and upwards expe-
rience, I have now adopted an Aquarium, the form of
which consists in a four-sided vessel, having the back gra-
dually sloping upwards from the bottom at an angle of
fifty degrees. The chief peculiarity of this tank is, that it
admits light at the top only; the back and sides are
usually composed of slate.” A tank of this form offers a
sloping side, to which we can attach rock-work, and thus
have a rocky shore, on which many animals like to crawl
up to the level of the water—the Actinie and crabs wil]
be found to be among this class.

A word as to the cement used in the construction of
tanks. If the reader intends to manufacture his own (which
I do not recommend him to attempt, without he has con-
siderable mechanical knowledge), let him, on no account,
use a cement containing either lead or lime, as they will
both dissolve in the water, and so make the tank leak ;
and, also, they both, and especially the first of them, will ’
contaminate the water and render it absolutely poisonous
to the fish ; for this reason, Roman or Portland cement is
objectionable, as is also a cement often used by makers of
tanks, at least in England, and which consists of a prepa-
ration containing white lead. ‘It is true that I have used
a tank put together with white lead, but it was carefully
covered with other cement, and employed for fresh water
only, sea water being more apt to dissolve out deleterious
substances from the cement.

<tee CHAPTER III.
PREPARING THE TANK,

Seasoning the Tank—The Bottom or Soil—Silver-sand not to be recommended—
Pebbles—Kind of Soil used important—The Amateur not always to be governed
by Books—Shell and Coral Bottoms—Rockwork—Cement for uniting Rockwork—
Rockwork to be simply formed—Aspect—East aspect best—Morning sun bene-
ficlal—Some Fish can bear warmer Water than others—A Northern Aspect never
favorable—Danger of letting the Water freeze—Minnows beneath Ice—Marine
Aquaria not needing much Light a mistake—Mr. Warrington’s Tank—Water to
be introduced carefully.

When we have procured the vessel that we intend to turn
into an Aguarium, and have ascertained that it is perfectly
water-tight, and has been well “seasoned” (that is to say,
the cement has been allowed sufficient time to harden, and
the tank several times filled with water and emptied, after
letting the water stand in it some hours to dissolve out
all soluble matter which may have been in the cement
used, and which, if allowed to remain, would endanger the
lives of the animals, if any were introduced before this
was made certain), we then proceed to prepare it for the
reception of the animals, and to do so, we must begin
“with :

The bottom—This is to be made by placing well washed
river sand, or fine gravel, upon the slate, ‘glass or - other
vase of the tank. Silver-sand, such as is sold in shops,

PREPARING THE TANK. oF

is sometimes recommended, and I have used it for this
purpose: but it requires a great deal of washing to make
it fit to be placed in an Aquarium; as, after even a
dozen good washings, I have found that ‘it still slightly
tainted the water, and even if we could perceive no color
imparted, yet there is apt to be lime, or some marine
salts, dissolved out after a time, which renders the water .
injurious to the fish and other inhabitants. I, therefore,
cannot very highly recommend silver-sand for a bottom to
the tank, though it may answer when so used. And as a
general.rule, all colored sands should be rejected as worse
than useless. The common red gravel, which would look
well in a tank, must not be used, for the reason that it
is ferruginous—that is to say, it contains iron, which
would soil the water of a red color. When saying that
silver-sand was not applicable to Aguarium bottoms, I
meant more particularly fresh-water tanks: for I have
used it in marine ones, after well washing it, so as to
remove all dirt, and with advantage, as there are several
crabs and other animals that delight in burrowing in it;
still, even after well washing, this sand is apt to retain
some of the salts it takes up on the sea-shore, and which, —
in a marine Aguariwm, would do no harm, yet would, in
a fresh-water one, render the water brackish, and so de-
stroy the plants certainly, and perhaps several of the
animals. We therefore procure a perfectly clean specimen
of sand, place it on the base of our tank, to the depth of
at least half an inch, though I have found that,. generally,
an inch is the best depth, and leaving it in some places
exposed, place over the same a layer of small pebbles, to

32 . PREPARING THE TANK.

keep it in place ; and for this purpose I have found the
white quartz pebbles, that are picked up on the sea-shore,
the best—but even they, as well as the sand, must be well
washed, to remove all salts or decaying animal or vege-

table matter. ‘The sand is useful in the case of the fresh | :

water Aguarium to set the plants in, and the pebbles to
keep them in place and steady.

Though it may at first sight appear to be so, it is not
a matter of small importance as to the amount and quality
of the soil or bottom employed for Aquaria; and though
.many of the fresh-water plants have no apparent roots,
and others seem to flourish just as well when they are torn
away from the roots and thrown into the water to take
their chance, yet it is certain that some plants have pecu-
liarities that fit them for growing in a soil of a particular
kind, and, consequently, they will not flourish, though they
may, to all outward appearances, grow in a soil of a dif
ferent- description : thus, the glass-wrack (Zostera marina)
although it seems to grow in the sand beneath the mud,
will not flourish in an Aquarium unless there be that mud ;
‘and, in the fresh-water collection, there is the water plan-
tain (Alisma plantago), the water violet (Hottonia palustris),
the water lilies, both white and yellow (Vymphea alba and
Nuphar luteum), and the common arrow-head (Sagiltaria
sagittifolia), besides many others that will not flourish. in
any but a deep soil at the bottom of the tank. Therefore,
the soil must be regulated according to the plants which
are intended to be grown in the Aquarium. The kind of
soil or bottom that I have described above will be found
to be the best to be placed in a tank for ordinary pur-

PREPARING THE TANK. 35

poses, Where we intend to grow the floating plants, as
ceratophylum, chara, calatriche, ete.

The amateur naturalist must, however, trust, in a great
part, to what he will acquire during his own experience
to guide him in his after attempts: and must not be dis-
couraged if he fail once or twice, for it will be a wonder
‘f he succeed on the first trial. He may get many inva-
luable hints from books, but cannot always be governed by
what his author has given him, for instances may occur
which the writer has not taken into consideration, and, then,
what is the neophyte to do? He must, as I said before,
be governed by his own experience: for, do we not find
that Mr. Gosse condemns red sand and silver-sand as cer-
tain to stain the water? whilst Mr. Hibberd, on the con-
trary, observes: ‘‘I have two tanks now at work, both
bottomed with such material” (red sand and silver-sand)
“and the water preserves a crystalline brightness. I have
also a marine tank, in which the bed is formed of common
silyer-sand and garden pebbles; it has been in use nine
months, with no unfavorable results.” Thus Mr. Hibberd
and I have used silver-sand, and it has succeeded; and
yet I have also used it, and it has failed from some un-
looked for and unknown reason. All I can, therefore, do
is to give my readers the result of my experience in this
branch of the subject, and leave it to them to experiment
for themselves. I have heard of, though I have never
seen, the bottom of a fresh-water tank entirely composed
of marine shells and pieces of coral. These, of course, are
extremely unsightly, although in a marine tank they are
proper enough, if they are arranged tastily ; though I must
confess to one weakness, and that is, that I have been so

384 . PREPARING THE TANK.

unmethodical as to mix with the gravel and pebbles of
one of my fresh-water tanks the empty shells of Anomia,
the beautiful little golden and silver-colored shells so com-
mon on some parts of our coast.

Rockwork is the next thing to be attended to after we
have got the bottom or soil of our tank arranged to our
satisfaction. In a fresh-water Aquariwm I do not recom-
mend much of it: yet if your taste, reader, leans that
way, be satisfied with a simple pile of stones in the centre,
or a cromlech, made by placing two stones on the bottom
at a distance from each other and laying another across
them—thus forming a rough arch, under which fishes may
retire when they are so disposed. Stones may also be
fastened together in the form of one or more arches by
means of some cement, always remembering that any me-
tallic or lime cement is injurious, and will be sure to taint’
the water to the detriment of the inhabitants. The best
of all cements for this purpose is made by melting together
one part, by weight, of rough gutta-percha and two parts
of common pitch. This cement holds well to stones and
does not foul the water, besides it is to a certain extent
flexible, thus not being liable to break on receiving any
sudden jar. The rock I have found to be the best for the
purpose of the Aquarium is either semi-crystallized quartz
or white feldspar, the latter of which can be obtained in
any quantity on New York island. It is best, perhaps,
when it can be done in fresh-water Aquaria, and certainly in
marine ones, to dispense entirely with the use of cement
for the purpose of uniting the rockwork. I have never
found it necessary to fasten the rockwork to the bottom

.

PREPARING THE TANK. 85

of the vessel, but merely to sink it well in the sand and
-gravel, so that it may be held upright, as an Aquarium is
not generally intended to be moved; and if rockwork be
well set up there will be no danger of its falling, unless the
tank gets a shock that would be. dangerous to the joints.
A very good plan to make up rockwork in a marine Aqua-
rium is, to set up two stones for a cromlech (as I have
described) and use, for the upper flat one, a large stone
upon which one or more kinds of sea-weed are growing,
and an end of which may be made to project a little above
the surface of the water, for the purpose of allowing crabs
and other animals that prefer it to come out into the air
when they wish. I have found such stones as I speak of
which have had growing upon them plants of Ulva, Ente-
romorpha, Ptulota, Cladophora, and one or two others; such
stones can be procured on any rocky coast where the Algae
are plentiful: for instance, on the shores of New York
island, as, indeed, I shall more particularly mention in the
chapter on collecting specimens.

Aspect.—Having now prepared the bottom and set up the
rockwork of our miniature pond or ocean, we must find
out if we have it placed in the best position, suitable to
its well being, as it is never advantageous to move the
tank when it is once arranged and filled, as doing so may
stir up the sediment that collects at the bottom, and, be-
sides, frighten the fish. If we have a window facing the
east, and from which the sky can be seen without dislo-
cating our necks, we should place our Aquarium there, as
both animals and plants like to get the rays of the morning
sun, and always thrive the better for them. We musi
guard, however, against the heating power of the rays:

36 PREPARING THE TANK.

that is to say, only expose the tank to the morning sun,
and not to his midday powers, as they would be liable to
heat the water to a temperature that would be uncom-
fortable, if not dangerous, to the fish ; therefore, if we do
not wish to subject our pets to a process of slow boiling,
we shall do well to shield them from the sun. If we have
not a window looking on the east, a southern aspect will
answer nearly as well, only we will have to be more par-
ticular as to shading the tank from the direct rays of the
sun, Otherwise the water would soon become heated, and
such a bright light, though it would be advantageous to
the growth of the plants, would also increase the quantity
of conferve that thus accfimulates on the glass quicker
than the snails can remove it.

The gold-fish, however, from being natives of warm cli-
mates, thrive best in water that would be uncomfortably
warm to other species. Many of those exposed for sale are
~ reared in water which receives the waste steam from fac-
tories, and is often kept at as high a temperature as eighty
degrees of Fahrenheit.

A northern aspect is never favorable for an Aquarium,
and a westerly one is the worst of all. In either of these
positions the plants, it will be perceived, do not: grow vigor-
ously, and the fish are never as lively as in a southern or
eastern one. In winter we can expose our tank longer to
the direct rays of the sun, especially if it is not kept in a
warm room, as we have to keep up an eternal summer for
our animals and plants to make them flourish ; once let
the water freeze, and we will perceive, especially in a fresh-
water collection, that the latter will droop and die, and
the fish become slow in their motions. Gold-fish will not

PREPARING THE TANK. ee

bear as low a temperature as our native species from rea-
sons that I have mentioned before. However, I have had
minnows living beneath a cake of ice an inch thick in my
tank. Of course, if we allow the water to freeze, we shall
endanger the bursting of the vessel from the expansion that
water always undergoes when passing from the liquid to
the solid state. Mr. Uibberd, in his useful little book on
the Aquarium, mentions that he finds that “a northerly
aspect will do .very well, say from May to October; but
during the winter months a tank in such a position would
be feeble and want watching.” A good plan is to place a
fresh-water tank close to the window, and during most of
the year leave it open; this, of course, cannot be done dur-
ing the winter, but the sash can be lifted for about an hour
a day, and you will find that the fish thrive the better for
it. It is mentioned in most of the books on the subject,
that marine Aguwarta do not require much light; and Mr.
Hibberd recommends the placing of them behind fresh-water
tanks, so that they receive little, if any, light through the
sides. This may be advantageous for the deeper water spe-
cies, but, in general, where I have used Ulva, Enteromor-
pha, Grinnellia and Cladaphora, with hermit-crabs, minnows
and Anemones, I have found that one or two hours a day
of bright sunlight is highly serviceable to the growth of the
plants, and exhilarates the Anemones wonderfully, making
them expand and exhibit their beauties in a fine manner.
In the sea, it is true, that the light falls through the
surface of the water, and on this principle is Mr. Warring-
ton’s tank contrived, and in it sea species thrive wonder-
fully. This fact should also hold true in regard to fresh-
3

38 PREPARING THE TANK.

water plants and animals, but we find no writer recommend
those tanks for their preservation, but rather advocate the
clear sides and a bright light. The marine species, also,
that we introduce into an Aquarium are mostly those from
shallow water, where they receive plenty of sunlight. Mr,
Warrington’s tank would be found useful, no doubt, for the
keeping of deep-sea forms that will not thrive in the light ;
but we have only to remove our collection away from the
window and it will do as well: and, besides, we do not
lose the one glass side that is indispensable to a clear view
of the contained forms.

When, then, all else is prepared—that is to say, the bot-
tom, rockwork and plants—we are ready to introduce the
water, which it will be seen requires some care. If we were
to pour it in at once from a pail or pitcher, there would
be danger of uprooting the plants or overturning some of
the rockwork : therefore, it is a good plan to pour it into
the tank from a common garden watering-pot, with a fine
rose attached, which will separate the water into several
small streams, and make it fall in the form of a delicate
shower—in this way exposing as large a surface as possible
to the air, so that it may be absorbed, and hasten the
preparation of the tank, for the plants will not then be
required to be put in to aérate it as long a time before
the animals are introduced, Some writers recommend the
pouring of the water from a pitcher held in one hand upon
a plate held slanting in the other over the tank. This
splashes the water into several streams, and avrates it well ;
and when the watering-pot cannot be conveniently used,
answers the same purpose.

CHAPTER IV.

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

Marine and Fresh-water Aquaria compared—A Fresh-water Aquarium to be recom-
mended to a Beginner—The Reasons why—Fresh-water Animals and Plants easily
procured—Transformations of the ‘ Polliwog’—The young Frog—Transforma-
tions of the Toad— The Toad, ugly and venomous, bears yet a precious Jewel
in its Head’’—Tadpoles excellent Scavengers—Tadpoles amateur Naturalists—
Value of an Aquarium to the Microscopist—Value of an Aquarium to the Natu-
ralist—Sticklebacks and their Nests—Caddis-worms and their Cases—Cases for
running Streams—Amusement for the Country—A home-made Aquarium—Simpli-
city of the Aquarium—The Naturalist’s Diary.

Tnovcn a fresh-water collection cannot vie with a marine
one in the strangeness of the varied forms of its animal in-
habitants,. or in the brilliancy of the color of its plants, yet,
when well arranged, I consider that a fresh-water Aquariwm
can be made as ornamental, if not more so, than a ma-
rine one, by way of a piece of furniture for the parlor ;
and though, in our miniature ocean, we have the many-
tinted Anemones and curious crabs, yet, in our crystal pond,
we have the universally favorite and never-to-be-left-out gold-
fish, with their graceful form and colors, that vie with
those of any of the inhabitants of our salt-water tank—
and then we have the curious little sticklebacks, and the.
gorgeous sun-fish, with his sides reflecting, in the sun-light,
all the tints of the rainbow, and his majestic motion,

40 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

slowly gliding by in kingly majesty, for the sun-fish ig
slow, and seldom hurries himself; and we have that fresh-
water lobster, the craw-fish, and the fresh-water shrimps.

To a beginner, I should decidedly recommend her, my
fair reader (for these few hints, as to the management of
the Aquarium, are not any more especially addressed to
the gentleman than to the lady part of the community,
whom I hope soon to see taking as much delight in the
fitting up and management of these beautiful parlor orna-
ments as their sisters on the other side of the Atlantic),
to start with a fresh-water Aquarium, in preference to a
salt-water one, for several reasons. First, the stock for
it is easier procured, and, if any accident should happen,
can be sooner renewed, and the same thing may be said
of the water. Second, I have found the fresh-water Aqua-
rium to be much easier to start, and more readily kept
in order. Zhird, many facts may be learned from the
keeping of a fresh-water Aguariwm, that we shall find very
useful when we come to start a marine one—facts that
can only be got at from the keeping of a marine collec-
tion for some considerable time, at the risk of losing
many valuable. objects that cannot be procured as easily
as fresh-water stock ; for every one knows some quiet lit-
tle pond or brook in the country, that is accessible, and
every such pond or piece of water will be sure to yield
something for a collection. Even if it be but a pond in
which frogs abound more than any other animal, yet there
we will be very likely to find some plant that may answer
for Aquarium use—water-bectles, caddis-worms, or some
other small, but not to be despised, creature that we may

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 41

pass an hour or two watching, to add to our stock of
knowledge, or even to amuse us for a while, and dispel
ennui. If nothing else is to be found, let us take some
half-a-dozen tadpoles, or, as the country boys call them,
« polliwogs ” (tell me, ye who are learned in such things, is
it spelt right ?) and watch their wondrous transformations
from the little seeming black ball, with a minute tail,
through its time of cutting its first teeth, that is to say,
its first legs, always the hind ones, until it gets its fore
legs perfect, and shedding, gradually, but surely, its tail,
it bursts at last on our vision an entirely different crea-
ture from the little shapeless ball of flesh we took from
the pond—a perfect frog, and perhaps we may have the
luck to hear his first croak, which he gives remarkably
well, as if he had been practising sotto voce ever since
he first waggled his tail, among his hundreds of brethren,
in pond or stream, and seems not to be ashamed of the
sound he makes either. A young frog, just after he has
shed his tail, and before he has begun to grow into
froghood, is a more beautiful object than you would
‘imagine, who have only scen him in his native pond. I
once had a little fellow, scarcely an inch in length, who
would sit upon the highest point of rock that projected
above the water, in my Aquarium, where he really formed
a very ornamental object, with his light green back, cop-
per-colored stripes, and bright twinkling eyes, which he
would wink at me in a most audacious manner, seeming to
enjoy himself amazingly. I have also watched toads during
their transformation, from the tadpole state, to that of
the perfect animal, for they, as well as frogs, pass their

42 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

youth as tadpoles, in the water, and funny little creatures
they are, when they first get their legs. Some I have
found, scarcely half an inch in length, with delicately mot-
tled grey and black backs ; and though not so brilliant in
color as their cousins, the frogs, are pretty animals, what-
ever Shakspeare may say to the contrary. I can never
agree with him that the toad is “ugly and venomous.”
Ugly it is not, according to my mode of viewing it, and
though modern naturalists may have found out that the
liquid secreted by the skin of the toad is venomous, yet I
consider that he has been very unfairly treated when con-
demned to the companionship of witches, wizards and such
like, to be made use of, when wanted, to help in the
formation of such a stew as was prepared for the special
benefit of Macbeth by the weird sisters. That the toad
“bears yet a precious jewel in his head” is not true, in
the common acceptation of the term, but he is himself a
jewel of great value, being, like the frog, one of nature’s
scavengers, ministering to the well being of us all, in re-
moving substances which would otherwise decay and cause
disease. Indeed, I have found that with having three or
four “tads,” I have been able, for a length of time, to
dispense with snails, as they will not only eat the decaying
vegetation, but will lick the glass clean with their formid-
able lower jaws, which are armed with several fine sets
of teeth. And they will do what most of the snails will
not, they will-eat decaying animal matter; for I have
found fish, that have died from some accident or other,
all eaten but their bones, by my friends, the “ tads.” A
friend informs me that he has been in the habit of clean-

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 43

ing the skeletons of birds for his collection, by suspending
them in a jar of water, in which he placed five or six
good sized tadpoles, and, in about a week, these creatures
had removed every particle of flesh from the bones, so that
the skeletons were beautifully clean and white.

What a treasure to the microscopist is a fresh-water
Aquarium, for in it he can find numberless treasures to
delight his eyes, that he would otherwise have to search
days for, in visiting many ponds and rivers, and wearing
out many pairs of shoes. It is to the Zotlogist what the
greenhouse is to the Botanist, a receptacle in which he
keeps his choicest species, and within whose small inclo-
sure he may observe and study the habits of many ani
mals that dwell at the bottom of lakes and rivers, and,
therefore, could not be seen else. Not only has the Aqua-
rium been an endless source of amusement to hundreds,
but it has been of infinite value to the naturalist, and
has aided in the advancement of the science of natural
history in an immense degree, bringing the operations of
nature in the depths of her oceans and rivers home to
our firesides, and popularizing the study of the beauties
and wonders of the Creator’s handiwork, so that the
youngest may learn to reverence and worship him in his
works. For instance, the habits of the eommon little
stickleback could not well have been observed without
some such contrivance, and uow nearly everybody that has
had a fresh-water Aguariwm in operation for any length
of time, has had the pleasure of viewing this curious’
little creature build his nest and bring up his young—for
it is the male that builds the nest and takes charge of

44 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

the eggs until they are hatched and the young come
forth, and then he guards and watches over them with
all of a parent’s love. Then the curious caddice-worms,
as they are called, without the glass sides of an Aquarium,
-we would not be able to see them build their grottoes
and cases, and go through their metamorphosis until they
become the perfect insect—the case-fly. They are funny
little fellows, these cads; I have some that have cases
built by laying three sticks aeross each other so as to
form a triangle; upon this another triangle of sticks is
placed, but a little shifted, the next a little more so, and
so on, until we have a case with a rough and pointed
exterior, covered with projecting sticks of all colors, but of
a beautiful and comfortable smoothness inside. And J
have others that have five-sided eases formed of three or
four tubes, fastened end to end, which are made of pieces
of leaves cemented together with a water-proof cement that
would be invaluable to tle manufacturer of Aguwaria. And
these eads are gentlemen of taste, too, for instead of form-
ing their cases of leaves of one sombre brown hue, they will
make one-third of its length of dark-colored leaves, the
next of light-colored, and the last of green. One of these
wonderful little creatures, who happens to ‘dwell in a run-
ning stream, finding that his cease, if made of wood,
would be too light, and be carried away by the force of
the water, attaches to some part of it a small stone, of
such a weight that he may readily drag it about with
him, but still heavy enough to resist the force of the
stream ; or he will make his case of empty snail-shells,
or entirely of stones, sometimes attaching a piece of wood

a ~ —

Se

‘THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 45

to float it in still water. So with the millions of micro-
scopic animals that abound in every pond and ditch—
‘without the aid of some such contrivance as an Aquarium,
we would not be able to keep them in any quantity so
as to study them at our ease.

“Reader, when you are staying in the country, and miss-
ing the flag-stones of the city, confessing yourself ‘“ bored ”
with nothing to do, and feeling the want of balls, par-
tics, theatres and operas, do as I shall herein bid you,
and ‘my word for it, all your ennue will be dispelled very
quickly. Get a glass jar of some kind—a preserve-jar will
answer the purpose—let it hold about a gallon, and cover
the bottom with clean river sand and pebbles. Then go
to the nearest pond, and get some of the plants that you
will be almost certain to see growing there beneath the
water, and place them in your jar, planting those that you
find growing in the deep soil at the bottom of the pond
in the gravel of your Aguariwm, leaving the others to
float, and fill it up with water. Now return to your pond,
and search at the bottom, and on the under sides of the
leaves of the aquatic plants, for the snails that you will
be nearly certain to find in those positions, and when you
have collected about a dozen, throw them into the water
of your jar. When your Aguariwm is thus prepared for
the reception of other live stock, take a small net, made
by stretching a bag of bobbinet over a wire ring, and
‘attached to a long handle, proceed to your pond, plunge
your net, and drag it for some few feet along the bot-
tom; take all it contains, when you draw it up, and
after washing, place it in your jar along with any fish —

3* .

46 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

and tadpoles that you have been lucky cnough to catch,
or that you can persuade any of the country urchins, for
a few cents, to procure for you; and then you will have
an Aquarium in full vigor. ;

Now, tell me reader, is an Agquariwm such a deeply
scientific affair and is it so very difficult to manufacture ?
I think that you will agree with me after one day

spent in searching for objects and the many hours you wiil

be sure afterwards to spend in watching your happy pri-
soners, that you are not quite so much “bored” as you
were, and that your walk in the fresh air has done you a
great deal of good, and banished all wishes for a city life
again. When you have got your Aguariwm under way, |
then take this or any other book that treats of ‘the sub- :
ject and see if you can find out the names of your plants
and animals. But let mo advise you to trust more to -
your own observation than to what you can learn by sit-
ting down to read a book without looking with your own
eyes and not those of your author, for if you learn to
observe for yourself you will perhaps the sooner, but cer-
tainly the surer, become acquainted with the habits of the
many wonders that you have had the satisfaction of catch-
ing. I have found it a good plan to keep a naturalist’s
diary, a book wherein I write down the history of my
Aquariwm and the changes or facts that I remark of my
pets every day. To this book I may at any time refer,
and this plan I recommend heartily to the consideration of
my readers.
In this way we shall be writing a book that will always
be of use, for there are always little facts that slip our

THE FRESHU-WATER AQUARIUM. 47

memory and may either be useful to ourselves when start-
ing a@ new tank, or to our friends, if they wish to do
sO.

All things considered, the fresh-water collection is, by
far, the best for a beginner; and though the colors of
the contained objects are not so brilliant as* those in the
marine tank, yet it will well repay us to watch the many
curious and wonderful forms as revealed to us in the
fresh-water Aquarium.

