| The hobby of aquarium keeping and tropic
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| | cannot house many fish or allow proper
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| fish as pets is fairly recent in the
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| | development of the plants...
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| Western World, and took a while to catch
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| | Larger tanks are very attractive and give
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| on. The keeping of fish in small indoor
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| | scope for beautiful planting arrangements
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| tanks was only seriously considered in
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| | and for fine growth of the fishes, but
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| the middle of the last century, when both
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| | they are expensive and not likely to
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| in Britain and the rest of Europe a
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| | become generally popular. Most fish
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| considerable interest in the subject
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| | lovers therefore prefer a range of medium
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| developed...
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| | tanks rather than one or two very large
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| At the beginning of the 1900s aquarists
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| | ones, but it must be emphasized that fine
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| around the world began to keep tropical
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| | fishes can be grown in large tanks...
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| fishes, and it was the "trend" of so
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| | In general, tropical fishes can be housed
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| doing that started a new wave of popular
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| | in smaller tanks than cold-water fishes.
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| fish culture (keeping fish as pets)...
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| | This is because they are usually smaller
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| The older aquarists were obsessed with
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| | and are also better able to withstand a
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| copying nature in their tanksor rather
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| | relative deficiency of oxygen in the
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| with the attempt to try and copy
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| | water...
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| naturewhereas the keepers of warm-water
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| | Size for size, most tropical fishes can
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| fishes had to experiment and create
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| | be crowded a good deal more than the
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| suitable environments for them...
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| | common goldfish and very much more than
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| Often they started only with the
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| | fancy varieties of goldfish. A 15-gallon
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| knowledge that the fish must be kept
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| | tank might comfortably contain a dozen
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| warm, and this in itself raised problems,
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| | 3-inch rosy barbs, four or five 3-inch
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| including the death of favorite weeds and
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| | common goldfish at the most, and not more
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| water snails at higher temperatures...
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| | than a pair of Orandas of the same
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| So the aquarium gradually came to be
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| | size...
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| regarded as most of ussee it today, as a
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| | Fish consume solid food and excrete solid
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| beautiful display, not a mirror held up
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| | faeces. They breathe oxygen and exhale
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| to nature...
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| | carbon dioxide, and therefore they tend
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| However, until the keeping of tropical
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| | to deplete their environment of oxygen
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| fish, it seems that aquarists in general
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| | and to pollute it with carbon dioxide and