CHAPTER V.
PLANTS FOR THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

The bottom of an Aquarium to be planted in the same manner as a Garden—
Water-cress difficult to make flourish—Arrangement of Plants—Common Arrow-
Head cultivation by the Chinese—Arum—Water-lilies—-Water-shield-——Sweet
Flag—Forget-me-not—Sun-dew—Ferns—Valisneria Spiralis at West Point and
Fishkill Creek—Hornwort—Its rapidity of growth—Water Starwort—Anacharis
Canadensis—Remarkable power of propagation—Appearance in England—Choking
up the Rivers—Chara vulgaris—Nitella flexilis—Circulation of Sap-Water—Crow-
foot—Awl-wort—Spiked | Water-milfoil——Marestail--Villarsia—Buck-bean—Water-
violet--Water Speedwell--Water Soldier—Pondweeds—Duckweeds—Frog-bit—Group-
ing Plants.

Havine our tank prepared, as to the bottom and rock-work,
according to our taste, we proceed to introduce the plants.
In doing so, we plant the bottom of our tank as we
would a garden, that is to say, placing the roots of such
plants as thrive best at the bottom, in the sand beneath
the gravel, as it isin this that they must grow—the gravel
only serving to keep them in place and retain them in
an upright position. Dr. Lankester, in his little book on
the Aquavivarium, gives us quite a long list of plants that
may be used with advantage in the Aquarium, many of
which T have tried and can recommend ; but there is one
he mentions which I have never been able to make suc-
ceed, and that is the common water-cress (Nasturtium offi-

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 49

cinale). This plant is an inhabitant of running water—I
have not been able to make it grow well in the still water
of an Aquarium; but yet, have kept it alive for some
time by rooting it very deep in the mould at the bottom ;
pesides, I find that snails are very partial to it, and will
leave the conferve and other plants in order to devour it.

I propose to arrange the plants in the following man-
ner: first, those used-as centre pieces and for the purpose
of ornament; second, those planted on rockwork out of
the water and not flourishing when submerged; (third,
those submerged and planted at the bottom; and, fourth,
those floating without any attachment.

Common Arrowhead.

I. ORNAMENTAL PLANTS NOT AERATORS OF THE WATER.

Common ArrowHEAad (Sagittaria sagittifolia.) This is
decidedly the best plant for a centre piece and can be

50 PLANTS FOR THE

found in most of our large ponds. It has elegant leaves
of the form of barbed arrows and of the glossiest green
color, the flowers rising in pyramidal form from the water
and borne upon stout, fluted stems. The flowers are three-
petalled, white, with a flush of violet towards the centre,
from which rises a granulated boss of green, that adds
much to the beauty of the flower by the contrast of the
tint to that of the petals.—This plant is extensively cul-
tivated among the Chinese, not for its beauty, but for
the sake of the bulbous root, which fixes itself in the
solid earth below the mud and constitutes an article of
food. The bulb, among the Chinese, seems to grow to a
larger sizo than with us; but it could readily be made
available, if some enterprising market gardener were to
attempt the growth of this succulent root. The size might
easily be increased as many of our garden herbs have been
by cultivation ; and then again, the arrowhead will flourish
in damp situations where other useful plants do ‘not grow.

Arum (Calla palustris) is another plant which grows. well
in the Aguariwm according to Mr. Noel Humphreys,
though I have not tried it myself. It is, I should judge,
rather too large, and, together with the next mentioned,
more suited for very large tanks than for the small lakes
we place as ornaments in our parlors. The leaves of the
arum resemble in form those of the sagittaria, but the
flower is trumpet formed, with a yellow pistil, the petal
being violet-striped, with one side of the lip falling grace-
fully over.

Toe Warer-tities (iWVymphaacee), of which there are
tliree—one white (Pl. IL, Fig. 8), and two yellow. They

asian

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. dL

are the sweet-scented water-lily (Nymphaea odorata), and
the two yellow pond-lilies (Nuphar adrena and Kalmana),
and are common in our larger ponds. They look orna-
mental when in bloom, but when not in flower, only fill
up the tank; and, besides, require to be very deeply
rooted. They also die down in the winter, and, therefore,
are objectionable in that season.

Tue common Warer-suienp of our ponds (Brasenia
peltata) is allied to the lilies) and grows in the same
positions. The leaves float upon the surface of the water,
and are oval in form, with the stalk attached to the
centre of the under side. All the submerged portions of
this plant are covered with a gelatinous mucus that pre-
vents contact with the water. The process of opening of
the leaves is very curious in this plant, and worth watch-
ing. The flowers are small, and of a dull purple color.

Some of the reeds and rushes, as the common Calamns
or sweet flag (Acorus calamus), may be introduced, but
require to be deep-rooted in the sand or soil of the tank ;
and even then will not be likely to flourish, though they
look well in a large collection while they live.

Il. PLANTS PLACED ON ROCK-WORK OUT OF THE WATER.

On the rock-work can be grown the beautiful blue for-
get-me-not (Myosotis palustris), the Sun-dew (Drosera), of
which genus there are five species found in the United
States, and several other plants; though I do not advo-
cate the use of any of those plants that are simply for

show, taking no part in the economy of the tank, and

52 PLANTS FOR THE

when the petals of their flowers fall, are positively injuri-
ous, as they add more refuse vegetable matter for the
snails and other scavengers to remove. The ferns, from
belonging to the class of plants ealled Cryptogamia, or
flowerless plants, are free from this objection to their use,
and are very ornamental when arranged with taste on any
rock-work projecting above the water’s edge. Mr. Hib-
berd, in his book called ‘ Rustic Adornments for Homes
of Taste,” gives us a list of such of these beautiful plants
as may be used by way of ornament for our Aquarewm.

UI. PLANTS USED FOR AERATING, BEING COMPLETELY OR PARTLY
SUBMERGED,

Foremost among these truly useful plants, stands the
almost universal Aquarium inhabitant, .

— -Vauisnerta_spiratis’ (Pl. U1, Fig. 2). It is certainly
one of the most useful of all the aquatic plants, though,
perhaps, not the most ornamental, even of the submerged
ones, which are generally thought to be not so graceful
in their outline as their relations of the shore. It is —
found, I understand, at several places near New York
city, one of which is at West Point (and is mentioned
by Prof. Bailey in Silliman’s Journal, vol. xlii. p. 89,
note), on the ‘shores of the Hudson River, where we have
a curious assemblage of fresh-water and marine vegeta-
tion; the Valsnerta, together with Potamogeton, growing
just below high-water mark, and Lnteromorpha, Ectocarpus,
ete, from that point to below low-water—thus showing
that the fresh, being lighter than the salt water, floats, as

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 53

it were, on its surface. I have received plants of it from
the mouth of the Fishkill Creek, where Dr. Torrey informs
me it grows in such profusion, that he has frequently
found a difficulty in pushing a boat through its tangled
leaves. This plant is named in honor of an Italian natu-
ralist, by name Valisneri. It in appearance resembles a
grass, having long fronds, or leaves, starting from a deep-
set root in the soil at the bottom, and growing upwards
in the water towards the surface, often falling over in
graceful curves, forming ‘groves sequestered,” through
which the fishes may roam. From the knowledge of its
natural mode of growth, we learn that it will flourish only
when well rooted in the sand and gravel at the bottom
of the tank; indeed, I doubt not that it would grow
still better if we used a layer of soil placed beneath the
gravelly bottom of our Aguarwm. This plant can be
easily distinguished on account of its resemblance to a
wide grass, as there is no other fresh-water plant like it
in form, the common sea-grass (Zostera marina) being
somewhat like it in appearance; but that grows only in
the sand of the sea-shore. The Valsneria is propagated
by off-shoots, which is a peculiar feature of the order Hy-
drocharida, to which this plant belongs; and Mr. Lloyd
mentions, that from six small roots he procured, during
one summer, no less than thirty-two healthy plants, all of
which blossomed freely. One of the female flower-stalks of
these plants he measured, and found it to be as much as
five feet in length. This is one of the plants in which
the circulation of the sap may be observed under the mi-
croscope.

54 PLANTS FOR THE

Hornwort.

Tur Hornworts, of which there are supposed to be
several species, though Gray seems to think otherwise,
come next in our list. The commonest, however, if there
be several, is the Ceratophylum demersum, and is found in
slow-running streams and ponds all over our country. It
grows quickly and well in confinement, and, together with
Chara, Callitriche, and Anacharis, flourishes just as well
free as when rooted; indeed, this is the case with a
great many fresh-water plants. In one of my Aquaria, I
have a plant of the Hornwort which, when I placed it
in the water some six months since, was a little broken
sprig about six inches long, and it has now filled up more
than half the tank, and promises to crowd to the wall
the other slower growing plants. The Hornwort may be
readily distinguished from having long, slender, filamentous
Jeaves, arranged in whorls around a central stem, which
are also forked two or three times. We can tell it from

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 55

Chara or Nitella, as those plants have no real leaves, but
simply stalks in place of them around the stem, in whorls
like the Ceratophylum. It is a very graceful plant, and
an excellent aérator of the water. I have often used it
alone or with Zemna to stock a tank; indeed, my first
Aquarium Was a small jar, with two plants of Hornwort,
two tad-poles, one small frog, and half a dozen snails.

THe WATER-STARWORT (Callitriche verna) is another class
of these useful and, at the same time, ornamental plants for
the Aquarium. There is a variety of this species called
platycarpa, as well as two other species, C. pedunculata
and C. autumnalis, found in the United States. I have
been as yet able to find. the water-starwort only in small
quantities near New York city, but it is said to be very
common in some parts of the State. This plant may be
distinguished from its presenting a star of four leaves on
the water’s surface, of a light green color. A good plan
is to throw a rough gathering of this plant into water,
and, after well washing it, pull off only the bright green
heads with about three or four inches of stalk attached,
and cast these into our tank to take their chance; the
plant soon spreads itself over the surface of the water, and
gives a healthy green shade that is good for the animals,
obstructing the heating rays of the sun.

Awacnarts Canapensis (PI. IIL, Fig. 1), A. alsinastrum,
American weed, or, as it has been also called in this coun-
try, Udora Canadensis, is one of the most vigorously growing
of the aquatic plants that we can introduce into an Agua-
rium, and is, at the same time, extremely common. Mr.
and Mrs, S. C. Hall, in their interesting little “Book of the

56 PLANTS FOR THE

Thames,” quote a pamphlet by William Marshall, Esq.,
where, when speaking of the Anacharis, he says—“ The ip-
truder is so unlike any other water-plant, that it may be
at once recognized by its leaves growing im threes round a
slender stringy stem. The color of the plant is a deep
green ; the leaves are about half an inch long by an eighth
wide, egg-shaped at the point, and beset with minute teeth
which cause them to cling, so that whenever the plant is dis-
turbed fragments are broken off. Although it cannot at
present propagate itself by seed (all the flowers being male)
its powers of increase are prodigious, as every fragment ig
capable of becoming an independent plant, producing roots
and stems, and extending itself indefinitely in every direc-
tion. Most of our water-plants require, im order to their
increase, to be rooted in the bottom or sides of the river
or drain in which they are found ; but this is independent
altogether of that condition, and actually grows as it travels
slowly down the stream, after being cut.” That this weed
is “a foreigner” to England there can be little doubt. Its
property of “holding on,” and, as it were, crying, “ don’t
give up the ship,” marks it as an American. And again,
“weeds very closely resembling, if not identical with it, are
found in American rivers. Mr. Marshall is of opinion that
it is an importation from North America: and that, pro-
bably, its first visit was paid to us in a load of American
timber. He considers that all attempts to ‘get rid of it?
must be futile ; that a never can be eradicated : and that all
we shall be able to do is to ‘keep it down’ Its rapid
growth is one of the marvels of nature. It is becoming
a serious evil: the Commissioners of the Thames should lose

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 57

no time in grappling with the common enemy.” It has only
been known ten years in England, and yet has already
become a common weed, affecting the traffic of rivers and
canals, impeding the currents of minor streams, and filling
up isolated ponds, thus growing in both running and still
water, and though it seems to prefer the former, grows the
more rapidly in the latter. It has already rendered the
Thames in some parts almost impassable.

The above supposition of Mr. Marshall’s of its introduc-
tion into England seems, however, not to be the correct
one, as I find the following given in a little book on the
Aquarium, published by Messrs. Dean & Son, of London :
“One of the Cambridge professors, having received a plant
from a friend in Canada, kept it for some time in a glass
jar: but not seeing any particular use in’ retaining it,
threw it away down a drain that emptied itseif into the
Cam. The following year a great stir was made about a
new weed, which was fast choking up that river; and,
upon inspection, the professor was much surprised to find
in it his old acquaintance, which he had the year before
parted with so unceremoniously.”

Tue Cuarace& are all of them excellent plants for use
in an Aquarium. Dr. Lankester gives the following general
description of the species: ‘“‘ All the species are easily
known in the water by consisting of a central branch,
which is composed of elongated cellular tubes, and at the
junction of each tube with the other it gives off a serics
of branches, which surround the primary tube in the form
of a whorl. In the axils formed by the branches with the
primary stem, the parts which represent the stamens and

58 PLANTS FOR THE

pistils of the flowering plants are seated. These parts are
of two kinds, and are called “mucules” and “ globules.”
The mucules are green, and represent the pistil, whilst the
globules are of an orange color, and represent the stamens,
The globules contain cells, in which are contained small
moving worm-like bodies, and are interesting objects under
the microscope.”

Tue Frexiue Nirevia (Nitella Jlexilis) is the representa-
tive of this order which I have found most common near
New York city, and differs from the other common species
Chara vulgaris (Pl. IIL, Fig. 3) in having its stems composed
of one single cell, whilst those of the chara are made up of
several twisted cells, united side by side. In this class of
‘plants, as in the Valisneria, the circulation of the sap in
its cells may be readily observed under the micrascope, only
in a superior degree. The stems of the Chara vulgaris,
from being coated with a deposit of calcareous matter
(whence its common names, stonewort and brittlewort),
have to undergo preparation before the circulation can be
well seen: whilst with the Vitela it is simply necessary
to place it between two glass plates, with some water, and
arrange it under the microscope to see the circulation dis-.
tinctly. The Characee are good growing plants, and look
very graceful in an Aquarium, the light green color of
the Vetella “contrasting well with the dark green of the
Chara vulgaris, Ceratophylum and other plants, and as
avérators they cannot be surpassed. As I have mentioned
before, they have no true leaves, but stalks replacing
them.

Tae Ware Water Crow-root (Ranwnculus Aquatilis)

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 59

ig a pretty plant for an Aquarium, and is, at the same
time, @ curiosity, from having two sorts of leaves ; one set
being submerged and presenting thread-like divisions spread-
ing in all directions, another set float on the water and
have three lobes. There are several species of aquatic
crow-foots, and it is to this family (Ranunculacee) that
the butter-cups, anemones, clematis, monkshood and_lark-
spurs belong. Another species R. Purshw, or yellow wa-
ter crow-foot, is also common in this country.

The plants I have mentioned are the most common and
pest of the submerged class; but the following may be
introduced, and are, many of them, recommended by Dr.
Lankester for that purpose.

Tan Awt-wort (Subularia aquatica) which grows on the
margin of ponds.

Tus SprikED WATER-MILFOIL (Myriophyllum spuatum). This
is found very commonly in deep water. ‘There are six
species of this genus.

Tne Marestai, (fHippuris vulgaris) is not common in
the United States, but is sometimes found growing in ponds
and springs.

Tue BEAUTIFUL Vitiarsta ( Villarsca nympheoides), which
is so highly recommended by English writers for the fresh-
water collection, is not found in this country.

Tur Bucksean (Menyanthes trifoliata) grows in bogs.

Tue Warer-vioLet (Hottona inflata) is found in pools
and ditches pretty commonly.

Toe, Water Spreepwetn (Veronica palustris) is obtained
in this country, but not so commonly as,

Tue AmertcaN Brooximute (V. Americana) while what

60 PLANTS FOR THE

is known as the English brooklime (V. Beccabunga) is not
found here at all. ,

Tur Warer Souprer (Sératiotes aloides, Pl. Ill., Fig. 4) ig
common, and may be known from its resembling the top
leaves of a pineapple growing beneath the water.

Tur Ponp-weeps (Potamogeton) are excellent plants for
the Aquarium. There are twelve species growing in this »
country ; but neither of the two English species (P. cris-
pus and P. densus) are found here. |

IV. PLANTS FLOATING ON THE SURFACE.

Tuk Ducxwerps (Lemnacee) of which there are five
species in this country, are all excellent plants for the
Aquarium, as they not only aérate the water, but give
that green shade which is so beneficial, and, indeed, to a
certain extent, necessary to the well-being of the fish; and
they also harbor, among and beneath their leaves, numerous
microscopic animals, which serve as food for the fish.
These plants consist of three, four or five rounded oval
leaves, connected together, but which soon separate and
float upon the surface of the water, looking as if they
were the torn-off leaves of some other plant. When,
however, these leaves are turned over, the under side will
be found to be of a,*brownish purple color and have
from one to five roots growing from the most pointed
part down into the water, but never attached to the bot-
tom or to any other plant. Their flowering is curious and
interesting to watch in the spring, when one of the leaves
will be found to bear the stamens, and another the pistil.

fae)

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 61

Tae <AxertcaN Froc-srr (Limnobium spongia) is the
same as the European plant HHydrocharts and is found in
the northern United States ; it is said by English natural-
ists to be a good plant for the Aquarium. From not
having been able, as yet, to find it, I cannot say whether
it be or not. :

There are many other plants which may ii introduced
into the Aquariwm ; but those I have given are the most
common and easily obtained. I generally plant Sagittaria
in the centre (removing it after a time, as it dies .
down, when the flowers go off), and place Ceratophy-
lum and Nitella around, whilst on the surface, I throw Cal-
litriche, Anacharis and Lemna, the latter of which soon
multiplies and covers the surface. of the water. One of the
prettiest arrangements in a fresh-water Aguarwm is to
have a good sized Nutella, with its light and transparent
green stalks set off by a dark bunch of Hornwort placed
as a background, for in an Aquarium as much taste may
be shown inthe grouping of the plants and animals, as
in the arrangement of a picture ; and nothing looks worse
than to have the plants thrown in pell-mell, to take their
own chance of arrangement. |

CHAPTER VI.

THE FISH FOR THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

Proper period for introducing Fish—Small Fish preferable to large ones—What is a
Fish ?—Gold Carp a native of China—Gold-fish bred in Warm Water—Difference
of Color—Minnows frozen in Ice—Deformities of Gold-fish—Feeding—Care
required in Feeding—Minnow—Yellow Perch—Niagara Gudgeon—Sticklebacks—
Dr. Lankester’s Description of them—Sticklebacks not to be placed with other
Fish—Mode of Building their Nests—Male Fish taking charge of the Eggs—Tena-
city of Life of the Stickleback—New York species—Loach—Cat-fish—Carp—
Prussian Carp—Pond Fish—Small Pond Fish—Pigmy Dace—Black-nosed Dace—
Eels—Mode of eating Molluscs.

Wuen our plants are growing, and our scavengers, the.
snails, doing their work properly; in fact, when they have
got into order, then is the time to introduce our fish—
and not before—or we shall be most likely to lose them.
Fish being highly organized creatures, indeed the most
highly organized of any that we intend to place in the
tank, require that the water should be well aérated be-
fore they are introduced; and to insure this state of
things, it is best to let it remain with its plants and
mollusca for from three days to a week, and exposed
to the sun’s direct rays for several hours each day. This
ean be done with safety, as the snails will bear a tem-
perature that would be uncomfortably high for fish or
other tenderer animals. If we have three bright days in

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 63

succession in the week and our tank is exposed to the sun’s
rays for three hours each day near an open window, we
may then, with safety, introduce the fish, whilst, in dull
weather, it will require longer preparation.

Let it be always borne in mind, that the smaller the fish,
the easier it will be to keep them properly and without
trouble. Large fish, that is to say, fish of over five inches ~
in length, are too large for any but a tank of four or five
feet in length, and are more apt to die from the unnatural
confinement than smaller ones. I have also found that
small fish, after being caught, and before introduction into
an Aquarium, will bear travelling any distance better than
large ones.

Fish are known from living entirely in the water; hence,
such animals as came out of the water at any time, for
instance, frogs and lizards, cannot be termed -fish, but
belong to a class that has been named Amphibia. Fish are
provided with organs of respiration, called gills, that ob-
viate the necessity of. their coming out of the water to
perform the process of breathing; so that if, in an Aqua-
rium, we observe the fish come to the surface to breathe,
as gold-fish will when kept in a globe, we may be sure that
something is wrong; either the animals are in too great
number for the dimensions of the tank, or there is not
sufficient vegetation ‘to supply the oxygen for their suste-
nance.

The following are the fish that will be found most suit-
able for a fresh-water collection. I have tried many of
them, and can recommend these :

The gold carp (Cyprinus auratus). is one of the hand-

64 THE FISH FOR THE

somest fish for an Aguariwm, and at the same time it is
easy of domestication. This beautiful creature is a native
of China, though common in this country. It is now to
be caught in the Schuylkill River, just above Philadelphia,
into which stream it has escaped from some pond, and
increased greatly in numbers, size, and beauty—fish which
breed in a semi-wild state always being of more bDril-
liant color than those reared in confinement. The gold-
fish was made a pet long before it was introduced into
Europe: almost every Chinese mandarin having had a tank
of them in his garden, where he could sit, smoke his pipe,
and watch the gambols of the fish. The gold- fish, however,
that are exposed for sale here and in Europe, do not, of
course, come from China, but are bred for sale in tanks and
mill-ponds; thus, in the north of England, they multiply in
great numbers in mill-dams, the streams of which being sup-
plied from or having flowing into them the refuse waters
of many steam-engines, ate at all times of tepid warmth,
and, indeed, sometimes the temperature rises as high as 80°
Fahrenheit. The fish in these waters are the most prolific,
but not so long-lived as others. Difference of situation has
been observed to affect the gold-fish in a remarkable de-
gree; thus, in running streams, black spots make their
appearance upon them; and in other situations, other as
strange metamorphoses take place. The gold carp is not
the only fish that can bear so high a temperature as 80°,
for perch and mullet have been found by De Saussure in
water heated to 89°, and live eels were found by the
same naturalist in water heated as high as 113°. Many
fish will bear sudden. changes of temperature. I have had

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 65

minnows frozen in a block of solid ice, and after thawing
them out, they have been as lively as if nothing unusual
had happened; and I see Mr. Hibberd mentions a like fact.
The color of the gold carp, as I have before said, varies
greatly: thus, its natural color is golden orange with a
white belly, but it is sometimes almost white, flesh-colored,
grey, and even black; sometimes it is brown, or has its fins
tipped with black, or one whole half of the animal is black
—such varieties looking very beautiful in an <Aguariwm.
This fish is peaceful and easily domesticated, whilst it will
subsist on the smallest amount of food of any fish I have
had. ‘This fact highly recommends it to our consideration,
as one of our collection. Sometimes the dorsal or the -back
fin is double, and the caudal or tail fin divided into three
parts, so as to give the fish the appearance of having triple
tails. When this latter circumstance occurs, Mr. Farrel has
observed that they are deficient in dorsal fins. As to feed-
ing gold-fish, many writers condemn bread as being delete-
rious, whilst Mr. Hibberd, a gentleman who seems to under-
stand the management of an Aquarium, says: “There is no
better food for gold-fish than the crumb of bread.” And
Dr. Lankester also observes: ‘‘Gold-fish may be fed on
bread or biscuit.” I, myself, acting on these suggestions,
have fed them on bread, and found that they thrived won-
derfully ; and while so fed, I could not persuade them to
partake of meat with the other fish—they would only take
it into their mouths, and, after tasting, reject it; but if
allowed no bread, and fed on meat alone, they would
sicken, and even die. :
Great care should be taken in feeding gold, as well as

66 THE FISH FOR THE ©

other fish, for they are nearly as greedy as minnows, which
gorge themselves until the food fills even their throats,
and then will settle themselves down in some secluded
corner of the tank to sleep it off, in the manner of a
boa-constrictor after a feast. ,

The Minnow, Minny or striped Killiefish (Fwndulus fas-
ciatus), all of which names this fish bears, is also a very
good inhabitant for the fresh-water tank, and will be de-
scribed in the chapter on marine fish.

The American yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) is a beau-
tiful fish, and is said to thrive in the confinement of an
Aquarium. It is one of the best known and most widely
distributed of all of our fluviatile fishes, and is closely
allied to the P. fluviatilis of Europe. 5

The Niagara Gudgeon (Gobio cataracte) is one of the
class of fish bearing barbules, which are in this species
very small, and, indeed, are to be observed with difficulty.

It is found at the Falls of Niagara. The Gudgeon of.

Europe is so free a biter, that his name has become con-
nected with a proverb. Unlike many of the fish that we

could introduce into our tank, he does not grow large.’

The New York species never exceeds five inches in length.
The Killiefish (4. fasciatus) is, in this state, called Gudgeon.

The Stickleback (Gasterosteas), four species of which are
found in the State of New York, is recommended as an
inhabitant of Aquarwm tanks; but from not having had
any great experience in them, I cannot describe their
habits from personal observation, so the best thing I can
do is to give the description of this fish that is presented’ to
us by Dr. Lankester, a gentleman who understands perfectly

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. e 67

the subject on which he writes. He says: “I mention ©
this little fish first, because I think he has claims to the
rank of the king of fishes. Whether we regard his high
organization, his courageous nature, his domestie habits, his
varied instincts, his power of living in all waters, at all
temperatures, he is fairly entitled to take the first place
among fishes, and rank high in the animal scale. And
where is this wonderful fish to be got? The nearest pool,
pond or ditch that has life in it, is sure to have stickle-
backs in it. Take a walk on the nearest road out of any
country town, and the chances are that the first boy you
méet with a blacking-bottle or a picklejar in his hand,
has got stieklebacks in it. They are the first game of
the youthful sportsman all over Great Britain. You need
not catch them yourself; a penny will buy a score of
them from any of these urchins. But should you wish to
eatch them for yourself—always a great pleasure, and an
art to be cultivated—then a hand-net will take them by
dozens ; but this is a cowardly, wholesale way. If you
wish for ‘sport’? at the same time, you will angle for
them; not, however, with cruel hooks.- The stickleback is
much too brave and incautious a fellow to need a hook.
A little red. worm, at the end of a piece of twine, is all
that is necessary to secure him. Once having seized the
worm, he never lets go, though you drag him out of one
element into another. ont

“When you have secured your stickleback, you must
not inconsiderately place him with other fishes. I have
asserted that he is a royal fish, and you will soon dis-
cover that he will bear no rivals. No sooner is he fairly

68 THE FISH FOR THE

free in your Aguavivarium than he commences his reign—
not always, I must confess, of the mildest sovereignty.
The chances are, if you put him with fish of his own
size, you will find them all dead in the morning. Sad
spectacles |! disembowelled by the use of our pet’s spines
upon his neighbor’s stomachs—their eyes picked out as
delicate morsels for his morning meal. This, therefore,
must be a warning to you; and if you have but one jar,
and wish to keep sticklebacks, you will probably not have
an opportunity of keeping any other fish, of his own size
at least.

“But he will repay you for his disposition. He has ‘all
the ways of other fishes, and many more besides. Look
into your tank—see, there is one larger than the rest ;
he is clothed in a coat of mail, like a knight of old,
and it is resplendent with purple and gold. See how his
eyes glisten, and with every movement present a new
color. He is a male fish, the king of your little shoal.
He has important offices to perform. Presently, in the
course of a few days, if you watch him, and are fortu-
nate, you will see this wonderful little fish engaged in the
most useful manner in building a nest. He first seizes
hold of one little bit of weed, then of another, and car-
ries them all to some safe corner, till at last his nest: is
built. Having done this, he gently allures his mate to
their new-made home. . Here she deposits her eggs, and
having done this, resigns the care of them to our hero
of the purple and gold, who watches over them with an
anxiety that no other male in creation but the male
stickleback seems to know. He fans and freshens the

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. : 69

water with his fins, and at last, when the young are
hatched, watches over their attempts at swimming with the
greatest anxiety. Nor is this. habit confined to the fresh-
water sticklebacks. A lady, writing to me from Aberdeen,
and describing her Aquavivariwm, says : ie. fifteen-spined
stickleback (Gasterosteas spinachia) constructed a nest on a
piece of rock, which was covered with a fine green sea-
weed, and laced all together with a long thread, com-
posed, apparently, of some secretion. The fish afterwards,
for about the space of three weeks, watched the nest,
never leaving it at all, save for the purpose of driving
“away other fish when they approached too near. When a
stick was introduced into the vicinity of the nest, the fish
would fly, open-motthed, to attack it, and would bite -it
with great apparent fury. At the expiration of the above-
named time, the young fry made their appearance by
hundreds ; but I am sorry to say they soon disappeared,
being devoured by the other fish, and caught by the
tentacles of the sea-anemones. The mother-fish continued
her attendance at the nest as long as any of the young
fry were left.’

“The stickleback is very tenacious of. life, and will live
out of water for several hours. I was watching, a few
mornings since, on the sea-shore, where some fishermen had
left the refuse of their nets the night before: all the ani-
mals were dead, except a solitary stickleback, who still
survived, and on being placed in the sea, scuttled off
again as though nothing had happened. The fresh-water
species are often taken at sea at the mouth of rivers ;
and Sir Edward Belcher informs me that he took a

4*

70 ' HE FISH FOR THE

specimen whilst dredging at sea during the last Polar
voyage.”

Sticklebacks are not uncommon in the State of New
York, some being found on the island upon which the city
of New York is built ; indeed, there is one species sup-
posed to be peculiar to this State, and has therefore been
called the New York Stickleback (G Neoboracensis). The
other species found in the same State are Gt. biaculeatus,
or two-spined, G‘. quadracus (Pl. IV., Fig. 1) ,or five-spined,
and G. occidentalis, or many-spined stickleback.

The Loach, Loche or Beardie (Cobitis barbatula), is a
small fish, and is said to do well in confinement. It be-
longs to the same class of fish as the Gudgeon—which has
followed the moustache movement, having barbules around
the mouth. Fish having these appendages are said to feed
at the bottom of rivers and lakes. Loach, like most of
the fish that we make use of for the Aguariwm, live
on larvee and small worms, which can be supplied to them
during the summer, but in winter they must be satisfied
with such food as they can get. The Loach is not, how-
ever, found in the State of New York, but is here repre-
sented by the Cat-fish, which also has the barbules attached
to its mouth. There are several species, but the best for
the Aquariwm, on account of its size, is the black Cat-
fish (Pimelodus atrarius) which is found in Wappinger’s
Creek, a tributary of the Hudson, in Dutchess county, and
is about four and a half inches in length.

The Carp (Cyprinis carpio) is a native of Southern
Europe, and it is said to be suited to the Aquariwm, as
it frequents ponds and still water. A fish which lives in

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 71

quick running streams will, of course, not be likely to suc-
ceed in the quiet of an Aguariwm; therefore the trout,
which would be a beautiful creature for a tank, cannot be
introduced. :

The Prussian Carp (Cyprinus Gibelis) is recommended
by English writers, but it is not, I believe, found in
America.

The common Pond-fish (Pomotis vulgaris, Pl. IV., Fig. 2)
is beautiful and excellent for the fresh-water Aguariwm, as
he is easily rendered tame and looks well in a tank, be-
ing a slow mover, easily caught, and swimming majestically
about; the sun, when shining upon his sides, presenting
us with a gorgeous spectacle, and from which circum-
stance he has received the name of Sun-fish. The pectoral
fins are beautiful objects, as they are moved slowly about
when he stays to gaze on us, with his large eyes, in seem-
ing astonishment. He has a black spot, just beyond hi:
gills, which is tipped with a beautiful bright scarlet
His most popular name (and which he deserves) is Sun-
fish, but he is also called Pumpkin-seed, an appellation
that is not quite so aristocratic, and is applied to him
on account of the many spots on his side. In the State
of Massachusetts, this fish is called Bream. .

We have another species of Pomotis in the State of
“New York, the black-eared Pond-fish (P. appendix), which
is destitute of the scarlet spot on the opercle, but is a
little more tender than the last named species.

The Pigmy Dace (Leuciscus yigmeus) is a pretty little
fish, being only one inch long, and is found in brooks near
Tappan, Rockland county, New York, where it was pro-

72, THE FISH FOR THE

cured by Mr. J. G. Bell. It will flourish in an <Agqua-
rium. But the best of this genus for the fresh-water
collection is the black-nosed dace (LZ. atronasus). The
body of this little fish is of a greenish color above, and
the abdomen silvery. A broad dark brown or blackish
band passes from the nose, down each side, including the
lower half of the eyes. This band proceeds, in a straight
line, to the tail. On the head, behind and above the
eyes, is a brown mark, in the form of a heart, the point
towards the tail. The brown stripe on the fish, which
passes over the nose, gives him a comical appearance on
being viewed from the front. It is an abundant fish in
this and adjoining States, in fresh-water streams and
rivulets. It is easily kept and tamed. I have some that
are extremely tame, and who, when I tap on the glass,
come to the side of the tank that I may happen to bo
at, and, if I allow them, will nibble at my finger. They
do not, however, like the minnow, jump out of the water
when I present my finger to them, but readily take food
from my hand, and seem to like being stroked gently,
turning quickly around, as if in astonishment, but hardly
ever attempting to escape. They never exceed the length
of three inches; those I have are two inches long.
The scales of this fish are very small, giving it a sleek,
glossy appearance.

Eels have also been recommended for the fresh-water
tank, as their peculiar mode of swimming contrasts well
with that of the other fish; but I have found that even
such small ones as are not more than two inches in
length have an unpleasant habit of making away with our

*

e FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 3

useful little snails. They exhibit a curious mode of tear-
ing off a piece from the molluces, which shows that they
cannot have very sharp teeth. They will seize on a por-
tion of the foot, for instance, which is projecting beyond
the shell, and, making themselves perfectly rigid and_per-
peudicular to the bottom of the tank, spin around with
about the velocity of one’ hundred revolutions per minute,
until they have wedged the snail between two stones,
when the portion is torn off, and the eel, like his near
relation of the land, the boa-constrictor, will Jay himself
at length at the bottom of the tank whtil the “morsel »
has passed into his capacious stomach, when he will again
attack the snail—although he will rather choose another
living specimen, thus seeming to destroy them from pure
spite, and in revenge for his confinement, leaving their
carcasses to decay and upset the economy of- our well
balanced collection. It is for this reason I assert that
they are unfit for the fresh-water Aquarium. —

CHAPTER VII,

MOLLUSCA, CRUSTACEA AND REPTILIA FOR THE FRESH=WATER
AQUARIUM.

Use of Mollusca—Greatest Variety of Mollusca to be looked for in the Ocean—
Univalves and Bivalyes—Lymnea columella—Lymnea fragilis—Physa heterostro-
pha—" Walking on the Air,”—Eggs of Physa—Production of Young—Right-hand-
ed and left-handed Shells—Physa plicata—Planorbis bicarinatus—P. lentus—
P. armigerus—P. corpulentus—P. exaentus—P, parvus—Paludina decisa—Mela-
nia—Unio complanatus—U. radiatus—Anodon fiuviatilis—Craw-fish—Fresh-water
Shrimps—Asellus communis—Branchipus stagnalis—Cyclops quadricornis—Bull-
frog—Croak of the Frog—Transformations of the Frog—Spring Frog—Marsh Frog—
Water Lizard—Red Salamander,

Ir will be remembered how, when speaking of the prin-
ciples of the Aguariwm, it was said that a green ‘scum
would, after a time, form on the glass sides and so ob-
scure our view of the interior; now, for the purpose of
removing this so that a clear and unobstructed sight of the
habits and actions of our pets can be procured, we follow
the experienced example given us by Mr. Warrington, and
place in our Aquarwm Nature’s scavengers, the little fresh-
water snails. In a fresh-water tank the Mollusca are
represented only by these pretty little creatures, for
though many writers on the subject have asserted that
they are necessary evils, the sight of which is only to be
borne because of their usefulness in rendering and keeping

.

|
|

ae eae ee eee

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 75

it clean, yet I assert that though they may not be among
the most active of the creatures that we place in our
tank, still for the beauty of the forms of their shells, if
not from their curious mode of progression over the glass,
and floating along the surface of the water, as well as for
the purpose of watching them bring up their broods of
minute snails, which, in time, serve as food for our fish,
they are to be viewed not merely as ‘necessary evils,”
but as good, interesting, and pretty citizens of our world
in miniature.

The greatest in quantity and beauty among the Mol-
lusca are undoubtedly those dwelling in the sea; but some
are inhabitants of fresh water, as the familiar water-snail
that we find in the mill-dams and ponds, whilst others
inhabit the land, as the common’ garden slug. The Mol-
lusca form a class of animals that bear shells on their
backs and whose coverings we pick up along the beach,
and which constitute some of the first objects of natural
history that we learn to admire for their beauty of form
and the varied tints that they present. The shells of dif-
ferent genera of Mollusca are of varied form and texture ;
thus, those of the salt-water Mollusca are, in general,
hard and strong, whilst the shells of the fresh-water snails
are thin and more of the consistence of horn than what
we understand as shells. There are some of the mollusca,
however, that seemingly do not present us with any
shells at all, as the garden-slug; but they have shells,
though they are small and hidden in the substance of
their bodies and do not serve as a means of defence, as
those of the well known. oyster or clam do to them.

76 MOLLUSCA, CRUSTACEA AND REPTILIA FOR

Mollusca must be looked for, as we have before sug-

gested, in greater quantity and beauty in the ocean than
in fresh-water lakes and rivers. The marine shells also
present us with a greater variety in form than our
fresh-water friends, but many of those that we find in
fresh-water streams and milldams are of great beauty and
grace. The pretty coil shell Planorbis, the Lymnea, Physa,
Paludina, Malania and fresh-water muscles, . as they «are
called, the Unios, and Anodons all look well and are ex-
tremely useful in a fresh-water tank, as removers of the
troublesome -decaying matter.

The Mollusca, or shell fish, are divided into two great
groups: the wnivalves, or those having the shell formed in
one piece ; and, the bivalves, or those having the shell con-
sisting of two portions ‘united together at some one point
by a hinge.

Of the first class, we have several that may be intro-
duced with advantage into our tank; and first among
them comes the genus Lymnea, of which there are fifteen
species found in the State of New York, some of them
being very common. ' 4

Lymnea columella (Pl. V., Fig. 1), I have found this
species very common in several places. It is an ovate, fra-
gile shell, varying from one half to one inch in length,
though it is generally found smaller than that. The spire
is narrow, acute and much shortened at the aperture,
Aperture very large, more or less expanded, and having a
thin film of enamel at the lip. This lip is also so much
arched as to display a considerable portion of the interior
of the shell, which distinguishes it from any other of the

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. TT
New York species. The color is a pale greenish or straw
yellow. It was when keeping this species that I first be-
came acquainted with the mode of growth of the young
from the egg to maturity. The process I will describe
when we come to speak of the Physa heterostropha.

Lymnca fragiis (Pl. V., Fig. 4) is another species of
this genus that I have introduced with advantage into
my fresh-water tank, and is perhaps a more graceful shell
in form than the last mentioned. It is darker in color
than the Z. columella, but is not so large a shell, being
only from six to nine-tenths of an inch in length. It is
the same as the L. fragilis of Europe, and is common in
this State. The reader, in his rambles, no doubt will come
upon many other species .of this genus, all of which may
be used-for the fresh-water tank. The commonest, however,
in the southern part of the State of New York, are the
above and L. desidiosa.

The genus Physa, which are left-handed shells—that is .
‘to say, when the opening is held towards us, it is on the
left hand of the apex, whilst in the genus Lymnea it is
on the right hand—are represented in New York’ State
by eleven species.

Physa heterostropha (P\. V., Fig. 5) is ® very common
species, found in almost every pond and stream. It is of
a yellowish or greenish-yellow color, and becoming ‘ more
dusky with age. It has the inside of its lip of a dull
reddish color. ‘This animal, as well as the Lymnea, is often
seen floating, with its shell downwards, upon the surface
of the water, literally, as a writer has observed, “ walking
on the surface of the air,” and moving alomg by. means,

78 MOLLUSCA, CRUSTACEA AND REPTILIA FOR

as it would seem, of the motion of numerous cilia, or 3
minute hairs attached to the under surface of the body,
making what is called the foot. This mode of progression :
can be seen better in an Aguarwwm than in a pond or
stream, for they seem to be more addicted to it in con-
finement than in their natural habitat—whether because of
the absence of breezes ruffling the surface or not, I can- —
not say. This animal lays its eggs in clusters of from ’
fifteen to sixty, contained unsymmetrically in a transparent :
sac, whilst the Z. colwmella attaches its eggs in groups of
about a dozen, arranged in rows around the stalk of some —
water-plant, and also contained in a transparent investing —
membrane. If these eggs are examined under a magnifying —
glass, we shall see that they have a small yellow spot in —
some part of them: this is the yolk; after a time we
shall see that this spot increases in size, and assumes more
and more the form of the parent animal. At the samo _
time, the young snail, having a slight shell investing it,
begins to rotate about in its egg-shell, until at last, when
it is perfectly formed, it- breaks through one end of the
shell and makes its escape a perfect animal, and at once
takes upon itself the habits of its parents. I have had
hundreds of these juveniles floating, shell downwards, upon
the surface of the water of a tank that I kept on pur.
pose for rearing them in (for if we attempt to do so in
an Aquarium, the eggs, ‘as well as the young snails, will —
be rapidly eaten by the fish ; and in this way, if we keep
enough snails, we can feed our fish with food that they
relish). The movement of the ovum in the ege is always, :
in the case of the right-handed shells, from right to left,

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 79

and vce versé. This motion has been supposed by some
writers to influence the form of the shell, and most likel¥ it
is so. When the young snail is examined under the micro-
scope, just before it bursts the egg, we can see through its
thin papery shell, and observe the beating of its little
heart. The increase in our stock of snails that we may
expect, can be imagined, when I state that one of these
animals will deposit from two to three of the sacs of eggs
a week, thus producing, in the course of six weeks or two
months, from 900 to 1,000 young. There are other species
of Physa found near New York, one of which, P. plicata,
is obtained from the island on which the city stands,

The genus Planorlis, or coil-shell, is represented in New
- York State by fourteen species, several of which are com-
mon: for instance, P. trivolvis, which I have obtained from
‘Oswego Lake. It is said to be abundant in many ponds
‘and streams.
_ Planorlus bicarimatus (Pl. V., Fig. 3) is one of the pret-
tiest species of this genus. It has its three whorls de-
ressed on each side, and is, in appearance, a solid, squared
shell. All the Planorbi are fonder. of the conferve than of
the larger plants, and are, therefore, excellent inhabitants
for the fresh-water tank, whilst the Zymnea, most of them,
are too dainty to eat up the troublesome minute plants,
but will be sure to make away with your tenderer vege-
tables, as Potamogeton. The other common species of the
genus Planorbis in New York State are, P. lentus, P. ar-
migerus, which, with P. corpulentus, are right-handed,
whilst the other species P. exaentus, P. parvus, are left-
handed shells ;

80 MOLLUSCA, CRUSTACEA AND REPTILIA FOR

The genus Paludina is also a helical shell, but more
cohical than the last genus, and bears a little resemblance
to a stout Lymnea. There are only three species found
in our State; but I have some in my tank that came
from the Delaware River, which are slow animals, but from
being large and light in color, they form a good contrast
to the Lymnee and Planorbi.

Paludina decisa (Pl. V., Fig. 2) is the commonest of
the New York species.

The shells of the genus Melania form a good contrast
in. appearance to the other fresh-water shells, being elon-
gated cones. They are, however, unfortunately mostly con-
fined to the Southern and Western States, and are not
found in Europe except in fossil state. They are slow
creatures in their motions, but are good grazers.

Of the bivalve shells we have the genus Unio, or fresh-
water mussel, as it is called, which may be introduced into
our Aguarium. There are quantities of species of this
genus in this country, and,many of them are very com-
mon, as U. complanatus and U. radiatus. There are twelve
other species found in this State. They are not, however,
lively creatures, and are of no use in cleaning the glass.

There are ten species of the genus Anodon found in this
State (of New York), one of which, A. fluviatilis, is very
common.

The. Crustacea next demand our attention, and are also
fair scavengers, and more lively in the performance of
their duties than their fellow-workmen, the Molluscs, They
do not, however, clean the glass, but only sift, as it were,
the decomposing matter out of the water. Yet even if

s+ 1 utes |

:

;
7
;
3

THE FRESH-~WATER AQUARIUM. 81

they were no more scavengers than the fish, we would
still introduce them into our collection, because of their
strange forms and habits.

The little Craw-fish, or fresh-water Lobster (Astacus Bar-
tonii), is a curious creature, and resembles the common lob-
ster in everything but dimensions, as it is rarely over three

inches in length. It is said to be exceedingly common in

the mountain streams of this and the adjoining States. It
is shy in daylight, concealing itself under stones until night,
when it comes out. The American craw-fish is rarely eaten,
whilst the English species, A. fluviatilis, is considered a deli-
cacy, and sold in considerable quantities in the London mar-
kets. Dr. Lankester mentions that he has never been able to
keep it alive in confinement, whilst Dr. Ball, of Dublin, kept
one so for two years. I have never myself tried to keep
them, but suppose, with a little care, it may be accomplished.

The fresh-water Shrimp (Gammarus minus), is common

in most of our fresh-water streams, and may be found by

searching under stones and pieces of wood. It is extremely
active, and if it could be kept alive, would make an in-
teresting inhabitant of an Aquarium. It is small in size,
being about one-third of an inch long, and resembles the
little sand-flea that we find under stones on the sea-shore.

There is a small-creature, the Asellus communis, that is
found in nearly every stream and often brought up in
great quantities by dragging the net along the bottom.
It looks somewhat like a larva of some insect, and is
extremely lively. I have found it easy to keep in an
Aquarwm, although it is small, being only from a quarter
to a half of an inch in length.

82 MOLLUSOA, ORUSTACEA AND REPTILIA FOR

In fresh water are also found two more little creatures
allied to the shrimp ; one, the Branchipus stagnalis, is found,
as its name indicates, in stagnant pools, and the other,
Cyclops quadricornis, is found also in similar water and
is excellent food for fish. Many others of these miscroszo-
pic animals, some of them crustaceous, are found in fresh
water and may be introduced for the purpose of studying
their habits.

The reptiles come next in our list, and we shall begin
with the consideration of the frog, whose young, the tad-
poles, are such useful servants in our Aquariwwm.

The Bull-frog ( Rana pipiens) is the common frog of our
ponds, and it is the tadpole of this species that we see
in such large quantities in ponds and brooks. Dr. De
Kay speaks of it as follows: “The Bull-frog is one of
the largest of the family in this State, and appears to be,
generally distributed throughout the Union. It is well-
known by its hoarse voice, compared by many to the
roaring of a bull, and which is so loud as to be heard at
a great distance; it is aquatic, although it occasion-
ally comes to land. In the adult state it feeds on
insects, crawfish, helices and small fish. The tadpole
(Pl. V., Fig. 6), on the other hand, appears to be exclu-
sively herbivorous.” The changes that the Bull-frog under-
goes in its transition from the egg to the perfect ani-
mal, are curious and will well repay a careful examina-
tion; but it is generally in the tadpole state that we
procure our amphibia, and from that state to the one of
the frog we can observe the transitions. The tadpole
has gills, or rather only one, on one side of his head,

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 83

where we may observe, just behind the eyes, a round
opening, through which the water is forced; but, though
he is furnished, like fish, with gills, they seem to be imper-
fect, for sometimes he must come to the surface to breathe,
and does so in a strange wriggling manner, somewhat like
an eel. Though the “tads” are herbivorous, they will eat
animal matter, and, indeed, even their own kindred. After
a time, the creature increases in size, the hinder part of
the body swells, and at last, the budding of the hind legs,
which are always the first to appear, may be distinctly
seen. When these are perfect the other pair make their
appearance in the same way, though sometimes I have
observed that if the “tad” is carried any distance and
roughly treated, the hind and also the fore legs will often
spring through the skin in one night, and then we have
a curious lizard-like animal. As soon as he has got his
legs, the gills disappear, and the tail gradually dwindles
away, its substance going to build up the body. When
this is gone, we must take care, or our frog will also be
gone, as he now fancies the land as much as the water,
and will crawl up the corner of the tank and so make
his escape, unless we cover’ it, a good way of doing
which is to stretch a piece of gauze on a frame and lay
it over the top. The poor frog seems to have been
created for the experiments of the philosopher, for it is
he that has to take all the new poisons, that we may
observe their effects; it is he that has to suffer what Dr.
Hall terms “Strychnizm ;” it is he that serves as a gal-
vanic battery, and it is in his leg or tongue that the cir-
culation of the blood is exhibited under the microscope to

84 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

the admiring observer. The Bullfrog sometimes attains the
length of twelve inches, though the common size is from
four to six. It is not this species, but another, the Spring
Frog (Rana fontinalis), that is eaten as a delicacy, and,

unlike the Bullfrog, it is herbivorous. If we intend to keep —

frogs at all in our Aguwariwm, we shall find the prettiest,

especially in its young state, to be the Marsh Frog (Rana —

palustris). It is also called the tiger, leopard or pickerel
frog.

The Water Lizard (Triton millepwnctatus), crimson-spotted
Triton or Eft, is found all over the State of New York,
especially in mountain brooks and lakes, and is capable of
withstanding a very low temperature, as it has been
observed under ice an inch thick. The female is entirely
smooth, and the male, in breeding seasons, is furnished with
a brilliant coat, and wears a crest upon his back, as is
seen in Pl. VI, Fig. 2. his crest disappears later in
the season. The newts are intelligent animals; indeed,
more so than fish, and are easily tamed. There are
several other species found in this State, but the above
is the most common. When we intend to keep these
creatures, it will be found best to have a portion of
- rockwork © projecting above the surface of the water,
so that they may get out into the air, as they are fond
of doing. Another common New York species, the Sada-
mandra rubra of naturalists, may be introduced into an Aqua-
rium with advantage, as it is only about five inches long
and of a bright crimson, spotted with black. Its color, which
very much resembles that of the gold-fish, contrasts
well with the darker species and ‘the green vegetation.

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CHAPTER. VIUT. :

GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

The Tank to be well Seasoned—Feeding Fish—Bread to be given to Gold-fish—
Taming Fish—Care to be taken not to introduce too much Food—Cheese for
Fish—Accumulation of Conferve—Removal with a Sponge—Emptying the Tank —
Grouping—Sun-fish a Peaceful Inhabitant—Sun-fish nibbling Minnows’ Tails—The
Tailless Minnow—Varieties of Snails—Fish coming to the Surface to breathe a
Bad Sign—Aérating the Water—Definition of an Aquarium—Temperature of the
Water—Shading the Tank from the Sun—Air blowing on the Surface of the
Water advantageous—Dead and Sick Animals to be removed—Diseases of

Fish.

Ir will be as well, on concluding the portion of this book
devoted to the fresh-water Aquarium, to give a few pages
that may be useful, not only to beginners, but which will, |
hope, also aid others who have had tanks in operation for
some time in the keeping of them, and to whom some slight,
unforeseen accident may happen that, from having never oc-
curred before, may endanger the loss of the whole stock ;
for them, no less than for beginners, I have put together
the results of over two years’ experience in the management
of Aquaria, especially as regards fresh-water.

To begin at the beginning, first, be sure that your tank
is well seasoned, and that the cement used in its construc-
tion contains no lime or lead; as the use of either of those
substances will endanger the lives of your pets. Be sure
5

.

86 GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF

at the same time that the tank is perfectly clean, before
you put any stock in. This is a point often neglected, and
even if the soiling matter be not dangerous to the lives of
the fish, it will render the view of the interior obscure and
make the tank look untidy. When the aquarium is stocked
according to the directions given in the previous chapters,
we must not suppose that our work is finished, and that we
may sit down and leave our collection to take care of itself,
for, there are certain points that must be always attended
to, such as feeding the fish, sickness of animals, ete.
Frrpixe Fisn.—Generally speaking, any kind of meat may
be given to them, if it be torn up into small shreds, re-
sembling worms, so that they can easily swallow it, for fish
do not masticate their food. I have been used to give
mine chicken, as it is tender; but beef seems to suit them
best as a general dict. Some writers condemn bread as
dangerous ; but I have, generally, not been able to make
any but gold-fish eat it, and they seem to thrive on such
food. After a time, you will find that your pets will have
become so tame as to eat from out of your hand. Minnows
will be the first to show this seeming intelligence. Dace
and sun-fish next, and after them gold-fish. I have some
minnows that come to the surface and nibble my finger
when I place it just below the water, and allow me to
stroke them gently, especially before feeding, and when they
expect their meal. These fish will often follow their owner
around the tank, much after the manner of animals in a
menagerie about feeding time. We should always be care-
ful not to introduce too much food into the tank at once,
as, What is not eaten will decay and foul the water; and

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 87

for that reason it is always best not to give the fish all
that they will take, but rather keep them on short com-
mons, aS I have observed minnows and sun-fish to stuff
themselves with food until it projected from their mouths
and then, afterwards, eject it and allow it to decay in some
out of the way place, where we would not be likely to see it
until it was too late and damage had been done. Mr. Hib-
berd recommends cheese as good for fish. I have found
that sun-fish eat it, but only when very hungry.

The snails will often do their work insufficiently, and
then the glass will become cloudy with conferve. ‘To re-
move this, I use a piece of sponge tied to the end of a

tes — IT ET TT

a9

.

Sponge.

stick, and rub it across the glass. Some writers mention
an old nail-brush as answering the same purpose, but it
cannot be introduced and used so easily as the sponge.
With all our care, no doubt, it will be found almost neces-
sary to empty the tank once a year and thoroughly clean
it; but, still, this should never be done, unless the soil at
the bottom has become black and the plants show signs of
decay ; then, only, we should remove our live stock by
means of a net, made by stretching a bag of bobbinet
over a wire ring and carefully placing them in a vessel of
clean water until the cleaning of the tank is complete. The
plants are, then, also removed, as are the water and soil.
It will be found preferable not to use the same soil again,
as, with all our labor, it will be found very difficult to per-

8

to 2)

. GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF

fectly clean it. The bottom and sides of the tank should
be scrubbed with a piece of. flannel and soap; and if the
bottom be stone, sand may also be used with advan-
tage. When the tank is perfectly clean, we can again
introduce our stock, arranging it as has been recom-
mended in former chapters.

Grovrine.—This is a point that is of very great impor-
tance, and, therefore, must not be neglected; for, if we
throw in our stock indiscriminately, we shall find that many
of the stronger will prey on the weaker, and thus we shall
have constant warfare going on among those which should
form a “happy family.” Thus our friend, the Pike, though
a very curious fish, and one whose habits it would he
interesting to watch, cannot be placed in company with
many other kinds of fish, as he will very soon make away
with them, and if we intend to keep him, it must be alone,
where he will remain. sulky at the bottom of the water,
until we deign to notice him by feeding.

The same remark holds good concerning the stickleback,
who will attack other fish many times his own size. In a
tank of ordinary dimensions, that is to say, of eight gallons,
which is the capacity that I generally use, I would place as
vegetation, Strateotis, Ceratophylum, Calitriche, -Anacharis,
Chara and Lemna, Then, for animals, we can have our uni-
versal inhabitants of the fresh-water Aquariwm—the gold-fish
of about three inches in length, sun-fish of the same size or
larger, for I have kept large sun with small gold-fish, and
have never found them to disagree, although I have heard
some persons assert that they will. The sun-fish is a slow
and stupid fish in his actions, but makes a beautiful denizen

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 89

of our tank, where his many-colored . sides glisten in the
sun like a rainbow. - Small. minnows cannot be kept with
sun-fish, as those gentlemen, when they are hungry, are
rather fond of nibbling at ‘minny’s tail, thus damaging his
beauty as an ornamental fish, and making it rather tiresome
for him to get along until his tail grows:again. I once had a
little minnow (about an inch and a half long) who had his
tail entirely bittén off by shrimps and crabs, and could not
swim with the speed and grace of his fellows. He, poor
fellow, had to wag the entire hind part of his body, and
use it as a screw propeller in lieu of a tail. I must say,
however, that I think he deserved the treatment he got, for
he was an extremely pugnacious little chap, and would
attack my crabs for the purpose of stealing their food,
when larger fish would hold back in fear. After about two
months, his tail grew out finely again; but he had accus-
tomed himself so to swim without the help of that appen-
dage, that, to the present day, he propels himself by wag-
ging one entire half of his body. Sticklebacks are not
safe creatures in a tank with small fish, or even with
minnows, but with large ones, say, of three inches in length,
they will-do well enough. A few lizards and tadpoles can
be introduced, and will be’ found to-be excellent servants in
keeping the tank clean and the. glass bright ; snails, of
course, must be used (as I have before mentioned) and we
can, in the choice of them, suit our own taste and fancy.
The round and graceful Lymnea and Physa, or the Ammo-
nite-formed Planorbis, the bulky Paludina and the long cone-
shaped Melanza, may all. be introduced. as we can procure
them ; and some of these species, especially the Lymnea, are

90 - GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF

extremely common. I have also put in a dozen or two of
the curious little fresh-water shrimp, Aselus communis,
Which is extremely common in some of our streams. They
make excellent scavengers and are lively little creatures
besides, but do not live long in confinement, either being
eaten by the fish or otherwise disappearing.

Sometimes you will perceive that your fish come fre-
quently to the surface to breathe or remain there. When
this happens, we may be certain that something is wrong
in the economy of the collection. This often indicates that
the inhabitants are not supplied with enough oxygen for
support, and may be caused, first, by crowding the fish,
when some of them must be removed to another vessel, or
the water must be aérated; and to effect this, I have used
a contrivance which I will describe in chapter fourteen,
Secondly, it may result from there not being enough vege-
tation in the tank ; and this is a point that can only be
arrived at by direct experiment. Some writers will tell
you that one plant is sufficient for two fish, but they do
not say how large the plant is to be. But the fact of
the fish coming to the surface may be caused by some
decaying matter in the tank, cither animal or vegetable,
that renders the water foul and unfit for the inhabitance
of animals and must be at once removed.

It should be remembered, when it is found necessary to
arate the water, that we do not possess an Aquarium:
which is @ collection of plants and animals that is self-swpport-
img, self-renovating—that requires only the feeding of the
inhabitants and the watching for accidents.

The temperature at which the water in the Aguariwm

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 91

should be kept is, also, a matter of great importance, for
if we once allow it to get too low, the water freezes, our
vessel bursts and then farewell to all our pets; and if
we allow it to get too warm we shall lose both plants and
animals by a system of slow boiling. Sixty degrees of Hah-
renheit’s scale is about as high as we should allow the
temperature to rise. In summer, we should, therefore,
shade the tank most part of the day from the direct
rays of the sun by means of ground glass or a white win-
‘dow blind or oiled paper. And in winter, if we have
it in a room where there is a blazing coal fire, or, worse
still both for man and beast, a heater of a furnace, we
shall find that though the warmth may be pleasant to us,
it will be decidedly uncomfortable for our fish, who are
not used to being shut up in houses. To remedy this we can
place it near the window, which will, most likely, be the
coolest part of the room, or even open the window. A
little fresh air blowing on the surface of the water, if it
be not too cold, is good at all seasons for both plants
and animals. I generally keep a thermometer immersed in
the water of my tank, by means of which I can judge of
the temperature and tell when I should minister to the
well-being of my fish. Mr. Hibberd recommends in sum-
mer, when the water of the tank has become unduly
heated by the sun’s rays, to wrap around it a coarse cloth,
saturated with water, and to keep this wet from time to
time. .
Remember, that dead and sick animals should be removed
as soon as discovered. Fish are apt to become diseased in
winter and are troublesome to cure. Sometimes the caudal

99 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

fin will become coated with a fungoid growth. It should
be removed at once with a fine pair of scissors. | It
usually grows again very soon. Gold-fish are subject to a
disease that is termed by dealers “ the slime,” and to’ cure
this, it is best to remove them from the tank and place
them in a pail full of fresh water and then throw: over
them a handful of silver-sand, so that it may fall on the
skin of the fish. It will cause them to rub themselves,
and entirely eradicate the slime without injuring the fish. J]
have lost a great many gold-fish from this and other
diseases. When fish appear dull and stupid from no appa-
rent cause, I have found that it often enlivens them to
put them in a pail, and setting it under a croton-
water tap, allow the water to run on them for about
a quarter of an hour. Minnows are subject to a disease
during the winter, which causes them to turn light colored
and float on the surface of the water panting, whilst other
fish in the same tank thrive. For this disease I have
found no cure, and have remarked that it seems to attack
them oftener in fresh than in salt water.

CHAPTER EX:
THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

Marine and Fresh-water Tanks contrasted—Advantage of Flat-sided Vessels for
Marine Aquaria—Rock-pools—Bottom of the Tank—Shell bottom—Rockwork to
project above the Surface of the Water for the Fiddler Crabs—Introduction of
Vegetation—Water—Washing Plants—Procuring Sea Water—Cask for holding it
—Artificial Sea-Water—Its Manufacture—Seasoning the Water.

As the laws of nature are fixed and unchangeable, and as
they govern the plants and animals living in the ocean
as well as those that dwell in ponds and rivers, a ma-
rine Aquariwm has of course to be established on the
same principles as a fresh-water one.’ The management
of the two different kinds of Aquaria will, also to a
certain extent, be similar. The only great difference be-
tween them consists in the appearance presented by each
when fully stocked, for, though the fish may appear
similar, the other animals and the plants will be entirely
different. They that “go down to the sea” have stranger
tales to tell of its wonders than they who explore the
lake, pond or river. In the fresh-water collection we
have not the many-tinted anemones, the brilliant serpule,
and, then, the crustacea are, in such a tank, restricted
to a few species that are difficult to keep alive in con-
finement ; whilst, in the marine Aguariwm, we have the

5*

94 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

funny hermit crabs (two species), lobsters and _ shrimps,
while the salt-water fish are more varied in form and
color than those found in ponds and _ rivers.

The vessels in both cases are, of course, the same,
except as to Mr. Warrington’s tank, which is made espe-
cially for use as a marine Aquariwm. And Mr. Hibberd
very truly says, “It is also important to bear in mind
that marine stock invites the use of the microscope in
a greater degree than river specimens, and a_ flat-sided
vessel is the only one which affords proper facilities for
the application of a magnifier to its contents.” The
water, also, in a marine tank does not need to be so
deep as that in a fresh-water one, that is to say, all
of our stock, anemones ete., except fish, will thrive just
as well in a shallow vessel as in a deeper one; and as
we intend to imitate the little pools left in the rock by
the receding tide, we can have for that purpose the cir-
cular glass pans used for milk in dairies. Still, if we
intend to keep fish of any size, we must have a deeper
vessel—and: an oblong tank, holding about eight or ten
gallons, will be found the best, for though circular vessels
will answer pretty well for fresh-water Aquaria, marine
stock does not look well in them.

The bottom of our marine tank can be made of the
same material as that used for a fresh-water one, but
will not need to be made so carefully, as we are not
going to plant our vegetation in it, and shall not, there-
fore, require fine sand below and pebbles above; and it
can be made entirely of pebbles or shells. The little
golden and pink shells that we pick up in profusion all

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 95

along our shores, and which belong to the genus Anomia,
make an excellent bottom. They, of course, as well as
any other shells or pebbles that we intend to use as a
bottom, should be carefully washed—not for the purpose
of removing the salt, for that would do no harm in a
marine as it will in a fresh-water collection, but in order
to get rid of any decomposing animal or vegetable mat-
ter that might be adhering to them, and which would
foul the water; and if we do not attend to this, we shall
be apt to introduce sponges, zojphytes and alge, dead
or dying, which would, of course, be dangerous inhabit-
ants.

We must also remove all sponges and other minute
growths from pebbles, shells, rocks or other matters that
we are going to place in our tank, as they are all danger-
ous, being apt to die and decay before their demise is
discovered.

Rockwork should be introduced sparingly into a marine
tank; but pieces of rock, bearing sea-weeds, can be piled
up in one corner with advantage, as it affords a point
—when projecting above the water—where such animals as
wish to do so can come out occasionally into the air.
The little fiddler crab (Gelasimas vocans) is one of these,
as we shall find if we throw him into the water from his
native shore. On our doing so, he will immediately return
and attempt to find his burrow in the wet sand, and
even in a tank that has no rockwork projecting above the
surface of the water I have noticed this crab get upon
the highest point and look upwards, as if wishing, with
an honorable ambition, to strive at greater things. If we

96 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

keep fiddler crabs in our tank, it will be as well to have
some part of the bottom formed of sand, so that they
may burrow if they wish.

When we have got the bottom and rockwork arranged
according to our taste, we introduce plants which serve
the same purpose in the marine collection as in the fresh-
water tank—that of supplying the animals with the oxy-
gen for their respiration—and these we procure along the
sea-shore. On sandy shores, we shall find the green alge
attached to small stones partly buried in the sand or
rolling about loose as moved by the waves; these, if not
too large, will do excellently for rockwork, in our minia-
ture ocean, and they present us with the advantage of
plants growing on our ornamental rockwork which add
much to its picturesque appearance, and so we do not
encumber our tank with useless stones, but in this way
make use of every inch of room we can to bear our life-
giving vegetation. The red and purple sea-weeds will be
found on rocky shores, together with some of the green,
one of which, the Bryopsis pulmosa, makes a beautiful
ornament when introduced with taste into elevated posi-
tions.

The water comes next after we have put in our plants.
And here I should mention that I have found it prefer-
able to wash the green algw (as Ulva and Enteromorpha)
for about half a minute in fresh and not in salt water,
as the fresh water kills many minute animals that would
otherwise he apt to die afterwards and foul the water.
I generally shake the stones which bear the plants of
Ulea and Enteromorpha rather roughly in the fresh water

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 97

for a little time, thus removing many torn portions of
fronds that, if not absolutely injurious, are unseemly in a
well-arranged tank.

The water can be procured direct from the sea-shore,
and should be taken when the tide is high. It can, with
ease, be obtained by inhabitants of the city of New York
from the East River, about a mile or so above the city at
Hurlgate, or by sending a barrel down the bay on one of
the steamboats that ply to and from Staten Island. The
cask or barrel that we place it in for removal should be
perfectly clean ; and, for this reason, it is best to use a
new one that has been often and well washed out so as to
remove all dust and other matters. Mr. Gosse condemns
oak barrels as apt to impart deleterious substances to the
water; but I have never found it so, and think it must
only be when the. water travels in the cask a considerable
distance. For my own part, I have often been unable to
make real sea water succeed to my ‘entire satisfaction, and
many of my friends have complained of the same thing. It
seems, that genuine sea water- contains seeds of alge and
decomposing animal and vegetable matter which, after a
time, will generally upset the economy of our tank, and I
have often not been able to make it succeed for a longer
time than sixteen days, after which it would turn foul. I
have now a tank, however, containing real sea water which
has been in vigorous operation for about two months, and is
in so flourishing a condition that all the stones are covered
with young alge and snails have been depositing their
eggs in the grottoes of my miniature ocean.

98 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

Many persons who reside at the sea-side, or even those
who live in a city, can send once or twice in a “fortnight
for sea water, and in this way keep their stock alive; but
we must remember that it is not then an Aquarium: as
the water needs changing.

Finding that sea water was apt to putrefy, Mr. Gosse
reasoned thus: ‘ Why was it not possible to manufacture
sea water that will answer the same purpose as the genu-
ine article as procured from the ocean itself?” and taking
as his guide the composition of sea water as revealed to us

from the analysis of celebrated chemists, which is as fol-
lows :

SV WAR ee Ie ye ee a Wee a we, BONE
Common salt or Chloride of Sodium . ... . 2.7059
Ghioride* of Magnesiim >) 5 Fe 5 a a BBO
Ohloridé: of. Potassiuw ou eo fa G8 ae oe ROROLOD
Bromide of Magnesium. . . . « w « « » «+ 20029
Sulphate of Magnesia or Epsom salts. . . . . » -2295
Sulphate of Lime or Gypsum ........ 407
CANDOLAL Ol WINS pire tS ghee PR es te O08
Loss not accounted for . . . . . + + + + + 0002

he manufactured some ; and communicated the results to
the “ Magazine of Natural History” in July 1854. In
making the artificial sea water, Mr. Gosse left the salts of
Lime and the Bromide of Magnesium entirely out of the
question, as they occurred only in very small quantities
and he found that water, formed according to the following
recipe, answered all the purposes of the real sea-water in
preserving alive plants and animals in his Aquarium:

* THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 99

Common tablesalt . . . . s «. «+. +6 +s . 81 parts.
Fipsom BAUS 6 6 hes meth cee ae ke st 4
Chloride of Magnesium . . . «2 s+ «.«.. 10 “%
CGhiotite Of re Obaesiin’ <<. toe ee ee oe a

One pound ayoirdupois of this compound will make
nearly three gallons of sea water. But the best mode of
mixing the salt and water is by means of a little glass
instrument called a hydrometer, which can be procured of
dealers in chemical apparatus. If one of these that is used
to examine acids, and called an acidimetre, is procured, it
will be found to be numbered on its graduated scale in
numbers running from the top downwards. | Now, when it
is placed in pure fresh water it should float at zero, but,
in sea water, at a point somewhere about three and a half
or between the degrees marked three and four. If then
we dissolve all. our salt, say three pounds, in as much
water as will just float the hydrometer and keep adding
water until we find it floats at the point mentioned, we
shall have it of the right strength. When the salts are to
be mixed, it is best to do so in a tub or some other vessel,
and not in the tank itself, for the reason that it is pre-
ferable to let it stand for a day to allow all sand and
dust that might have been in the salts to settle, when it
will become perfectly clear and bright and can be intro-
duced into the tank. Artificial sea-water has one disadvan-
tage, and that is, that it has to be seasoned, in other
words, it has to be used about a week before we can
introduce our animals, and for that purpose we put in as
much Ulva and Enteromorpha as we can and leave it in
the sun, when we shall see the plants give off abundance

100 ‘THE MARINE AQUARIUM. .

of oxygen; and. they will also, .although unseen to us,
give off seeds that seem more speedily to prepare the water
for the introduction of ‘the animals which we proceed to
place therein, beginning with the zovphytes and ending
with: the crabs, which are the tenderest of all marine stock
used in an Aquarium.

GHAPTER -X:
PLANTS FOR.THE MARINE -TANK.

Difference betwéen Marine and Fresh-water Vegetation—Green Algw best for the
Aquarium—Danger of using olive-colored Alge—Ulva latissima—Monster Fronds
—<Action of Sun on the Ulva—Ulva ‘lactuca—Ulva linza—Plants on Snail’s
backs—Enteromorpha compressa—The Ocean Grove—E. intestinalis—Bry opsis
plumosa—Cladophora arcta—C. rupestris—Diatomacee—Four Plants growing one
on another—Codium . tomentosum—Porphyra laciniata—Grinnella Americana—
Ptilota elegans—Chondrus crispus—Padina povonia—Desmarestia, etc,

Nornixc distinguishes the marine and fresh-water tanks
in appearance more than the vegetation contained in
them; for instance, in the large fronds of the bright
green Ulva, the pink Grinnellia, the purple Porphyra,
and the many and brilliant , colored Padina, when com-
pared with the differently tinted but always green color
of the fresh-water plants. Then, whilst the fresh-water
plants may generally be torn up, either with or without
roots, and seem to flourish, the marine alga, when de-
tached from stones and rocks upon which they grow,
mostly perish—requiring us, therefore, either to choose
those that are fixed to small portions of stone or, with.
a hammer and chisel, chip off from the larger rocks
small pieces bearing such of the alge as we think will
grow in our Aquarium. Still, all the sea-weeds, as they

102 PLANTS FOR THE

are improperly termed, will not do for our tanks; many
will either not grow at all or will soil the water when
so doing and render it unfit for the habitance of other
species and animals.

As a general rule, let it be borne in mind that the
green alge, or, as botanists have named them, Chloro-
sperms, are always the best for the Aquarium, being the
cleanest, best aérators, and, at the same time, easiest ob-
tained and replaced when anything happens to require a
change. Let all the olive varieties—the fuci, so common
covering every stone and rock on our shores—be dis-
carded as worse than useless, as they give off a mu-
cous substance which renders the water of the tank
obscure and decomposing, soon turning it foul, so that
it destroys other tenderer species. I have tried many
times, and many of the olive species of all sizes in vain ;
even when beginning with young plants, it has been the
same in the end when they have become old enough to
be despotic, for they then have asserted their powers
as destroyers, and killed my other plants. Some of them |
would look very well in a tank, as the Fucus vesiculosus
and J’. serratus, their deep olive fronds contrasting with
the lighter colored Ulva and Delesseria ; but, unfortunately,
they cannot be introduced with any safety. Their fronds,
however, on the sea-shore serve as a refuge for a multi-
tude of strange forms, and, therefore, present a fine hunt-
ing-ground for the naturalist, where he may nearly al-
ways be sure of plentiful sport.

The only plants I can, with any confidence, recommend
to beginners are the Ulva latissima, U. linza and Enter-

MARINE TANK. 103

omorpha compressa. They are found on almost all coasts,
at the very margin of high-water, and sometimes asso-
ciated with Ulva lactuca, Enteromorpha intestinalis and Bru-
opsis plumost, which may be also introduced with safety
into a tank by a beginner.

The Ulva latissima, or common green laver, or (as it is
also called) sea lettuce, which plant it much resembles, is
found very commonly at several points near New York. I
have observed fronds, full two feet in length by eighteen
inches wide, at Greenpoint, Long Island, though Lands-
porough gives, as its extreme length, eighteen inches. These
monsters would look well in a mammoth Aguarium ;
but, in our smaller tanks, fronds of from two to eight
inches in length are the best. They are always attached
to stones, which, as I have said, is the case with all
marine plants, though the wlva, as well as some few others,
will live detached and floating in our tank, but when so
situated, are not ornamental. ‘They have no true root,
but derive all their sustenance through the surface of their
leaves, or, as they are called, “fronds.”

The Ulva latissima can be easily recognized from its resem-
blance to the common garden lettuce, and makes a very
pretty ornament for the Aguariwm; from its bright green
color and the curiously puckered edge, it generally has
and would need no stronger recommendation to our notice,
even if it were not such a useful plant and such a good
aérator of the water. Specimens should be selected which
have not been attacked by snails and crabs, for the fronds
will soon assume a ragged aspect in an Aquartwm where
whelks and soldier-crabs are kept with it. This particu-

104 PLANTS FOR THE

lar ulva is one, if not the best of the alge used as an
aérator of the water for a tank ; and, when placed in the
sun, will soon be covered with innumerable minute - bub-
bles of oxygen, which ‘buoy, it-up.in avery. graceful, man-
ner; but, when a sudden cloud. passes. before the sun,
the -bubbles will ‘rise to the surface,. and: the frond fall
to the bottom. On dark: days, this plant, more than any
other, shows the. want. of ‘the sun’s - light, and will | re-
main’ dark and dull at the bottom. of the tank, but
brightens again on the first» sunny day. This plant goes
under several names, as sea-lettuce, from its resemblance
to the garden vegetable of that name; oyster-green, be-
cause itis employed to cover oysters ; and green laver, as
it is employed for culinary purposes when another alge
called Porphyra cannot be procured, but it is not thought
to be so good as that.

Ulva lactuca’ is. very much like the U. latissima in
appearance and properties as an acrator, for the tank, but
is not ,so common, and is of a lighter green color and
more tender in texture. .

Ulva linza is not near as common as” the ‘two former
plants, and is longer in proportion to. its breadth, I have
a plant of about cight. inches in length, growing. on the
back of a Buccinwm, or Sea- -snail, -which the suicidal mol-
luse turns upon when hungry, and» it has . consequently
become very shabby. It is a curious sight. to see this shell-
fish travelling around the tank with this ocean tree upon
his back. .I have seen snails with quite a. forest of ulva
upon their shells. |

The Enteromorpha compressa, or common sea-grass, is found

MARINE TANK. 105

in abundance covering the stones on every sandy beach
near: our city. The fronds of this species are variable in
width from a fine’ green ribbon, hardly wider than. sew-
ing thread, to sometimes, such a width as to cause it
to be mistaken for the last species described. When it
decays, ‘it becomes pearly white, and in this state chil-
dren call it sea-thread. If we seize a large bunch of this
plant, and, taking it home, put it into fresh salt-water
in a glass jar, we’ shall most likely find we have got
more than we expected, for its numerous fronds are the
haunts of many of the smaller animals, such as shrimps,
sandskippers, and» worms, together — with, sometimes,’ mol-
luscs, ‘and such small fish as minnows, and the like. It
grows very well in the Aquariwm, and. aérates the water
capitally. It looks well when about a quarter to a half
of a tank: is’ planted with it, so as to make a bottom
of a- grassy appearance, and forming a miniature forest,
where, ;
“Under the shade of melancholy boughs,”

fish and smaller inhabitants take refuge.

Enteromorpha intestinalis resembles very much the last
species, but is wider in proportion to its length; and its
frond is also tubular and hollow. This is one of those
curious salt-water plants that will live sometimes in brack-
ish water, and even has been observed in fresh-water
streams. It varies in length and breadth, sometimes short
and narrow, at other times two feet broad and three
inches in length. This species, unlike the last, is never
branched ; but the fronds grow singly and alone. It looks

106 PLANTS FOR THE

well in an Aquarium when about eight inches in length,
and has somewhat the appearance of a narrow wlva,
Bryopsis plumosa, or feathery moss, as its name desig-
nates, is a beautiful plant both in form and color, not
being of so yellow a shade of green as the Ulva or En.
teromorpha, but of a colder color, and standing up in the
water like an accumulation of feathers. It is found pretty
plentifully upon some of the rocky parts of the coast of the
United States, growing either in the open water or skirt-
ing the many pools left by the receding tide. When dried
on paper, it adheres well and appears of a rich glossy
green. It is an excellent aérator of the water, its many
branches appearing in the sunshine covered with minute
bubbles of oxygen, which they entangle and arrest in
their upward passage and hold until the gas is consi-
derably dissolved in the water. It looks well when a
bunch is placed on some high projecting portion of the
rockwork, where, when the sun. is obscured, it remains
hanging down; but, as soon as it feels his light, stands
up in an assemblage of seemingly minute pine trees.
Cladophora arcta and Rupestris resemble very much, espe-
cially the last, fine varieties of Bryopsis, and are recommended
by naturalists for use in the Aquariwm. From being green
alew, they can with safety be introduced into the tank,
as we can soon find out whether they thrive. Both these
two species and Bryopsis plumosa are generally covered
with smaller alge of the family Dzatomacee and, therefore,
present a rich harvest to the microscopist. Cladophora
rupestris is very common on the rocky points of our
coast. To show how nature has arranged these plants so

MARINE TANK. 107

that one may serve as a support to another, I may men-
tion that I have found Lwcus bearing Cladophora on its
frond and upon whose branches, again, there have been
Melosira, whose frond bore Synedra. We thus have four
plants, one growing upon another, but none of them sery-
jng as sustenance to the one that is growing on it any
more than the rock does to which they are all attached, for
all these alge derive the matter to build up their tissues
through the surface of their leaves or fronds and have
no real root, but only a sucker by which they can be
attached to other plants and rocks.

Codium tomentossum has also been recommended by
writers for an Aquariwm-aérator, but I have never tried
it. It resembles somewhat an L£nteromorpha, still, alto-
gether, looks more like a sponge than an alga.

Porphyra lacimata is a beautiful plant, of a fine purple
or sometimes dark fawn color, and resembles in form the
Ulva latissima. It, as well as that species, is eaten under
the name, in England and Scotland, of Javer, this being
the purple laver while Ulva is the green laver. In Ire-
land it goes under the name of Stoke. Its color and
the ease with which it grows in confinement recommend
it to our notice as an inhabitant of the Aguariwm, whilst
it also gives off oxygen as freely as Ulva latissima.

Of the red alge or SRhodosperms only a comparatively
few can be introduced into our tank; and the best of
these, and at the same time the most common is Grinnel-
lia Americana, which is of a beautiful light blood-red
color. It grows in some profusion at different points of
the American coast, always upon rocks. Its form is that

108 PLANTS FOR THE

of a chestnut-tree leaf, having also a mid-rib ; and, indeed,
resembles, when cast upon the shore, an autumn-tinted
leaf from some tree. It seems to do well if the water
in the tank has been in use under the influence. of the
green alge for some time, but. cannot be introduced be-
fore, or it will be sure to die, turning first orange and
then white.

The beautiful Pédlota elegans I have not yet been able
to make succeed ;- but do not despair of eventually doing
so. It would be a very ornamental plant for a tank,
with its long, deep-red, feathery branches waving in the
sun.

Chondrus crispus, the earrageen or Lrish-moss of commerce,
is said to grow well in confinement, and may, therefore,
with safety be introduced. It is.of a purplish-red color
when living, but becomes yellowish-grey when dried. It
is sold for, the purpose of making a gelatinous broth and
which forms a light, easily-digested food for. invalids.

The brilliant little Padina pavonia, although an uncom-
mon plant, is sometimes found when searching for other
algw; and may be introduced into our collection, if not
as an aérator, at least on .account of its beauty. It
resembles somewhat the expanded tail of the peacock.
Doctor Harvey says: “When growing under water, this
resemblance is peculiarly striking, the fringes of capillary
fibres which adorn it decomposing the rays of light and
giving rainbow-colors to the surface.” It grows in shal-
low pools at half-tide level and on rocks where it is not
exposed to the roughness of the waves. There are many
more alge found on our coast, a few of which may be

a ee a oe

MARINE TANK. 109

enumerated here, for the purpose of aiding collectors when
searching for stock for Aquaria.

Of the Melanosperme or olive-colored alge, the follow-
ing might be introduced into an Aquarium : Desmarestia
viridis and aculeata, both of which are common at Hurl-
gate; Lctocarpus liltoralis, siliculosus, viridis, lutosus and
Dietzia, tho first of which is common all along the New
York coast.

To the MRhodosperme, which I have mentioned above,
may be added the following :

Chondria Baileyeana.

Rhodomela subfusca
Polysiphonia formosa.

de sublilissima.
_ Olney.

a Harveyt.

= variegata.

s MIYTeSCens.

sf fastigiata.

Dasya elegans.
Rhodomenia palmata.
Chondrus crispus.
Ceramium arachnoridewm.

Calithamnion Baileyiz.

eS polyspermum.
es byssovdeum.

KS Dietzia.

= Americanum.
gs erucrtatum.

re virgulatum.

6

CHAPTER XI.
FISH FOR THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

Some Fish will live in either Fresh or Salt water—Fish require Real Sea Water or
Artificial Sea Water that has been well seasoned—Anemones may be introduced
into Fresh Artificial Sea Water—Advantage of Fish in an Aquarium—The Min-
now or Killi-fish—‘* Minny” a tame Fish—Singular effect of Fright on the
Minnow—Big Killie—Common and Spotted Bergall—Sand Smelt—Sticklebacks—
Variegated Goby—Sea-weed Blenny—Fringed Blenny—Eels—Striped Mullet—Sea-
Scorpions—Pipefishes and their curious Habits—Suckers—Six-banded Chasmodes—
Sand Launce—Sea Horse.

Tux fish used for the purpose of stocking a marine Aqua-
rium are, of course, different in characteristics from those
introduced into a fresh-water tank, inasmuch as few fish will
live in both fresh and salt water. There are some, how-
ever, that will do so: as, the minnow (/undulus fasciatus)
and the sticklebacks (Gusterostews), If either of these fish
are taken out of salt water and thrown, at once, into fresh,
they will sink to the bottom, but after about an hour begin
to feel more comfortable and make themselves at home.
I have, now and then, had minnows which have been taken
out of Long Island Sound, that would not live when intro-
duced into fresh water.

As in the fresh-water tank, so with the marine one, the
fish are the last objects introduced ; as they are the highest

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. ae

organized and, therefore, the most delicate creatures. From
this circumstance they require real sea water or artificial
sca water that has been some time in use, although I have
found that minnows may be introduced about a week after
the tank has been in vigorous operation and, if they are
so introduced, the other fish can be the sooner admitted, as
they seem, in some way, to prepare the water for the more
delicate creatures. I have also observed that many of the
anemones may be placed in artificial water that has been
in use only a day, and that they will very soon open in it.
There are some species, however, that will not bear the
artificial water, until it has been in use at least a week.
The American species (Actinia marginata) is one of these.
Mr. Humphreys, in his “Ocean Gardens,” says: “A ma-
rine Aguariwm may be rendered interesting without the
introduction of fish; and as their presence requires that the
water should be, once each day, aérated by means of addi-
tional water, introduced by the syringe or by a drip, con-
tinuing for some time from another vessel,” he considers
that they may be, with advantage, left out; but I cannot
agree with him at all: a tank without fish, at the best, is
but a quiet flower garden ; for, what are the zodphytes but
the flowers of the Aguariwm, while all within is still and
solemn ? but, let us introduce one or two fish, and all is a
display of life and activity ; and, as for changing the water,
a vessel in which this is done is not an Aquarium. I
have always kept fish in my marine tank, and the water in
it has never required to be changed, unless when some ani-
mal has died in a corner or nook unseen and so fouled the
water. We derive amusement and instruction from the

112 FISH FOR THE

varied movements of the fish and pleasure in feeding them
and rendering them tame, for many in an Aguarium
may be made so tame that they will eat out of our hand
and allow us to stroke them gently.

No doubt, almost any of the smaller fish that are caught
along our coast may be, in time, made to flourish in a
sufficiently capacious tank ; but below I give such fish as
I have tried or are mentioned by the different writers on
the subject, as desirable for the marine Aquarium.

The minnow (Fundulus fasciatus Pl. VI. Fig. 1) stands
first for our collection, as he will bear a deal of rough
handling that would be fatal to his more delicate relatives.
As Mr. Hibberd very correctly remarks, “An Aguariwm
without minnows is no Aquarium at all—it is a make-shift,”
The minnow has been called killi-fish in the United States
from living in small creeks and streams which were called by
the Dutch “kills.” He soon gets used to confinement, and
in a short time will become so tame as to be fed from the
hand. ‘Those that I have will come to the surface and
nibble my finger (as I have before mentioned), or follow
me as I pass around the tank: thus exhibiting a seeming
attachment that we could not expect to find in fish. One
of my tame minnows is quite a pet, and has received the
appellation of “ Minny ;” he has a peculiar way of staring
me in the face through the side of his glass-prison, espe-
cially when he considers feeding-time has come. We will,
also, allow me to stroke him gently, but sometimes he
resents such familiarity, by turning suddenly around and
giving me an astonished look, as if wondering at my impn-
dence.

MARINE AQUARIUM. 113

The minnow is a very common fish along the coast, and
can be obtained in any quantity, and of sizes from half an
inch to three inches, by means of a fine “‘scap” net. This
little creature is used as bait by anglers for larger fish, but
ig not the same animal as the English minnow (Leuciscus
phorinus). The killi-fish is not pretty in form or color,
having what is termed its face upon the same level as its
pack, and being of a dusky greenish hue on the back with
a lighter hued belly. Along the sides there are indications
of dusky bars, which, on the tail, become distinctly marked _
as black bars or lines of interrupted black dots. This
little fish, however, presents much variety in its markings,
sometimes having from two to five longitudinal stripes upon
its sides. The killie will bear very rough treatment and
great and sudden changes of heat and cold; for, as I have
before mentioned, I have kept them beneath ice an inch or
two thick, and yet they were as lively as if the water were
of a comfortable warmth. Fright often makes them assume
a pale color, which I have also observed to take place when
they are ill or kept in the dark. Some minnows that I had
in a wooden pail, where no sun fell upon them, were quite
light colored, but became dark in about a quarter of an
hour after they were placed in a tank that was standing in
the sun. Disease does not often attack the minnow ; and
when it does, he will generally recover if thrown into a
tank of fresh water well aérated. There is another species
of killifish, the big killie (Fundulus virtdescens) found in
the bays and brackish streams of the American coast. It
is larger than the last named species, often reaching the
length of five inches. We have likewise four other species

114 FISH FOR THE

of minnow in the State of New York, all of which might,
yo doubt, be introduced into an Aquarium.

The Blennies are recommended by writers on the Aqua-
rium, as also are the Gobies, Wrasse and Rockling, the
two latter of which are not found on the American coast,
I have tried flounders, but as yet have not been able
to make them succeed. Hels may be introduced, if they
are not too large. Their peculiar mode of swimming con-
trasts well with that of other fish; but they are vora-
cious animals, and will attack the molluscs if not well
fed. Below, I have taken into consideration these and
other fish separately, all of which may be introduced into
an Aquariwm.

The Common Bergall (Clenolabrus caruleus) I have tried,
but the specimens I had were injured in coming to me,
and this, most likely, was the reason I could not make
them live over three or four days. The bergall is a curi-
ous but not pretty looking fish. It is caught along with
the other American species, the spotted bergall (C. uni-
notatus), on the coast in quantities. Those that I had
were taken with a hook, and although there was no
apparent injury, they languished and died. As a general
rule, fish caught with a hook will not live any length of
time in an Aguartwm. I have observed sun-fish, that had
been taken in this way, die in about a week or ten
days after being caught, whilst those secured by a net
were still living and apparently happy.

The Sand-smelt or anchovy (Atherina notata—PI. VIL., Fig.
1), is a beautiful little fish ; and from having white sides,
with a broad silver stripe running down cach, has re-

MARINE AQUARIUM. 115

-eeived the name of “shiner” from boys, who take it

sometimes by means of nets. We have here a tender
creature which, therefore, requires care in transportation ;
put when once domesticated in an Aquarium, it rivals the
gold-fish of the fresh-water tank in the brilliancy of its glis-
tening sides, and is, besides, almost as graceful in outline.
It is a fish common along the American coast, but not so
much so now as it was twenty years back, when they were
caught from the city wharfs and used as bait for larzer
fish. The extreme length that they reach is about three
inches.

The Sticklebacks (Gasterostews) are fish that can be used
for both the fresh water and marine collections. (We have
four species on the coast and through the State of New
York, as I have mentioned in chapter six). They may be
all introduced in a marine Agquarzwm.

The following fish (or rather their British representa-
tives) have been recommended by English writers on the
subject, as fit objects for the marine tank, and are all said
to flourish when introduced and judiciously grouped :

The variegated Goby (Gobius alepidotus) which is a curi-
ous fish in form and, also, from having no scales, would be
a good object for the marine Aquariwm, but it is found
rarely in the harbor of New York. It reaches only two
inches in length.

The sea-weed Blenny (Blennius fucorum) is very scarce
with us; but bordered eel-pout or fringed Blenny ( Zoarces
fimbriatus) is found commonly on our eastern coast in the
months of February and March.

The common New York cel (Anguilla tenuirostris) lives

116 FISH FOR THE

well in either a marine or fresh water-collection ; indeed, | -
have had them in water in which all the other animals
have died, and by their decay had rendered foul. The sil-
ver eel of the fishermen is only a variety of this species,

The mullets are said to be very tough fish, having a sin-
gular power of maintaining their existence in the confine-
ment of an Aquarium. We have six species. The most
common is the striped mullet (JZugil lineatus). It some-
times reaches the length of nearly eight inches.

Mr. Gosse recommends the following fish, in addition to
those given above, as species that he has found to succeed
in a marine Aquariwm.

The sea-scorpions (Scorpena) of which genus we find two
species on our coast, the S. porgus or small sea-scorpion
and the S. rupo or spotted sea-scorpion, both of which are
ugly to look upon, but it seem as if the uglier a fish is, the
longer will he live in confinement. Mr. Gosse enumerates
the hideous pipefishes among his favorites.

We have four species of pipefish on the American coast,
which are named as follows: The American pipefish (Fis-
tularia serrata) ; the spotted pipefish (7. tabbacaria) ; the
banded pipefish (Syngnathus fasciatus) and the green pipe-
fish (S. veridescens).

The green pipefish is the most common in the waters of
New York, and is frequently taken as far up the Hudson
River as Sing Sing. The other three species are scarce.
The S. viredescens is to be looked for among the aquatic
plants along the shores of the Hudson, where this fish keeps
chiefly and breeds in the slightly brackish water.

The pipefishes all resemble clongated sticklebacks in

MARINE AQUARIUM. BS ave

appearance. Mr. Hibberd, in his ‘‘ Rustic Adornments,”
says, “I am very partial to pipe-fishes, not for their ac-
tivity, for they are lazy, dreamy creatures, but for their
queer performances—they are the antipodean acrobats of the
Aquarium. ‘They sink down slowly to the bottom, and
there poise themselves in perpendicular attitudes, remaining
motionless for some minutes, either on the tail or on the
head, after the fashion of an ‘indiarubber brother.” Indeed,
they assume every possible attitude except the horizontal
one; and, like the buffoons on the human stage, get laughed
at for their pains. The other day I was amused to see a
fine specimen of Syngnathus acus proceed slowly and solemnly
fluttering, as he went, his useless dorsal fin, and dropping
his head beside a waving frond of Rhodymenia, left his
tail to swing over, till he brought himself to an angle of
about forty degrees, where he remained for several min-
utes immovable, like one of the brothers Seigrist thrusting
himself out from la perche. Will M. Seigrist stand head
downwards on the floor at Drury Lane, and poise himself
unsupported at forty degrees, and then, swing his body to
and fro, bring himself head upwards to a similar angle? I
commend the pipefishes’ performance to the whole tribe of
mountebanks, as a great hit if they can accomplish it. In
a very small tank the pipefishes are rather unhappy ; they
want plenty of room.”

Mr. Gosse speaks of the suckers as good fish for the
Aquarium ; and of which there are fourteen species, seve-
ral of them living in fresh water. _ There is one marine
species quite common with us, and is to be scen exposed
for sale in New York markets in autumn. This is the com-

6*

118 FISH FOR TIE MARINE AQUARIUM.

mon sucker ( Catostomus communis); but it is comparatively a
large fish, measuring fourteen inches in length when full
grown, and, therefore, too big for a parlor Aguariwm.

Mr. Hibberd recommends the Blennius pholis or common
Tansy of the English, which answers to our six-banded
Chasmodes (Chasmodes bosquinanus). It is, however, a rare
fish in America. He likewise recommends the sand-launce,
a local species of which (Ammodytes Americanus) is not
rare. It is a small fish about four inches in length, and,
consequently, a good one for the Aquarium. They bury
themselves in the sand when the tide recedes, and may
be procured by being dug out.

There is one funny little creature that stands alone
among fishes, in having a prehensible tail, by means of
which he holds on to sea-weeds or floating objects. This
is the Hudson river sea-horse (Hippocampus Hudsonius)
a figure of which I have given (PI. I., Fig. 1), and being
only six inches in length when full grown, and found so
near to us might, if it would live, be an acquisition to a
marine Aguariwm. I have not, as yet, been able to try it,
but think that, from its resemblance to the pipefishes and
sticklebacks, and also from the seeming toughness, not only
of its shell, but of its constitution, that it might bo intro-
duced with advantage.

4

CHAPTER XII.

CRUSTACEA AND MOLLUSCA FOR THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

The Scavengers of the Marine Aquarium—Aiding them in their Labors—Hermit
Crabs—‘‘ Hermits” habitations—Pugnacity of ‘ Hermits’—‘ Hermits” changing
their Lodgings—Death of ‘‘ Hermits ””—Fiddler Crab—The American Soldier Crab—
Edible Crab—Soft-shell Crabs—The Lupa’s mode of burying himself—Sea-spider
—King-crab—Effect of feeding Hogs on them—Lobster—Shrimp—Buccinum obsole-
tum—Natica duplicata—Pyrula canaliculata—Fusus cinereus—Crepidulea—Oysters
—Anomia—Mussels—Clams—Scallops-——The blue “ eyes.

In the marine, as in the fresh-water Aguwariwm, we must
have scavengers to remove decaying vegetable and animal
matter, as well as to graze on the conferve and keep the
glass sides of our tank clear and bright. However, it will
be found that the marine molluscs do not perform that por-
tion of their duty in as satisfactory a manner as those of
the fresh-water tank. In consequence of this, I have been
in the habit, once or twice a month, of aiding them in their
useful labors and in cleaning the glass with a sponge,
attached to the end of a small rod of wood.

We shall, first, take into consideration the crustaceous
animals that may be introduced with advantage into the
marine Aguarzwm; and in beginning, I should state my
belief that most, if not all, of the family of Crustacea can,
with @ little extra care and attention, be made to live and

120 ORUSTACEA AND MOLLUSOA FOR

thrive in a sufficiently capacious tank, if all other requisites
are taken into consideration and properly attended to, 80
as to imitate, as nearly as possible, the natural habitat of
each of these creatures, and care being had not to excite
them too much, by going near the tank oftener than will be
necessary for feeding, observation or attention to their well-
being ; for it must be remembered that deep-sea creatures
are not accustomed to look upon man, and if we wish to
keep them (and many of them are strange of form and
will well repay a little extra attention), we must be par-
ticular not to disturb them too often.

Among the Crustacea—or “animals with their bodies
divided into movable rings more or less distinct, having
an outer coating of a calcareous (formed of lime) or mem-
branous texture, more or less solid, and which, in many of
them, as the lobster and crab, contain a coloring matter,
which turns of a brilliant scarlet on immersion in warm
water or alcohol”—that which has been recognized in Eng-
land as fair prey for the naturalist, and to introduce into
his Aguariwm, presents a form and habits that we would
hardly expect to ‘meet with in these creatures as they are
exhibited to us in the common edible crab, is the strange
little hermit crab—two species of which are found upon the
New York coast.

The first of these (Pagurus pollicaris), is more rare than
the next to be described, and the largest of the American
species. Its right hand sometimes being 0.8 of an inch
long. It is frequently found in the shell of the L’ulgur
carica. It is difficult to meet with a perfect specimen, as
_ they are frequently found deprived of their antenne and

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 121

of one or both their eyes. This is attributed by fishermen
to attacks from the common black-fish. It is sometimes

Warty Hermit Crab.

distinguished as the Warty Hermit crab. Termit crabs, or, as
naturalists familiarly term them “ /ermits,” are, also, called
soldier-crabs, from their pugnacious propensitics ; although
this name has likewise been applied to another species
(Gelasimus vocans), as I shall mention further on. The “ Her-
mits” are a class of crabs that have no hardened shell on
the posterior portion of their bodies, the claws and legs
only being shielded by the horny-case that we find upon
other crabs. For the reason of being thus unprotected by
nature, they have to find for themselves some coating to
ward off the attacks of enemies, and the empty shells of
many of the univalves are taken possession of by these crea-
tures, who thus, literally, carry their houses on their backs.

122 CRUSTACEA AND MOLLUSCA FOR

For this mode of life the “ hermit” is wonderfully adapted,
so that we are almost tempted to assert, on the authority
of this fact alone, that univalve shells must have been
created before “hermits,” because, had it been otherwise,
these poor little creatures would have been left to the
mercies of fish, who are not at all averse to the tender
bodies of our heroes. In order that he may retain his habj-
tation and covering, the “hermit” is supplied with two
small hooked claws at the extreme end of his body, with
which he lays hold of one of the coils of the shell that he
has seen fit to choose and appropriate as his own for the
time being. The body of the “hermit” is essentially formed
for introduction into empty univalve shells, as it more
nearly resembles a worm than the body of a crab, and
has a twist in it, in the form of a spiral, so that it ex-
actly fits the coils of an empty shell.

As I said before, they are extremely pugnacious crea-
tures; and if two are kept in the same tank, each will not
be satisfied with appropriating a separate portion of it to
himself, but they will travel into each other’s dominions, and
when they meet—when crab meets crab—‘ then comes the
tug of war.” They fall to with a will, rolling over each
other like two dogs and throwing their claws about, snap-
ping them in their little fury; and sometimes, although
not always, the fight will end in the death or mutilation of
one of the combatants. Oftener one will become victor and
assert his power by always attacking the other when they
meet, whilst the vanquished will seem to remember the
combat and retreat whenever he sees the other coming.

I have never seen our common “ hermit” (P. longicarpus)

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. avo

fight with such fury, as English writers tell us the P.
Bernhardus (which is found in large quantities upon their
coast) is apt to do. Our native species seems rather to
be a peaceful animal.

When the “hermit” grows, he is forced, of course, to
give up the shell which he occupies and search for
another, travelling about, trying and examining every
empty univalve shell that comes in his way, until he
finds one that exactly fits, when in he goes, and is at
home in an instant. The mode of change of domicil is
so well described by the Rev. J. G. Wood in bis
“Common objects of the sea-shore” (a book to be
highly recommended to the notice of naturalists), that I
give it in preference to anything that I could lay before
my readers. ‘When a hermit,” says that gentleman,
“desires to change his habitation, he goes through a
curious series of performances, which, if he had hands, we
should be disposed to call manipulations. A shell lies on
the ground, and the hermit seizes it with his claws and
fect, twists it about with wonderful dexterity, as if test-
ing its weight; and having examined every portion of its
exterior, he proceeds to satisfy himself about the interior.
For this purpose he pushes his fore legs as far into the
shell as they will reach, and probes, with their assistance,
every spot that can be touched. If this examination
satisfies him, he whisks himself into the shell with such
rapidity that he seems to have been acted upon by a
spring. Such a scene as this will not be witnessed in tho
sea; but when hermits are placed in ao tank or vase,
they seem to be rather given to ‘flitting.’ ” This latter

194 CRUSTACEA AND MOLLUSCA FOR

fact may present itself when the P. Bernhardus is watched ;
but it is by no means so with the P. longicarpus of ouw
coast, which is the one that my readers will be most
likely to obtain, although P. Bernhardus has been observed
by Dr. Gould on the coast of Massachusetts.

It is a curious fact, that when a hermit in captivity
feels unwell, he crawls out of his shell; and, soon after
dies. This propensity is shared by the tube-inhabiting
worms, as the Serpule. The habit is the more remark-
able, as the usual instinct of animals leads them to the
most retired spots they can find and there resign them-
selves to death.

Small Hermit Crab.

The other hermit crab (Pagurgus longicarpus) is very
common on our coast and may be caught during the
spring or autumn at low tide in great numbers, bearing
shells of Buccinum, Pyrula, Natica, Fusus and sometimes
others. They generally are small in size; the largest
mentioned by Dr. De Kay measuring 1.5 inches in
length.

The common Fidler Crab (Gelasimus vocans—Plate VII.
Fig. 3), when young, may be introduced into the Aq arium,

a

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 125

and, though a creeping crab, it seems to thrive. The
difference in form between the creeping and swimming
crabs consists in the former having all their legs fashioned
in a similar manner, while the latter have the hinder-
most pair of legs flattened into a pair of oars, by which
they “skull” themselves along, and it is by such means
of progression they move through the water, the legs
that are to go forwards being drawn up under the body,
whilst the others are extended behind as the oar-shaped
leg propels the body onwards. It has been asserted, that
all crabs move sideways; this is true of many, but the
“hermit” oftener moves backwards, pushing his cumbersome
shell on behind him. The ‘Gelasimus has been also called
' the soldier-crab from its fighting propensities, elevating its
largest claw on the least alarm as it moves over the
wet sand in which it burrows and seems most to live.
When it is introduced into the water, it attempts to get
out as soon as possible; and from this fact it might
seem that it could not become an inhabitant of the
Aquarium; but I have one that has been in my tank
for the last four months and does not appear now to
be dissatisfied with its place of residence.

The common Edible Crab (Lupa dicantha—Plate VII.
Fig. 2) is an excellent inhabitant of an Aquariwm and belongs
to the class of swimming crabs. It is found in large quan-
tities on the American coast from Florida to Cape Cod,
Massachusetts, but when over an inch or two in length,
it is too large for our purpose. The process of slough-
ing or casting the shell occurs annually and is of short
duration, scareely ever exceeding the period of forty-cight

126 CRUSTACEA AND MOLLUSCA FOR

hours from the time of getting rid of the old shell,
until the new one is firmly consolidated. During this
interval, they are known under the name of soft-shell
crabs, or shedders, and are sought after with great
avidity. They are considered a great luxury when fried,
and are often sold with us at the rate of two dollars
the dozen. The Lupa is fond of burying himself in the
sand, and we shall be able to observe this habit whenever
we use silver-sand as part of the bottom of our tank.
The mode of sinking himself in the sand is curious and
the observing of it never fails to make me smile. It ig
as follows: the hind part is thrust a little way into
the sand, and then the fore part brought down to its
level; and, again, the hind part is sunk, the fore part
after, and so on until the whole of the creature is
beneath the level, when he blows the sand away from
his mouth and eyes, which remain exposed; but, usually,
the eyes and antenne are all that are to be seen, mov-
ing around continually on all sides, as if watching for
prey. From his having this strange habit, we shall not
be able at all times to find our friend, unless we look
sharp or have the bottom of our tank formed entirely
of pebbles and. empty shells, but even then he will
attempt to hide himself under them. The burying is done
in an instant, and very often the Zwpa will also kick
the sand over himself with his hind legs, thus securely
hiding himself from enemies. .

The Sea-spider, or Spider Crab (Libinica caniculata—Plate
VIll., Fig. 4), I understand has been domesticated, but I
have never tried it. It is a curiously shaped animal, and is

TUE MARINE AQUARIUM. 127

taken in such large quantities that, when obtained by a
seine, it is often used as manure, Its usual places of
resort are upon oyster-beds, where it is thought to com-
mit great ravages by destroying the spawn of the oyster.
There are several other species of crabs to be obtained
on the American coast, and most of them could, no doubt,
be introduced with advantage.

The Molucca Crab, King-crab, Horse-foot or Horse-bunker
(Polyphemus occidentalis—Plate VIL, Fig. 3), all of which
names it bears, is extremely common on some parts of
the shores of New York State. It is called Horse-foot
on account of its shape; and still retains, in some dis-
tricts, the name given to it by the early English colonists,
of King-crab, on account of its size. It is likewise called
by fishermen the sauce-pan, on account of its shape.
Its shell is sometimes made use of to bale out boats.
These crabs come up on the shore at high-water, in the
month of May, and are used to feed hogs upon; and, it
is said, the latter must be fed on some other food a
month or two before being slaughtered, as the flesh of
those animals would, otherwise, be apt to retain a rank,
disagreeable taste. The flesh of this crab is also eaten
with avidity by chickens, whose eggs, it has been asserted,
retain the same taste; but I have never found it so.
It is sometimes used as food by man, when the flesh is
carefully separated from the other parts. Dr. De Kay
‘says, “They crawl along the bottom, and I have never
seen them swimming near the surface. When thrown upon
their backs, they inflect the anterior portion of the shield
upon the posterior, and likewise turn it so far back, that,

128 CRUSTACEA AND MOLLUSCA FOR

with the aid of their tail as a lever, they succeed, after
many awkward attempts, in recovering their natural posi-
tion. They are frequently caught so abundantly as to be
used as manure.” This creature, if small, may be intro-
duced into the Aquarium; but when full grown, it is much
too large—the female, which is much the larger, reaches the
length of twenty-two inches. They are a slow, stupid ani-
mal, however, creeping along the bottom, and, therefore,
only of use as a curiosity, and by way of contrast (in
their motions) to the other inhabitants.

Our Common Lobster (Homarus Americanus—Plate VIII,
Fig. 2), can also, when young, be used as a denizen. This
species has not, until lately, been well distinguished from the
lobster of Europe. It attains a much greater size than
the latter, and is, perhaps, the largest among the crustacea,
as it sometimes attains the weight of twenty pounds; and
Dr. De Kay mentions one of thirty-five pounds. They
are found on rocky coasts; for instance, along the Long
Island Sound, at Hurlgate.

The Shrimp (Palemon vulgaris—Plato VIII, Fig. 1).
There are two species of shrimp on our shores, the above one
being closely allied to the Prawn of England (LP. serratus),
but termed, among us, the shrimp, or big shrimp, in contra-
distinction to the next species, which is smaller in size.
This, as well as the Crangon septemspinosus, or bait shrimp,
cannot be kept any length of time in confinement, unless
the water is constantly changed, as it seems to need the
motion of the waves. I have preserved it alive for a
week or two, but no longer. It makes good food, how-
ever, when small, for many of our fish.

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THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 129

After the crustacecous we come to those more important
scavengers who keep the glass of our tank clean and bright,
the Molluscs. The first of these which will be mentioned,
because the most common, as it is picked up all along our
shores, is the Buccinwm obsoletum (Plate IX., Fig. 2).

It is the empty shell of this species that the small her-
mit crab inhabits, in preference to any other. The color of
the shell is dark olive, or reddish brown, and the interior
of the lip a purple black. In length, it seldom exceeds
from half to three-quarters of an inch, although sometimes
it is found an inch long. It is extremely voracious ; and,
therefore, makes a good servant for the tank, projecting
its trunk from the shell and mowing the conferve from off
the glass—with a motion very much resembling that used
by a man when mowing—as the animal swings his trunk
from side to side.

The European Whelk (B. wndatum) is found sparingly
with us. It is highly recommended by English writers as
a scavenger for the tank.

Natica duplicata (Plate IX., Fig. 4), is a very common
shell on our coast, as we have a right to suppose, because
we find hermit-crabs frequently inhabiting its shell.

Pyrula canaliculata (Plate IX., Fig. 1), is another com-
mon shell that hermits sometimes take a fancy to. It is
know under the name of the Winkle, and is occasionally eaten.

Fusus cinereus (Plate IX., Fig. 3), is, also, a common
coast shell; and is known under the name of the Drill, by
our oystermen. It is said to be very destructive to the
oyster by piercing or drilling small holes through the shell
and destroying the animal. The means by which this is

— 130 ORUSTACEA AND MOLLUSCA FOR

’ effected has not been explained. I have never been able to
keep the Drill alive any length of time in confinement,

The Crepidule—of which there are four species (C. for-
nicata—Plate IX., Fig. 5), although very common with
us, I have not been able to keep in an Aquarium. These
crepidule are found adhering to each other and to different
shells and stones ; and when adhering to a Pecten, the mar.
gin is observed to have undulations corresponding to the ribs
of the latter. I have seen four or five adhering to each
other. This is the little boat-shaped shell that we pick up
on the margin of Long Island Sound. It makes a capital
bottom for our tank, when mixed with Anomia and stones,

Many other univalve marine shells may be introduced;
but I have tried very few as yet, being satisfied, generally,
with the Buccinum obsoletwm, which is easy to procure and
a pretty good scavenger. Of the bivalves, none are safe
in our Aquarium, for, when they die, it is generally with
closed shells, and we do not find out their demise until the
water is fouled by their decomposition and it is too late.
Oysters (Ostrea) can be kept, for a short time, for curi-
osity, and when they are cut up they make good food for
the crabs. The creature in the little gold-shell so common
on the coast (Anomia ephippiwm), will not live more than
two weeks, but whilst it does, it is an interesting object,
with the fringed mantle. It is found alive in great quan-
tities in the autumn and spring, at low tide, attached to
stones and other shells; and,. in the dead state, is strewn
on every sandy shore both here and in Europe. I have —
often used it alone, or mixed with pebbles, as a bottom to
my tank.

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 131

The common mussel (Mytilus borealis) I have not been
able to make live; but it is a curious animal, and very
common on Long Island coast, where it is used as ma-
nure. This creature fastens itself to a mass of small stones,
and sometimes to rocks, by means of numerous glutinous
cords—in this way preventing its being washed about at
the mercy of the waves, or endangered by becoming a
prey to fish, one of which, the common starfish, is very
fond of it.

Clams (Venus) will not succeed in confinement. Neither
will the pretty little scallop (Pecten concentricus). This lit-
tle creature is extremely beautiful whilst it lives, as, be-
sides the beautiful fringed mantle that hangs from the
interior of each shell, it is provided with a row of
bright metallic blue spots, which have been called eyes,
and are arranged just near to the edge of each shell.
These scallops are extremely lively animals when young,
skipping a considerable distance by suddenly opening and
closing their shells, and making. a sharp, snapping noise
when so doing. They are eaten by fish; and the broad
muscular portion, being boiled and put into vinegar, is,

by many persons, considered a great delicacy.

CHAPTER XIII.

ZOOPHYTES.

Scientific definition of a Zodphyte—Mr. Tugwell’s definition—Classes of Zodphytes
—Hy draforms—Asteroids—Helianthoids—Insensibility of Zodphytes to dissection—
Hydra viridis—Turning a Hydra inside-out—Echinus—Starfish—Serpula—appear-
ance of an Anemone—Parts of an Anemone—Spike-cases—American species—
Actinia rapiformis—Actinia marginata—Actinia dianthus—Rapacity of Anemones
—Anemones seizing Men—A. coriace—A. dianthus—A, carneola—A. obtruncata
—A. sipunculoides—American species.

Wuat is a Zodphyte? This is a question that my reader
will be likely to ask—as it has been by many persons.
In answer, allow me, first, to give the scientific defini-
tion of this creature, at the same time attempting to
make it clear to the unscientific reader. Mr. Quackett, —
in his Histology, says: ‘This word, zodphyle, literally —
signifies animal-plant, and is a term very applicable to
certain groups of species, but not to all that have, from
time to time, been included in this order.” As far as it
goes, this is all very well; but do you, gentle reader,
think that you would be able to distinguish a zodphyte,
were you to see one, from this description? It is true that
the word Zodphyte comes from the Greek words zoén, “ an
animal,” and phyton “a plant ;” but zodphytes are not
plants ; they are animals, just as much as you or I are,

ZOOPHYTES. 1So.

however much above animals we may consider ourselves

jn the .scale of nature. I do not mean to say that a
Zoiphyte at all resembles a human creature in appear-
ance; but both of them consist of flesh, blood and bone,
and have will and power to accomplish the promptings
of that will. ‘‘ Still,” says the reader, “what is a Zo0-
phyte? Well, then, let us try again. Mr. Tugwell, in
his ‘Manual of the Sea Anemones” (a little book that
I very highly recommend), observes: “The meaning of
Zoiphyte is a living plant; and the animals included -in
this class are so called, because, in the first place, they were

for a long time considered to be vegetables; and be-

cause, secondly, a vast number of individuals are found
united, like flowers on a plant, by a common stem. If
you go down to the beach and pick up the first object
—which you suppose to be deli¢éate sea-weed—you will
probably see (with a magnifying glass) that is it an assem-
blage of horny cells or hollowed vessels, on a stem of
similar structure; and if the animal be alive, each cell
is tenanted by a little creature of most beautiful form,
and most active habits. All polyps are not thus clus-
tered, but many are, and the distinctive characters of
the class are the facts of their being fixed, either soli-
tarily or in masses, by a stem, and their possessing arms
(tentacles ¢. g.), with which they seize their food.”

A Zotphyte, then, is an aquatic animal attached to rocks
or other substances in the sea or in rivers. It is the ma-
rine species, however, that we shall take into consideration

here.
7

134 ZOOPHYTES.

These Zodphytes or Polyps, as they are also called, are

of three kinds, viz. :

GEE hye ee eee at

1. Hydraforms. Where each animal is solitary or joined

to a stem, common to a great many individuals; and
the stem or “ polyp-house,” as it is called, is horny and
hollowed like a reed.

Q. Asteroids. Here the polyps are united in family like
those of the last division, but the ‘‘polyp-house” is fleshy,
and the polyps open on the surface like a star with six
or eight rays.

3. Helianthoids.—The polyps are here single or attached
temporarily or permanently to their dwelling places in the
rocks. Some few being ‘‘ free,” and some, e. g., corals sur-
rounded with a crust of hard lime—their tentacles (or
arms) open: out in a circular form like the rays of the sun.

All these three orders may be represented in an Agua-
rium; but the animals belonging to the last, Helianthoids,
are those that we shall be most likely to find, and are,
also, the most ornamental. The Zodphytes have a curious
property of bearing to be cut or torn into two or more
portions, without either portion dying therefrom. If we
sever & limb from the body of almost any other animal,
it will not become a separate creature ; but if we cut a
Zobphyte in two, each piece will live and become an inde-
pendent and perfect existence.

This curious property of bearing dismemberment, or seve-
rance, without any great inconvenience, can be proved, if
we wish to experiment with some of the fresh-water polyps,
which are more easily procurable to many persons than the
marine Zodphytes. In most brooks and ponds we find adher-

ing to stones, plants or dead leaves and, indeed, to any |

ZOOPHYTES. 135

secure foothold, numerous minute creatures which appear,
when viewed with the unassisted eye, like miniature flowers,
either of a brownish or, more commonly, of a green color,
the latter of which is called Hydra viridis. It is called
_ Hydra, on account of some fancied resemblance to the
many-headed creature of mythology bearing that name.
The fresh-water Hydra, however, has really but one head,
and the other members that appear like heads, are but the
arms or tentacles that I have spoken of before, arranged
in a circle around the mouth. This green species of Hydra.
has been called wridis, on account of its green color, and
was supposed to have the power | of stinging other animals ;

but, this is a mistake, as we shall see, when we come 5
consider the sea Anemones. If we should take one of
these curious little Hydras, and cut it transversely through.
its body, we shall find, that the part that bears the head
will form for itself a new body and foot ; while, from the
other portion which is but a body and foot, will grow a
new head and tentacles. . We can also cut a Hydra longi-
‘tudinally in several pieces and each portion will supply
itself with the wanting parts, and become a perfect animal.
We cag turn it inside out, and the part that was the lin-
ing of the stomach will become the exterior skin or euticle ;
and the *cuticde will take upon itself the offices of the
stomach. “And like experiments can be made on sea Anemo-
nes with similar results; but they are, as a general rule,
more tender than their fresh-water relations ; and, indeed,
there are many of the species that will certainly die under
the operation ; for we find that on separating them from
the rock to which they are attached (if we are not very

136 ZOOPHYTES.

careful to avoid injuring, in any way, the tender foot of
the animal), any wounded part will decay, and finally kill
the creature.

There is a class of animals nearly related to the Anemo-
nes, termed Echinoderms, of which several species may be
introduced into an Aquariwm, and many of which are to be
obtained -on our seaboard ; as, the curious ZEchenus that
looks like a pin-cushion beset with pins, or—taking another
figure for example—appearing to be a near relation of the
hedgehog. Starfish, of which we have one very common

Star-fish.

species, the Asterias rubens, or common five-finger, may be
introduced into an Aquarium; but they have an unpleasant
propensity of rending themselves apart—that is to say, in
confinement they will tear off their rays one by one, leav-
ing them behind them, I have seen one ray, attached to
a body, travelling on, having left .the other four behind
fixed to the glass side of the tank.

ZOOPHYTES. 137

The gorgeous Serpule, of which there are to be found
several species on the New York coast, may be placed
with advantage in our Aquarium. They are curious crea-
tures, living in tubes composed of lime, of a serpentine
form, and attached to stones. When these tubes are
watched, and everything is perfectly still, we shall see the
animal project an instrument of the form of a trumpet,
which is used to stop up the entrance to his house. Next
comes two combs of bright scarlet tentacule, which are
used to secure its prey; but let us make ever so slight a
movement, and, at once, all disappears within the tube.
There is also a species which has its combs of hairs of an
orange hue, and its long funnel of a bright red color. This
species is very common, and is called Serpula contortuplicata.
(Plate X., Fig. 3.)

An Anemone (so called from some -fancied resemblance
to the flower of that name, though it is more like a pas-
sion-flower) is in appearance, when closed, a mass of flesh,
of a somewhat hemispherical form, and varying in size from
that of the head of a pin, to five or six inches across,
(when open). When the creature is hungry (which is
nearly always), it spreads its arms out in all directions ;
and then, the Anemone is a splendid sight—being of all
shades, from a pure white to dark brown, through different
shades of red, scarlet, grey, green and orange, and in a
few kinds, blue.

It is difficult to give to a person who has never seen an
Anemone, an idea of its form and appearance when ex-
panded to its utmost. Imagine, however, a glass tumbler
turned bottom upwards, and having around the edge of

138 ZOOPHYTES.

the bottom a row, of from fifty to two hundred or even

more fingers, disposed in two or three rows, and in the
centre of the bottom of the tumbler a slight elevation,
with an opening in it—this will give you some slight idéa
of the form of our hero; but as to his color, semi-trans-
parency, and graceful form and movement, no description
can do justice to it ! .

The tumbler, in our example, represents the ‘ body,” the |

flat bottom (which is turned upwards) the “oral disc ;”

and if we were to stretch a piece of paper over the mouth -

of the glass, this would represent the “base ;” the fingers
around the disc are the “tentacles,” and the opening in
the centre of the disc the “mouth.” We now know the
principal parts of an Anemone. But let us go still farther,
and examine his interior economy. JI have given (Plate
X., Fig. 1), a section of a full-grown specimen of Actinia
mesembryanthemum. A portion has been removed, so that we
can see the interior arrangement of the organs; b, is the
outer skin, or. cuticle, covering the whole animal; a, a, are
the tentacles, placed on the edge of the oral disc in rows,
and each having an opening at the pointed end, through
which water is drawn into the interior of the animal for
.the purpose of expansion, and which carries along with it
numerous minute animaleule, serving as. food to the Ane-
mone ; so that “he feeds, not only by means of the mouth,
but through the openings at the ends of the tentacles.
The oral disc extends from the base of the tentacles to the
mouth, d. Below d, is the stomach, which is corrugated ;
but you need not cut your Anemone open to see the inte-
rior of his stomach, as he will certainly very often turn

RIL ED?

ZOOPHYTES. . 139

himself inside-out, and so give you an opportunity of inspect-
_ ing it at your leisure. At e, are coiled up in separate
chambers,.certain organs, that, until lately, were supposed to
be, and therefore, were called the “ ovaries.” Sections of
the chambers in which they lie are given at g3 they com-
municate one with another by means of openings, repre-
sented at f, and with the tentacles at c. The true ovaries,
_ however, have been discovered by Mr. G. H. Lewes, who
thus leaves the function of the convoluted bands (e) a
problem to be solved ; as the true ovaries lie under the
convoluted bands by which they are completely hidden.

If you incommode “ daisy,” the popular name of a species
of Anemone—and the same fact may be observed in the
common brown American species (Actinia marginata)—with
your finger nail, he will shoot out from nearly every part
of his body numerous white seeming threads at you. He
uses these for the purpose of defence, as well as to secure
his prey. Cut off the end of one of them never fear, he
will not mind it—and put it under a microscope, and it will
present the appearance of a cylindrical white cord, moving
freely by means of multitudes of “cilia” or hairs, with
which it is fringed, and composed of an outside membrane
to which the cilia are attached.

When the Anemone recovers his temper, he draws back the *
threads into his body. As to the true use of the ‘spike
cases,” as the cells that contain these threads are called, I
can give the reader but little information. It has been
found, however, that they have not the stinging power that
was once attributed to them. Many naturalists believe them
to be weapons of defence, and that the spike with which the

140 ZOOPHY TES:

end of each of them is armed is used in killing the ani-
malcules, crabs and molluscs, on which the anemone feeds,
as well as in warning off any hostile intruder.

The species of anemones that are found on the Ameri-
can coast are numerous, but have not been sufficiently
studied to permit me to ‘give a list of them. Le Seur,
in volume first of the Transactions of the Academy of natu-
ral sciences of Philadelphia, describes two species found on
the coast near New York and which he calls fag aca
Actinia rapiformis and A. marginata.

Actinia rapiformis is described by Le Seur as follows

“ Tentacles, short, cylindrical, equal, disposed in four rows,
Body, fleshy, very contractile, assuming different forms and
frequently those of a turnip and pear, the former of which
it resembles in its dull, opaque white color ; ‘when con-
tracted it is of a sub-globular form. The young are more
transparent than the old and are sometimes of a darker
color. It is found in the sand of the United States coast
and raises its head above the common surface for the pur-
pose of displaying its tentacles. When contracted in its
habitation, it is concealed below the surface.” Its dimen-
sions are one inch and a half across, by four to five
inches in length. I-am of opinion that this must be the
same species that is found so abundantly at Hurlgate just
above New York city, thongh Le Seur’s specimens came
‘from Egg Harbor, New Jersey.

Actinia marginata (Plate X., Fig. 2) has eight or nine
rows of tentacles, which are short, slender, equal, placed
on a large expansion, the plaits whereof present ten or
twelve large lobes; the border of the upper extremity of

-

’
q
%

ZOOPHYTES. 141

the body is large and incloses the tentacule when con-
tracted, which are disposed in quincunx order and smooth-
pointed, and of a pale reddish color; the mouth is plaited.
The animal when unfolded presents a branchial disc, the
color of. which and of the body is burnt terra-de-sienna.
Its diameter and height are about one and a half inches.
Le Seur found it in Boston harbor in crevices of rocks
below fuct; but I have received it from Newport, R. I.,
where it seems to be very common. This species sometimes
will project its ‘ spike-threads” without any seeming pro-
vocation.

I am not certain whether I should refer a species that
I have seen which came from Newport, R. L, to Mr.
Gosse’s ‘‘ Plumose Anemone,” the Actinia dianthus of other

writers. It answers to the descriptions and resembles in

color the one that serves as a frontispiece to Mr. Tugwell’s
‘manual ;” however, as he only enumerates six varieties and
fawn-color is not among them, I must still remain in doubt.

To the American species of actinia, mentioned above,
I have to add five which W. Simpson obtained at the
Island of Grand Menan, off the coast of the State of Maine,
namely, the English species Actznta coriacea and dianthus,
Le Seur’s A. marginata and three new species, which he
names and describes as follows :

A. carnecla, St.—Very small, about +4, in. diameter, mouth
protruding far upwards on the broad disc, on the edge of
which are the tentacule, alternating in two approximated
rows, there being eighteen in each-row. On the disc, above
the base of each of the larger ‘tentacule, are two prominent
white spots, one above the other; while the lower tentacule

sa

142 ZOOPHYTES. °

have one spot at their inner bases. This spot is of a
light flesh color. Dredged from 35 fathoms, N. E. shore,

“A. obtruncata. St.—Body short, with a broad flat dise,
on which, between the small mouth and the margin, are
placed the tentacule ; which are short, very blunt at their
extremities, as if cut off, usually equidistant, not very
numerous, and arranged alternately in four or five very
indistinct rows. Sides, smooth and clean, with a few porous
warts, which can seldom be perceived. Color, dark pur-
plish, lighter on the disc, with broad streaks of crimson,
which meander among the bases of the tentacule.

“A. sipwnculoides. St—Body greatly elongated, covered
with a thin brownish epidermis, with eight narrow lon-
gitudinal white lines, dividing the body at the anterior
extremity in eight lobes when contracted. Tentacule
twenty, short, curved, and with blunt extremities.”

For further information concerning these Anemones, toge-
ther with a list of the other Jnvertebrata of Grand Menan,
the reader is referred to volume six of the Smithsonian
Contributions to Knowledge for 1854.

Dr. Leidy has given a paper in the third volume of
the new ‘series of the Journal of the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia on the Invertebrata of Rhode
Island and New Jersey, in which a few new Anemones
are mentioned, the descriptions of which I copy below.

“ Actinia marginata. Var. ambrea,—Two or three lines
in diameter, of a translucent, ambreous appearance.

Var. salmonea.—One. inch in diameter. Bright salmon
color. When irritated, it ejected jets of water from large
pores of the body, a phenomenon I did not observe in the

ZOOPHYTES. 143

more ordinary variety. A. neglecta. Leidy.—Body, when
closed, obpyriform, or shortly cylindrical ; when expanded,
cylindrical, about an inch in length by one fourth of an
inch in breadth ; smooth, translucent, olive green. Mouth,
elliptical, with the lip composed of six greenish-white lobes.
Tentacles, numerous, up to-half an inch in length, brighter
olive green than the body. In the mud of a sound in
the vicinity of Atlantic City.”

The most of the Anemones found on the coast of and
adjacent to New York have not been yet studied ; and I
shall here leave them and conclude this chapter with an
extract from an article published in the third volume of
Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal, entitled ‘ An afternoon among
the tenants of the deep”—which speaks of the Anemones as
follows: ‘‘They are greedy creatures, and the fishermen
have reason to dread their ravages, for they sometimes get
into their crab or lobster pots, and will wind their tenta-
cule round a fine crab or lobster, or whatever they may
lay hold of, and suck out every particle of its juices,
casting out the empty shell from their devouring maw, when
they have absorbed the whole of its contents. In some seas,
these creatures grow to so enormous a size as to be able
to inflict serious injury; they have been known to seize
a man; and an instance was lately told me by a young
Indian officer, of a friend “of his, who, when bathing, had
his thigh taken hold of by one of these horrible creatures,
from which he sustained severe injury ; and was released
only by having the animal cut from him piecemeal. Such
dangers, however, do not exist in our seas, nor could they
be anticipated from the lovely little actinis in the tanks.”

CHAPTER XIV.
GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

Feeding Fish—Fighting for Food—Crabs’ mode of Eating—Rapacity of Minnows—
Overstocking—Hermit-crabs die first—Remedy for Overstocking—Scavengers—
Aérating the Water—Fountain—Net—Filtering the Water—Artificial Sea Water—
Amount of Plants necessary—Opacity of the Water at certain seasons—Remedy—
Evaporation,

A Few hints as to the management of a’ marine collection
may not be unacceptable to the reader, and as they are
the result of much labor and some experience ‘in this
branch of science, I trust they will, if attended to, be use-
ful, and assist many in the keeping in order of these
beautiful ornaments and sources of instruction.

oa feeding fish in a marine tank, the same precautions
must, of course, be taken, as when so feeding the fresh-
water animals. Not only the fish, but the other creatures
that we keep in a marine Aquariwm, must be fed, or else
we shall find the stronger preying upon the smaller and
weaker ; thus, crabs, lobsters and shrimps are inclined to
attack the fish, but not the Zodphytes.. Some authors have
said, that Anemones will eat crabs and shrimps; but a
writer in Blackwood’s Magazine, for January, 1857, when
speaking of these creatures, in an extremely interesting
article, on ‘‘ New facts and old fancies about sea Anemo-

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 145

nes,” mentions that he several times attempted to force
them to catch and devour crabs and. shrimps, but in no
single instance succeeded.

When I feed the animals in my tank, it is a continual
warfare between different species ; between the stronger
and the weaker, until every morsel of eatable matter is
consumed. Just now, I caught two flies, and crushing
them between my finger and thumb below water, so as to
remove the air that the bodies might contain, I brought
one down with a slender rod of wood near to an anemone,
intending it for him, as he cannot travel in search of food,
put like a child, requires to be fed; I had got it nearly
to his open and expectant arms, when snap, presto! in
dashed an impudent diminutive minnow and bore off
the prize, but which was too large for him to swallow all
at once. Now began the battle between the ten or fifteen
minnows in the tank for the dainty bit, one of them
“polted” (I use this word for want of one that would
better express the velocity with which it was engulfed in
his capacious jaws) the first of the flies. I introduced
another, and this time the head was torn from the body,
and borne away in the jaws of a juvenile victor minnow,
who did not measure above three-quarters of an inch from
head to tail; he found, however, the eyes too tough for
his young gums, and so cast it loose again, when it was
taken hold of by an enterprising shrimp, who fell to,
heartily, upon it. In the meantime, the other part of the
fly having fallen between the glass and a stove, escaped
the notice of the minnows, but was taken possession of by
a large shrimp, who soon had to relinquish it to a small

146°. GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF

crab who having observed, from a distance, a commotion in a
that part of the tank, seemed to understand that something —
was going forward that required his especial attention. He
seized the fly, and began systematically to tear it to pieces,
holding one piece in his right hand claw, whilst the other
portion was conveyed to his mouth, to undergo the process
of mastication. With his left claw he kept at bay—by —
snapping at them now and then—a shoal of minnows and —
shrimps who seemed to want to dispute his right to the.
food, and thought perhaps that theirs, by discovery, should
have been respected, but in the little world of the Agua-
rium, as in the great one outside, the right is with the
mightiest, and possession is nine points. The crab, having —
satisfied himself with the edible portions of the fly, left
the shell to the shrimps, who turned it over and over,
looking in vain for a remnant. Another fly Was now
thrown in, which a miserable sized minnow attempted to —
swallow whole, but failing in so doing, flew about the
tank with the head and wings protruding from his mouth,
and a host of anxious relatives and friends following in
his wake, putting one in mind of a feeding time in a
chicken-yard, when a chick of a brood will attempt to
swallow a large piece of bread, and failing so. to do, will —
run about, the others after her with outstretched necks
and seemingly protruding eyes, expectant .for the morsel.
The poor little minnow turns and doubles, seeking in vain
to elude the hungry many, until at last, one swifter than
the rest dashes forwards and wrests the fly from his mouth,
and immediately engulfs it in his stomach, which seems to
be made of some elastic material, for it is difficult to give

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 147

a minnow more food than he will swallow—aud even when
he can put no more into his stomach, he will fill his mouth
and retire to some secluded spot to sleep off his meal.

There is one thing that is very likely to happen to a
tyro when stocking his tank, and which he will find to be
‘yuination to the well-being of an Aquarium; and that is,
overstocking. This is more likely to happen to a marine
collection than a fresh-water one, as we are apt to place
everything that we pick up on the shore in our tank,
avd so, at last, we go beyond the limit that nature has
assigned for the proper balance of animal and vegetable
life in the ocean, river and pond. When this happens, we
observe our most tender animals show signs of uneasiness,
and, at last die; the hermit crabs, being those that
soonest sicken and die, and if not removed, their bodies
soon foul the water and cause the death of the other
creatures in the tank. All the other inhabitants of our
‘Aquarium may appear in a healthy and flourishing condition,
except the poor hermits, and when they crawl out of their
shells, braving the minnows and other fish, we may be sure
then, there is something wrong, and that the collection
requires attending to. In such a case, it is best to see if
the tank be overstocked, and it is surely so, ‘if it contain
more inhabitants in proportion to its size than the one
I have spoken of in chapter two. Then we must remove
some of the fish and other creatures. If this does not
remedy the evil, and things still wear an unpleasant look,
it ig best to remove and change the water; and, indeed,
sometimes to begin with a new stock of sea-weeds.

The molluscs in the marine collection do not seem to

. 148 GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF

be disposed to perform their duty of cleaning the glass,
therefore, we must assist them; and for this purpose, as
I have before mentioned, I have found a good instrument
to be a piece of sponge attached to the end of a rod
of wood, with which we can scrub tle glass to our satis-
faction, until it assumes a clearness that allows us to
observe the habits and motions of the contained animals.
The glass will sometimes, if neglected for any length of
time, be found to have young shoots of Ulva or Entero-
morpha growing upon it and which sometimes the sponge
will not sufficiently remove. We can then use a brush,
such as a tooth or nail brush, for this purpose.

Often, if we happen to have several dull days without
sufficient sunshine, we shall observe the plants and ani-
mals to assume a sickly appearance, the fish coming to
the surface to breathe, and everything looking bad; and
things will continue to get worse if not attended to.
The water will, on such occasions, need aérating ; and
this can be done either by taking some out with a pitcher
and pouring it back, or, still better, by having a con-
trivance which I have used for the purpose for some
time. It consists of a chemist’s bell-glass that has a
hole at the ‘end, usually occupied by the knob, into which
we insert a cork that is perforated with a hole and has
a piece of glass tube fixed in it. This glass tube is
turned downwards as the glass stands at an acute angle
and is drawn out to a fine point, so that it allows the
passage of only a small amount of water. We now invert
the bell-glass, and, suspending it over, fill it with water
removed from, the tank. The water is at once forced, by

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 149

the pressure of the atmosphere, out at the fine orifice
and forms a jet d'eau, which can be directed to any
part of the tank. From passing thus in several fine
streams through the air, the water gets well aérated ;
and if the bell-glass be sufficiently large, our miniature
fountain will continue to play for. an hour or more.

It will be found useful to have as adjuncts to our
Aquarium a net about three inches in diameter, made
by stretching a bag of fine bobbinet over a wire ring
and attaching it to a wooden handle; a pair of long
wooden forceps will also be found useful, both of these
serving to remove dead fish and portions of sea-weeds
that would otherwise decay and overturn the economy
of our collection.

Filtering —When sea water is used, and, indeed, some-
times it will be so with the artificial article, it will
prove muddy or not clear from some minute floating bodies
that it would take days to deposit. If we do not wish
to wait so long, we can resort to filtering in order to
render the water clear; and this is done by suspending.
over the tank a perfectly clean clay garden flower-pot,
which has a portion of sponge thrust into the hole, and,
over the bottom, a layer of powdered wood-charcoal.
If the water is allowed to pass throngh the charcoal
and sponge, it will be found to be perfectly clear and
well aérated at the same time. As Mr. Hibberd remarks,
“With the river tank, the simplest way of reviving
exhausted stock is wholly or partially to change the
water ; with the marine stock, such a change is not easy,
aud the filter comes more legitimately into use, as already

150 - GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF

remarked, the necessity for aération marks error in manage.
ment, except when you have stock for which no proper
receptacle is at hand or any such special contingency.”

When we use the artificial sea-water and, for the pur
pose of “seasoning” it, place in it Ulva and Enteromorpha,
these plants, after a time, often become light-colored and,
at last, quite white, which is a sign of death aud decay,
and should be at once attended to by removing the
plants and replacing them by others. When the water.
has become well seasoned, we shall not be so likely to |
see this happen, unless something else in the tank be-
out of order. If, however, any of the red alge be intro-
duced before the proper time, that is to say, where the
Aquarium has not been in vigorous action some time,
they will be sure to decay and color the water of a
brilliant red, which must kill all the animals, beginning
with the hermit crabs, who are always the first to show
signs of something being wrong in the economy of the
collection. One of the first signs of decay in the red sea-
weeds is their turning of a bright orange in spots and
near to the edge.

As to the amount of plants necessary to aérate the
water for a given number of animals, it is very difficult
to present anything that may be laid down as a rule on
that point. The knowledge required so to adjust the
vegetable to the animal life in order to balance them,
can only be learned by practice. We should always be
certain of putting in enough vegetable matter. Some
writers pretend to lay down a rule for its introduction,
saying that one plant is sufficient for two animals with-

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 151

out informing us whether the plant be large. and> the
animals small, or vce versa. One full-grown plant of Ulva
or Valisneria will give off enough oxygen for two or
three minnows; but one plant of Enteromorpha or Lemna,
will certainly not supply enough oxygen for one fish, how-
ever small, be he even a stickleback of half an inch
long.

As I have remarked before, at certain seasons of the

year, the water of the Aguariwm will become opaque

from myriads of the green spores or seeds of the alga,
and to get rid of these, Mr, W. A. Lloyd recommended
a removal of the water from the tank and shutting it
up in a dark place, where the spores cannot get the
light necessary to their growth and, therefore, die. I
have sometimes found that if there be no fish in the

» tank, this green cloud will settle to the bottom and,

after a while, supply us with a harvest of young plants
of Ulva or Enteromorpha.

When putrefaction has set in among. our live stock,
it will progress with alarming rapidity, and in a few —
hours the stench from the tank may be so strong that
it cannot be borne. The best thing then to do will
be to remove all stock that still remains alive, and,
washing it in a pail of clean sca water, place it in @
jar or glass dish to save it. As we may be some way
from the sea, we shall, of course, wish to save the sea-
water if we can, for the water itself never’ decays, it
is only the particles of animal matter diffused through
it that are causing the trouble. Mr. Gosse recommended
putting the water that is in a vessel, into some out-

152 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

house or place where the foul odor will not be trouble- :
some and allowing the decay to go on, which it will :
do, until all the animal and vegetable matter has gone
off in the form of gas and the water is left quite
sweet.

Evaporation is continually going on from the water in
an Aquarium, but it is only from the water, the salt
being left behind; and, therefore, we must replenish it
from the tap or spring with clear fresh water. To know
the exact quantity to be put in (and this is an impor-
tant point) we may have some mark on the glass side
of the vessel, as a piece of paper fastened on, or we
can use a hydrometer like that I have described in
chapter nine. :

The cloudiness of the water may be occasioned by
another circumstance, and that is from the increase of
minute animalcule; but this’ fact need not frighten us,
for they are the natural food of our fish and- zodphytes,
who will, therefore, require the less feeding.

These few facts will, I hope, aid the reader in the
proper management of a marine Aguariwm.

CHAPTER XV.
COLLECTING OBJECTS TO STOCK THE AQUARIUM.

Advantage of collecting Objects to stock an Aquarium for yourself—Sea-side
Equipment—A Visit to Hurlgate—The Tides—Danger of treading on the Fucus—
Crabs under stones—Barnacles troublesome to Naturalists—Botryllus—Eolis—
Folls not a Nudibranchiate—First Rock-pool—Anemones—Sertularia—Multiplicity
of Life in the Ocean—Corkscrew Coralline—Birds-head process—A mile of Star-
fish—The Whelk—Fresh-water Stock—Visit to Union Hill—Anacharis Canadensis
on New York Island—Sunfish, etc.

AutnoucH objects for the purpose of stocking the Aqua-
rium can be now purchased in New York city, and may
soon be for sale in other of our large cities, still, one
of the chief pleasures incident to keeping an Aquarium
is the collecting of plants, and securing animals, and _ in-
troducing the same into it, while the healthy exercise which
such employment gives, is one great recommendation in
this modern fashionable pursuit.

Let us suppose that our reader, ‘a citizen of eredit and
renown” in New York, has procured a tank of such form
or dimensions as is best adapted for the position in which
it is to be placed, and wishes to. obtain plants and ani-
mals to put in it, so as to constitute an Aguarium; we
will also suppose it to be intended for a marine collection ;
how shall he and I equip ourselves, and, when equipped,

154 COLLECTING OBJECTS TO

where shall we proceed in order to obtain the necessary —

materials to constitute the stock ?

You and I, reader, will go to the seashore for wonders to
bring home .and to place in our crystal prison, and there
. admire in our leisure hours. So first, if you please, we will
dress ourselves in a rough suit of clothes—never mind if
they be a little the worse for wear—we are not going to
promenade Broadway, but to walk where nobody is going to

look at us, save the sea-nymphs (if we are so fortunate as —

to stumble on any of those creatures—and when we do, we —

will bring them home and put them into our Aquariwm) ; _

therefore, let the clothes be old, and the boots be heavy —

and strong. A hat is apt to blow off, so we will provide
ourselves with tight-fitting caps. As for the implements
that we intend to take with us, it is all very well for
writers to describe complicated zinc-cans and leather-sach-
els, with their various internal arrangements, which can be
used on such occasions; but these will be of no’service to
us, who are going to start off at a day’s notice and have
neither time nor inclination to encumber ourselves with such
machinery of action. We'll take with us A BASKET, con-
taining @ tin-can, with a cover—it should hold about a gal-.
lon ; three glass bottles, with wide mouths, holding respec-
tively a pint, a quart, and half a gallon—or they may be
smaller, if we are cramped for room. I have sometimes
found one of the capacity of a quart sufficient, but on this
point the collector can judge for himself, after having been
out once ; @ geologist’s hammer and a stone chisel, one of the
kind denominated technically, ‘‘cold chisel,” having a sharp-
cutting steel edge. These implements are indispensable, as.

STOCK THE AQUARIUM. 155

we shall find, when procuring anemones and some of the
alge ; an wory paper-knife and a small net, about six inches
across, and attached to the end of a pole, six feet in
length. This net is to be used for the purpose of captur-
ing fish, crabs and other active creatures.

The meshes of this net should be about one-third of an
iuch across or of the dimensions of those in what is
termed ‘shrimp net.” If we are going particularly for
anemones, we shall find it convenient to take an iron crow-
par, as Mr. Tugwell recommends in his ‘ Manual,” dispens-
ing with the ‘able-bodied man” therein mentioned, as we
shall find it healthy work, learning to use the crowbar our-
selves. However, as we are supposed to be going after
general stock for an Aquariwm, we will leave the crowbar
at home for the present.

Thus equipped we start for the shore, wherever we can
touch it. Let us for a moment suppose that we decide to
take the -city cars of New York, that run up the Third
Avenue to Yorkville, and, jumping in, pay our fare, six
cents—little enough for a journey of five and-a-half miles,
as it is, from the City Hall. And now we are at Fifty-
third street, so let us stop, alight, and look about us. We
walk to the East River, and, descending the rocks, come
upon a shore, which, supposing that we have chosen. our
hour properly and the tide is out, will yield us several
treasures for our Aquarium. As we wish to go to the shore
when the tide is lowest, we should choose the autumn or
spring, as, at those seasons, the tides reach their greatest
declination ; and, then, certain points of the shore will be
uncovered, which at other times cannot be reached. It is

156 COLLECTING OBJECTS TO

always best to gain the point of shore we intend to search
about half an hour before lowest tide, and follow the
water down, thus securing many creatures that otherwise
would, very soon, make their escape into the water.

Take care how you step upon those flat rocks, formed
of gneiss and covered with a dark olive-colored seaweed,
called bladder-wrack (Fucus vesiculosus), for it is a very
treacherous and slippery standing-place, and if you slip,
perhaps you will be thrown on some sharp, hidden edge
of a rock, or have your leg twisted, or, indeed, broken by
being forced suddenly between the upright masses. Do not
step upon that loose-looking mass of weed, for it only
covers a hole, which, most likely, is pretty deep, and would
be dangerous to fall into ; besides, it may contain something
that we want. Instead of stepping on it, let us turn up the
Fuci, and we shall find a little inland sea, termed a rock-
pool. Hallo! there’s something wriggling in it; a good-
sized eel, by all that’s fortunate ; where’s the net? We'll
have him and put him into our can, with some water.

Turn over that stone. See! away scamper four or five
crabs. We won’t take them, as they are extremely vora-
cious, and are not so pretty as our friends, the “hermits,”
that we shall get anon.

What are those little white cones covering the rocks?
Those are Balani, barnacles, or sea-acorns ; and if we take
some home.sand place them in a vessel of sea water, after
a time we shall see them open and project their tentacles
in search of food, and the action of which reminds us of
a fisherman throwing his nets—it being done with a swing-
ing motion. They are pretty creatures, but will not live long

STOCK THE AQUARIUM. 157

in the confinement of an Aquarium; they soon die, and,
decaying, foul the water; and, inasmuch as they generally
keep their shells closed, we may not discover their death
until it is too late and the damage is done and they fall
off the stone. They seem to require the motion of the
water, and that they should be left high and dry by the
retreating of the tide, twice every twenty-four hours. It is
this species of barnacle, along with another, that attaches
itself to the bottoms of ships, and accumulates in such
large quantities as very seriously to impede a vessel’s mo-
tion through the water. These same fellows, the barnacles,
with all the interest that attaches to, them, are one of the
torments of the searcher on the shore, as he will find, if he
happen to slip on some fucus-covered stone, and, stretching
out his hand to save himself from falling, happens to lay
hold of a stone covered with barnacles; for he will, most
assuredly, get his hand cut and torn in several places as
if with penknives, but really with the many shells of these
troublesome multivalves.

Now turn over that large stone in order to see what
treasures are hid beneath it. Ah! it has slipped through
your hands because it is covered on the underside with a
slimy coating which will bear nearer examination. It is a
mass of semi-solid jelly, adhering closely to the rock, and
of about the thickness of half an inch. As to its colors,
are they not brilliant? See—there is some with a ground-
work, nearly white, with little black stars sprinkled all
over it, while we see some black with white stars, like
the sky at night. Turn over another stone and we shall
find it orange, yellow, leek-green, or of a deep ruby, with

8 p ‘

158 COLLECTING OBJECTS TO

all kinds of colored stars, white, black, red, yellow, green,
orange ; but all the same thing—an assemblage of ani-
mals—in fact, what is called a composite animal, and
named Botryllus. Each one of those stars is an animal ;
and what is more, an animal possessing a shell, and be-
longing to the same family as the whelks or ws, al-
though its shell is not of so pretty a form as those
appertaining to the mollusca that we sce crawling over
the shore. The shell in the Botryllus consists of separate
portions, called spicule, which are distributed through the
fleshy matrix. The natural history of the Dotryllide. is
very little known; but now that we have Aquaria, in
which they may be kept alive for some time at least, we
may hope to hear of some adventurous naturalist turning
his attention in this direction. You will find the wsz and
stones in some. places nearly covered with these Botryllus,
so as to éonceal their forms, and rendering it difficult
to handle either stone or fucus,

See! what is that on yon stone, looking somewhat
like a small garden-slug. with a bunch of pink feathers up
on. his back? It is an Zolis, and those beautiful pink,
club-like projections are not lungs or “ branchial papilla,
as they were for a long time supposed to be; but
branches of the intestine, as Mr. G. H. Lewes has
proved and shown in his extremely interesting ‘‘ Sea-side
Studies,” lately published.

The Jolis must, therefore, be removed from the order
of nudibranchiates, or animals with naked lungs; and
Mr. Lewes proposes to construct a new order for it, to
be called Abranchiate. The pretty little Z£olds will live

BIOCK THE AQUARIUM. 159

in confinement, and look very beautiful in an Aquarium ;

but we cannot place them in a tank with anemones, as

they would nibble our actinze terribly. Let us go a little
farther on. One of our party, a little in advance, is calling
out for us “to come and see something,” in a voice that
plainly says, that the “somethifg” is worth seeing ; and
now reaching him, we acknowledge that it is. Here is a

genuine rock-pool, the gold mine of the naturalist. Let me

try and give you some idea of this natural Aguarzwm.
It consists of a basin formed in the rock, about mid-way
between high and low-water mark, and is from three to
four feet long, and two feet wide, by a foot deep. All
around its edge the J’uc hang down into the water,
and almost all the rest of the sides and bottom are
covered with the Cladaphora Ulva, Grinnellia Ptilota and
other plants, whilst eels and crabs sport about in the
clear liquid, associated with the funny little “ water-fleas ”
and shrimps. See! there is a large shrimp, clear and
semi-transparent as if he were made of glass, looking
very like a ghost of a lobster come up from bottom of
the mighty deep to gaze on us, and gaze on us he
does with his curious eyes set on the ends of stalks ;
but let us even hint at such a thing as catching him,
and he is off among the seaweed. Attached to the bot-
tom, at different points, are five or six beautiful white
and orange-colored anemones, which, when we essay to
detach them, shrink to nothing but a minute hemispheri-
cal mass of flesh. - But do not let that disappoint you,
as, if we turn over some of those mud-covered stones
near low-water mark, we shall find plenty more of them,

‘

160 COLLECTING OBJECTS TO

and, after carefully washing off the mud, we can take
home a stone which, when it is placed in our Aquarium,
we shall find to bear, perhaps, a dozen small but bril-
liant orange-colored anemones.

If we examine the tangled fucus that hangs in such
profusion from every stone, we shall find it bears im-
mense quantities of small branches, which are the dvwell-
ing places of a minute zodphyte that expands a circle of
tentacles like an anemone, but perfectly transparent. It
belongs to a family called Sertwlarie, and will well repay
investigation. Within a radius of six feet around us, there
are, probably, millions of these little creatures. And yet,
each of these is covered with hundreds of minute plants
of the order of WDiatemacee. A good example of the
multiplicity of animal and vegetable existence in the
ocean. > |

We shall, in all probability, find upon this shore, speci-
mens of the pretty little “ Corkscrew Coralline,” as it called
but it is another zodphyte, and, therefore, not a coralline, as
that name is now restricted to an order of marine plants.
This little creature, or rather colony of creatures, looks
like a tree in which the branches are arranged in a spira]
form around the trunk, and Mr. Lewes speaks of it as fol-
lows: ‘The stem is twisted into a corkscrew shape, suffi-
ciently remarkable to attract attention in rock-pools or in
tanks. On examining it attentively, it is generally seen
to be furnished with a number of processes resembling
vulture-heads—one beneath each cup—having two mandi-
bles, one fixed, the other movable by means of two sets
of muscular fibres, visible within the head; and these

SrOCK THE AQUARIUM. 161

mandibles keep up an incessant snapping, which occasion-
ally entraps some worn, or minute crustacea, in an inexora-
ble grasp. Very interesting it is to watch these birds’-heads
snapping with vague vigor, while above them the animals, to
which they can scarcely be said to belong, are protruding
from their cups ; for, be it noted, the bird’s-head does not
form part of the animal, but issues from the stem on which
the colony of animals abides; as if a gentleman residing
in the parlor kept a watch-dog chained to his area-gate.”
This curious zobphyte is thrown up in large quantities in
the dead state during the autumn at Glen Cove, on Long
Island, which place the reader will do well to visit if he
wish to sce some of the ‘‘wonders of the shore,” for there
he ean get minnows and other fish in abundance, together
with hermit crabs, by the peck, and starfish by the cart-
load—yes, literally by the cart-load; for, during the month
of September of the year 1857, I saw at least a mile of
the shore covered down far below low-water mark with this
beautiful animal, which, however, is no favorite with fisher-
men, as they will often destroy large quantities of oysters.

The Common Whelk (Buccinwm obsoletum) is common
upon nearly all our coasts, for instance, at Greenpoint and
Glen Cove, and at some parts of Hurlgate shore.

The Fusus cinereus is found along with the PBuccinum,
and the Pecten, with his metallic blue eyes, is also to be
found at Glen Cove, together with living Anomas during
the autumn. ;

If we wish to obtain fresh-water stock, we can cross over
any of the three city ferries which take us to Hoboken ;

and, then, jumping into one of the omnibuses that stand

162 COLLECTING OBJECTS ‘10

*
near the boat-landing, allow it to take us to Union Hin, ,

which is on the heights beyond Hoboken. On the way up
we get a beautiful view over the marshes of Hoboken and
of New York. Getting out at the little village of Union
Hill, where the omnibus turns off to the right, we cross
over to the Jeft side of the road; and here we find a little
brook that flows down the hill across the road and into
the Hudson River at Weehawken Bay.

In this stream we find some useful plants, as Potamogeton
pusillis, water-cress aud one or two others.

In some of the quieter parts of the stream, Chara vul-
garis is to be found. Snails are to be ‘obtained here of the
genera Lymnea, Physa and Planorbis, besides a fresh-water
clam of the genus Cypris. In the little forest of cedar
trees, a short distance farther back on the other side of the
road to Jersey City, are to be found ‘several fresh-water
plants, as JWyreophyllum, ete. |

I have obtained Anacharis Canadensis in cousiderable
quantity, along with snails and caddis-worms in- a lidtle
stream in Jones’s Wood on New York island. In the
stream on Union Hill tadpoles and caddis-worms can be
taken. It is only rarely that I have caught newts and
black-nosed dace there. By the way these latter little gen-
tlemen are excellent for an Aguariwm.

The large sunfish I have secured at Crystal Lake on
Staten Island and at Glen Cove, while at both these places
I have also found the small black-eared sunfish. Minnows
are to be caught along our coast. in bays, as at Glen Cove,
in large quantities, and also in the Morris Canal in New
Jersey.

STOCK THE AQUARIUM. 168

Callitriche verna 1 have obtained along with a few other
plants at Hastings on the Hudson, about twenty-one miles
from New York City. The Ceratophyllum is to be procured .
at Oyster Bay, Long Island, and in Crystal Lake (Staten
Island) where the white water lily and Brasema are also
found with IWVitella “flexits.

Duckweed I have received from still ponds in the inte-
rior of New Jersey and from Oyster Bay (Long Island).

Brief and unsatisfactory as these short notes of locali-
ties are, yet I am in hopes that they may prove of some
use to the amateur when searching for stock for his
Aquarium, and that they may lead him to find

“Books in the running brooks,

Sermons in stones, and good in everything.”

it

Lan Or A %

PAGE PAGE
A Bilennins TOs sevesk Oss Ce 118
ADAIUS. CALAMUSE.. 56 ork. cays e es bi: | Blenny, tinged: 3 67 ee 1165
AGCUNID AIMDIER: = Asia Se. 142 a AOBNY. DEO: § 5.91.4 mite neei 115
> GAN OD ac, sees Cs 14) 1 Bobbinet Cover ea. cots 28
oe ROMaCen aS. ok: tee Paes FE Botryllus Je. RA Aes kee boa RRO a 157
BEI ATI pacer ny ae Re 141 | Bottoms, of tanksss sic ce 25, 30
‘* mesembryanthemum .... 138 | Brasenia peltata............. 51, 162
(> “snatematy, oe Sve 139, 140 Branchypus BUAONAIS is. octese 8&2
ae Tlewlecty. 2fakue'ys cos 0 142 Brooklime, American........... 59
(2° Ghtrinoata ies oe so 14], | =Bryopsis, plumosac;4 <25. 0 ee 106
tC PaTfORMIS vowed Ohare 140 | Buccinum obsoletum....... 129, 161
ties “paIMONGR 22555: Seon es 142 | he TBO A GNI oes ex 129
“ sipunculoides SAB atoc eee eee age 143 BUCK DCR otceen ce teen swine 59
Afi PENAGOLO VO! poses ies as 138-| Bollstrom. oo A aes anes sakes 82
PGTAUN Ms see ON sis Se pores 148 |
Pps MANING.. cee cera sss 96, 101 C
American weed................. 55 | Caddis-worms............... 44, 161
Ammodytes Americanus........ M8 Calithamnion Americanum..... 109
JM UC wane a eee ween cir ex: 62 | “ Bailey vivess <i 109
Anacharis alsinastrum........... 55 | “ byssoideum....... 109
4s Canadensis .......- $5, 162, ds cruciatum........ 109
ANEMONES 22> Sarees ae eee a ec ae 137 | &“ Motimi. 109
Anemone, plumose.............. 141 | “ polyspermum.... 109
Anguilla termirostris............ 115 | ‘“ virgulatum....... 109
ANOUOMS «- 6. eee e eee eee eee ees 16 | Calla palusttitcs iec.. cece. e es 50
Anodon fluviatilis............... 80 Callitriclle autumnalis........... 55
Anomia ephippium.......... 131, 161 | ‘“ pedunculata.......... 65
Aquarium, definition of an...... 90 | “ platycarpa........... 55
¢ fresh-water.......... 39 | “ STNG or 55, 162
marine ........++.-- 93 | Carbonic acid. .%............+s ay
Arrowhead, common............ 20 5 Barth 5 cee hts OE: TO
Artificial sea Water?..0...25..3.. Det Ue Pend ante hae ee ee val
ATUM....+.++++- POPC Phas ers BUF arth aonn ens th <n awe 108
Asellus communis.............. GOL MApAiRNi eS OyPere SCS Sik dee 70
Aspect ........ poten etee seen eens 35 | Catostomus communis.......... 118
ASTAQUS SDORUOULVT Ser ses aces Biel Gaeta ee 8. cas 29, 34
Asterias rubens .....#......+.. 136 | Ceranium arachnoideum,........ 119
Asteroids. .......0.0 +e. eee ee eee 134 | Ceratophyllum demersum....54, 162
ATHETING ROC oon vs hves -% 114 | Characes sss ae 57
AWIWOIT. . 6. eee ee eee eee ees 59 | Chara vulparissigneereice a 58
Chasmodes bosquinanus......... 118
B + sixpanded. se... 6.24. 118
Balanicessi smectic cs oes 156 | Chondria Baileyana............. 109
Barnacles tc emets ak Sees 156 | Chondrus crispus............... 108
Bellwlasstamincsy os see eee 262}; GOLOLOSNELINGs fete. oss seg ees 102
Bergall, common: 222. ssarss 114 | Cladaphora arcta............... 106
es Bpottedus wosttns .4 114 | + TUPESULIAES ©. 51. sss 106
Blackhole, Calcutta............. TY S2@ Sons 3 4-evetceoniwy eras soe 61 aes 131
BiBguer- aWwRackwat cer cacy tee es 166 | Cloudiness#of waterec<.i os ..5.. 151
Biennich ss tw has tas sues cok a 114 ; Codium tomentosum............ 107
Blennius fucorum........%. 0.4.6. 116 } Collecting objects.............. 153

166 INDEX.
PAGE PAGE
Conferve, removing ........... 87 | Histularia serrata............... 116
Covering THO tan Koo ween 27 | es TabHVAGRIbs aur eet. #116.
Crab, BALWIG ss: 0 ae Ree ees abst Miao BWOOLK . esa kek oa tees 51
ROG | MB i a Cowes eee DIORIG MICS. c.c4 oe Mek oe bb ce ad 58
vy meumit, “large: .s.<.5 4% 120-7} Worget-me-not. os. ces we oy 51
“S Be small oo acs 124 | Fountain in tank...4............ 21
KS id Fn ESD 25 en's « 124 | Freezing of water............... 37
ds BS it's J es hes VES aha 127 | Fresh- water Aeris’? 5.03 ees 39
Ree TNOLMIRO Ds <5 cteanis it oat y O83 127 | ts se easiest.... 40
Hee PROULION ous oo 1.e chk anon PLUS 121 | Frog-bit, “ANGLICAN as: iss Hae oe 61
MeeS TL OL coke a gape sas Sts AD OD DMUs ees ts «9h Feet coe 4 oe 82
Crangon septemspinosus........ 128 rE-SA MATEUS 9-44 pater ccs Mares 82
COP ONMES ce ye. as Pea kits sack Cee Bil eee. 8 STAN Oat. 5 ang ee 82
Crepidula fornicata............. 130 | Fucus vesiculosus............... 156
Crustaces, marine............. - 120 | Fundulus fasciatus........... 66, 112
re fresh-water.......... 80 | v6 viridescens........... 113
Ctenolabrus crruleus........... 114 | Fusus cinereus............. 129, 161
uninotatus......... 114 |
Cyclops quadricornis........... 82 G
Cyprinus auratus..............- 63 | Gq
“6 Glen sss «ev tac meee 79 | Gammarus minus............... 81
“ gibelis Ce Ly 71 | Gasterosteus. . PO res eee ir ee 66
Cystoclomium purpurascens. .... 109 * biaculeatus ........ 70
neoboracensis...... 70
D de occidentalis........ 70
a quadracus.......... 70
Dace, black-nosed............-. 72 | “ BpinGonin rss verse. 69
PIMY...- eee eee ees ei met b GOMIGH ass occa OY MRE ee 114
Dasya elegans.. 2.....-+-+.e ++ 109 | Gobio cataracte.............6.5 66
Decay of BEAWEG......./-0+-+- - 150 Gobius alepidotus.............. - 115
Definition of an Aquarium. ...... 90 | Goby, variegated............... 115
Demerestia aculeata............ Bee TOO GAL. s «Cate tee rd Cis GA Se 63
P Viridis. ......-46-+5+ 109 | «46 feeding... . 65
Diatomacem ..........++++- INO g CU PU CIORAN Es. ss tas ng Kd coat 86
Dimensions of tanks............ Be Yee 50s NOM IOOBE, hr rs kaos e0 Real
Duckweed........ gers oe cees OO; TGS Gopsa Pairs os 2cee cars csvgbas 13
i GIGSB ERO Ave sitien ce Pays a os aires 104
E | Gravel for tank bottoms. ....... we OL
Ectocarpus Pietziws........5,.. LOO Green TAN OY vin «> evgeiarcnin ss cmee ShOS
hittoralissjne cove 109 | pases os Americana .......... 107
A LUbOSUS 5 eer ee 109 | Grouping fresh-water stock.... 88
“ siliculosis........... 109 | Grouping plants....«........ e761
tg WITS hs PRET wT On 109 | Gudgeon, Niagara............. 66
Belg k Vee es 72 |
eat snails. 430.2 Vi oe ya et 72 | H
“ New York........5...+04. 115 | Welianthoids...... PE ater 2 134
Enteromorpha compressa....... 104) Yfermit orab, largeiay’. «.s«. al 320
46 intestinalis....... 105 | ‘“ 4 RMAs eye eee oe
HOY Eb Sate aoc wp Sey earn eee or Rr 158 | rT 6s Pnplighss. Fee oe Lek
| Hippocampus Hudsonius....... 118
Ay | Hippuris vulgaris ..... deteeees 59
Peodinp wish. ten. hs sa sy te 86, 145 Homarus Americanus..... oon 6 es
te goldfish .:. +... ee 8 65 (AELOINWOTt os See ee we ce twee so Oe
WOPisics sisson wie rita ae at 52 | Horsefoot . eres eel 2
Bd dler. CRAs «tu v-91~ + maces sae ees 124 | Hottonia inflata NAT OSE mrt ee 59
IGS or nce Pekin Crete mS 149°} Hiydtaformes cc. sis sa “, . 14
Fish, fresh-water................ G2 Te VOra: ViEiGiB iss pte! tee oe pe wens 135
Se TAT aN ose Wee rn ee 110 | Hydrometer ........« eae eh tr Bore 99

INDEX. 167
PAGE PAGE
I | Nitella flexilis............... 58, 163
FriBh MOORS rise Ge ee 108 | Northern aspect for tanks........ 36
ROM tOL Pan KS. See is Santen 95 | Nuplian adrend «so aee cea So oe 61
| En RONAN Gas cre eed Ph csc bl
J * | Nymphea Od ORR os ives sw sk 51
Jar Aquarium .................. 27 | NyMphmaeeies cs cose sieeve. cs 50
K fe)
Killie fishy smal ce a ess 66 1 Octagonal tankiss 25 oceans 1s oe 26
ue TANG: a ies ett caer OG, | ORG seat sin 5 Pac ac: 130
| Outfit for shore-searching ....... 154
4 Ab batten 3 Mreniias Mae hic eee te ae 147
Paunoo* sand. © <5 << ks ea ccs 117 ; Oysters ..... 6... 6. cee erence 130
Laver, ‘green See En eer 103 |
ME DULD Ome cic peay entits 107 | an
Lemnacee ...... tee tneeaseneets 60 | Padina payonia................. 108
Leuciscus atronasus............. 72 | Pagurgus Bernhardus...... 124
6 PROFINAB cues 5. 50255. 113 | “ longicarpus .......... 124
SCE SSIS MSAaes 2c Neal ve 7e 71 | ‘“ Pollichris .. oa, s.....5 120
Libinica caniculata ............. 126. | Palemon serratus... oc... 128
Limnobium spongia............. 61 | “ vulgaris ese eee?)
peer Water... ... eee seen - fet MUOIEN. < was. ewe Pages 1)
sOaCD. 2... se. tate Va gee o Shw oe webs -ecten tHIGUA pot ee ‘ .
Lobster, common...........-... 128 | Perca Hee eal nea ene oa ce
aed ‘Salbateg ee) ae renee ees ie och American yellow ........ 66
desidioea <7 ooen ae +7 1ysa heterostropha............ 77
le Srogtlia si oe 17 Y ae On Gene ews 3:60 FOOT Se 2
> actin eale Sad Soleo apg aid le é CINE 4 SUES WN 24 8 €. 0 0 So ‘
‘* stagnalis......... seeees 20 | Pimelodus atrarius.............. 70
a | sey ae aWeoepantdins eke ps0 09 ae
| Pipefish, American.............
Mahogany for tanks............. 25 | tc, Danded............... 116
Management of the fresh-water fs BFCON. ee sees ee eee 116
ACOBTTD So cas ier cae vce 85 | py __ Spotted .......ae+ +... 116
Management of marine Aquarium 144 | P/anorbis a a ee oat Faeyeues eis ab
AEROS CON soe) on epneaacs hase 59 | sahara oh ee :
Mariné Aquariumt..: t<45..000 504 93 5 corpulentus........... 79
66 “ bottom....... 94 | 5 ee HSA re aieiy sce e es
“ 6s rockwork .... 95 7 OCDUUS 2 crc e sce war cence ‘
‘jal: | PAEVUB over eee eee 79
Materials (0% One <a. - «+= - | Plants, fresh-water ............. 48
MIOIATNG: s tottecricar se sites vesen est 80 | Polliw,
MBIATOAGONONH << -.ix+ ass =r5%- > 3 109 | Serene ig cheese ties atta 41
Menyanthes trifoliata........... 59 | Polen 1emus occidentalis. ....... 127
DIR Fe ates oye tein 66, 112, 162 | Polysiphonia bet hed meee seo a
Mollusca, marine M#............. 129 | . ide SN geen
Mugil Wnbatiewcch 4. wi tees 116 i Harveyi ........-. 109
MNES, BtCINedy re Sexes scares dee 116 | Ss Soap 109
Mussel 131 | . Olneyi Vale he SY eee ee 109
SABLA nip eters Boca. epee meee 31 | i nie opi (pipes
Myriophyllum spicatum...... 59, 162 | <i subtilissima eee 109
Mytilus borealis ............0... 131 | a a aa 409
Pomotis 2 Reg 7 a ea gin ted d oe
os | a Vulgaris .. 0.6.6.0... 7
1 SPONTA Hire 5 p05 9 he vias, vis Vee ese toes 71
Nasturtium officinale............ AS ij RONG WeeURct sera. We tet 60
Natiéa duplicata:. 00, .2 sede. 5s 129 , Porphyra laciniata............6. 107
Natiralist-6: diary). 0 leek as 16 Potumogeton crispus............ 60
AN CC) 1g SSA rg Oo Rare se OE Ta as 155 GEUKNS ts sats «iis 60

168 INDEX.

PAGE PAGE
Potamogeton pusillis ........... 162 | Sytignathus faciatus ........ - 116
Preparing the tank ............. 30 re viridescens....... 116
Principles of the Aquarium..... « 13
Ptilota elegans <0 eces ws 108 | « i
Pum DHA BOOH ck ays roan nae ai fehl esa tts) 2) keene mehr ee 41, 162
Purple laver...........+.eeeees 107 | Tadpoles anatomists......... 42
Pyrulacaniculata :......00.60055 EU TOPSTINEN. 55 ate w Wik <o'k ak k os Se

° RORDB Sc aescass perry Mechta 41
Triton millepunctatus ........ 84
Quantity of soil for tank bottoms 32 U
R Udora Canadensis .......... 55
Rana fontinalis ...............5, g4 | Ulva oe seteeeaveves ero 10K
AY AOBuRin Pix eee mis ¢ cee: Bd fgg ADRS ba ety ese 108
EE ORDIODIS eis tiie say Sat ore 82 Uni linza RERC eee Eee 104
Ranunculus aquatilis..........., iS eboney eH aclu RSET OF CE a
Roe eoteie nice to crys sas 59 Sohne sees co, 5 th wera
ue ft Ariifatabes «sok eos wi Use of the Aquarium......... 43
ROOK ORB ieieri.. S53 vine FucsAnen a Se 34
Rhodomela subfusea............ 109 ; Vv
Rhodomenia palmata ........... 109 | Vase Aquarium ...........° 26
. Valisneria spiralis <<. 4. 50.6 <6:
Ss VONUS . eee eee eee eee eee 13k

” Sagittaria sagittifolia............ 7 Md os rah Sg one te ah
Salamandra ruba 84 eccabunga.....+.. 60
PMG ROG ER 118 | « ie palustris. ..... ee... 59
AUS Bee 131 Vessels for Aquaria..... : 22
MCOPPeN aA pOPRUS si Fon ee cokes 116 Varela 9 sain ves gos wes 4s bY

ss rupe..... a eee ee 116
DCOMPIODS, HOBs. ecucoreys ce ae Tey 116 SH w
SEL ETO: Led ag Sepia go rer erala o 85 | Warrington .......... creee 1B
Rint PRE eee COC aM, oi «104 | Warrington’s'tank..%<...... Seat!
net SEUNG RMR GONE 6 Eee bs vin ot 105 | Water cress ..... seserecess 48
MDNR Perec teacy as eth et 118} {, crowfoot, white. ....... 58
LOM aGUsy COCR SHOL <5. eevee: 150 for marine tank. ....... 96
PTO Aa t Sy; no Sates 137{| ‘ lilies..... Pree e eerie 50
Shell-bottoms for tanks ......... hm ee * lizard vee. ee ee eee eee BB
IATL ee © Sa ae SRR 128 milfoil, spiked......... 59
“ PN thea ee Poe ake 128 ‘S Salg, artificial ......... 98
itm gh goldleg 0 ES I2IIDS 60
Simplicity of the Aquarium ..... 46} “ sSpeedwell........-. -- 59
Sihelf, sand WA tees os ll4 i Airlie Stee eee eee ee oe
Shuils yc. Serres a aes 74 VIOIEL oe ee eee renee ees of
BOS nde Of a ee 19 | Whelk, American®. ...#..... 161
PGre HONK F686 bce ky ons bah ere 126} ‘* Enropean.....+...-. Lay
Spiked water-milfoil Caen ese 59 ee Ja} Fike ls Les acl? ag ates Aare ae
Starfish SSeS ot, sa er agree i 136 COSEO 80.6 tore iw ese ee fume eh. 6 wee 9 oie
Starting an Aquarium........ 45
Sticklebacks ......06.% 43, 66, 115 Z
DEOCH LOM TAD Ke eure es AS -Zine for tanks wera we wie + v0 2 wee 25
BUG Gite ar Cr ent enn nae ee whan 107 | Zoarces fimbriatus .......... 115
Stratiotes aloides............ 60 | Zoological Society’s tanks ..... 4
POMS eee sk oa att De cones ts lig BOZO PNY COS st ent eae ~ 142
Sie ARIAS can ae he a 71, 162 | Zoophyte, definition of a... ... 133

H. BAILLIERE, PUBLISHER,
290 “BROAD WAY.

The Compitete Writings of Thomas Say on the Conchoe-
ogy of tiane WU. 8.—Inucluding his American Conchology, and all his eontri-
butions to the History of the Land and Fresh-water Shells which have appeared,
and many of which are quite inaccessible—carefully collected, and edited by W. G.
Binney, Esq., and illustrated with 75 plates.

*
WORKS ON THE AQUARIUM, AND SUBJECTS RELATING THERETO.
Baird (Wm.) A Cyclopedia of the Natural Sciences, with a map and
numerous illustrations. Syo. London,1858.. t 4 . $3 TS

Gishop (J.) Handbook of Plain instructions for the Construction and
Management of Fresh-water Aquaria. New edit. Royal 1Smo. London,

1858. . ; . . . . . : . : 80
Buckland (kt. FT.) Curiosities of Natural History. London, 1858. <4. OO
Carpenter (W, HE.) The Microscope and its Revelations. 2d edition,

illustrated by 370 wood engravings. London, 1857. _ ; F VOLO

Pujardim (#.) Infusoires, comprenant Ja Physiologie et la Classifi-
cation de ces Animaux, et la Maniere de les etudier a aide du Micros-
cope. Syo. accompagne de planches coloriees, 1 vol. et atlas. Paris. . 4 68

Edwards (#1. MH.) Histoire naturelle des coralliaires, ou polypes spEOR-
rement dits. Svo. 2 vols. and 2 atlas. Paris. , ‘ ; - 500

Gifford (J.) The Marine Botanist ; an Introduction to the Study of the British
Seaweeds; containing descriptions of all the Species, and the best method
of preserving them. 3d edition. Greatly improved and enlarged, with

illustrations printed in oil colors. Brighton, 1853. . = R =. BOs
Gosse (PB. Hi.) A Manual of Marine Zoology for the British Isles, 2
yols. London, 1858, : . : : . : . - 450

Life in its Lower, Intermediate, and Higher Forms; or,
Manifestations of the Divine Wisdom in the Natural History of Animals.

2d edition, London, 1857. 5 ‘i ; = ; > 2 LOO
od - The Ocean. With illustrations, 12mo. London. . = 2s00
—_———_-———. A. Handbook to the Marine Aquarium. 2d edition. q 75

—— The Aquarium; an Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep
Sea. 2d edition, enlarged. With chromographs and wood engravings.

Post Svo. London. , ‘ > ; ; ‘ - 5 00
Tenby, a Seaside Holiday. With 24 plates, colored. Post

8vo. London. : 3 i ‘ : $ * : - 6 25
-— A Naturalist’s Rambles on the Devonshire Coast. With

23 plates. Post Svo. London. .. . ° 3 2 3 6 25

Actinologia Britannica; a History of the British Sea
Anemones and Madrepores. With colored aie, of all the species,
Pts. 1 and 2. London, 1858. ‘ : ° OU

Griffith (J. W.) and Menfrey (a ) The ‘icrogr aphic Dictionary ;

a Guide to the Examination and Investigation of the Structure and Na-
ture of Microscopic Objects. Ulustrated by 41 plates, and 816 wood-
cuts. Svo. London, 1806. : : 4 F ; : . 18 50

170 WORKS ON THE AQUARIUM.

ffarper (3.) The Sea-side and Aquarium; an Anecdote and Gossip on
Marine Zoology. With illustrations. London, 1858, . : - $0 7

Eiarvey (W. HI.) Nereis Boreali Americana; or, Contributions to a
History of the Marine Algw of North America. Parts 1 and 2. Mela-

> nosperma, and Rhodosperma, . ‘ ‘ . - 10 00
—-————— Phycologia Britannica, or History of British Seaweeds.
8 vols,, royal, 8mo., 860 colored plates, London. : - % 45 00

The Sea-side Book, An Introduction to the Natural
History of the British Coasts; with a chapter on Fish and Fish-diet, by
Yarrell, 12mo. 4th edition, 88 woodcuts. London. . F ° +. OO

Eiassal (A. Hf.) A History of the British Fresh water Algw; including
descriptions of the Desmidew and Diatomacew. With upwards of 100 ,
plates of figures, illustrating the various species. 2 vols, 8vo. London. 10 30

Hibberd (S.) The Book of the Aquarium and Water Cabinet; or, prac- .
tical Instructions on the formation, stocking, and management, in all
seasons, of collections of fresh-water and marine life. London, 1856. 1 00

Siumphreys (H. N.) Ocean and River Gardens; a history of the
Marine and Fresh-water Aquaria, with the best methods for their estab-
lishment and preservation, With twenty colored plates from life. Lon-
don, 1857. F ‘ : . < 4 “ e 8 50

flumphreys (N.) The Butterfly Vivarium or Insect Home; being a new
method of observing the wonderful metamorphoses of some of the most
conspicuous and beautiful of our native insects, etc. 1 vol., sm. 4to, with
richly colored engravings. : . 2 2
Mr. Bailliere, Publisher, 290 Broadway, New ¥eeie has in preparation a
similar work on the insects of the United States. The cost will be about
the same, and: subscriptions to it are solicited.
Kingsley (Chas.) Glaucus; or, the Wonders of the Shore. 38d edition,
corrected and enlarged. London, 1856. : ‘ 1 00
Landsborough (Rev. D.) A Popular History of British Zoophytes
or Corallines. With colored plates. London, 1852. : *. ‘ 3 25
A Ropar History of British Seaweeds,
comprising their structure, fructification, specific characters, arrangement,
and general distribution, with notices of some of the Fresh-water Algew.
2d edition, with twenty colored plates, Royal 16mo. London. : 8 25-
f.ankester (f£.) The Aquavivarium, Fresh and Marine; being an account
of the principles and objects involved in the domestic culture of water-

plants and animals. London, 1857. : . : ‘ 75
Lewes (G. Hi.) Sea-side Studies at Ilfracombe, Tenby, the Bolly Isles, and

Jersey. With illustrations. London, 1858. F : : é 8 25
Quatrefages (A. de). The Rambles of a Naturalist on the Coasts of

France, Spain, and Sicily. 2 vols. London, 1853. 4 ; ‘ 4 50

®Quekett (J.) A Practical Treatise on the Use of the Microscope, including
the different methods of preparing and examining animal, vegetable, and
mineral structures. 38d edition, with additions. Illustrated with eleven
plates, and upwards of 800 wood engravings. London, r , 5 00

Rugwell (Geoe.) A Manual of the Sea Anemones, commonly found on
the English Coast. London, 1856. ‘ . . ? ‘ 2 25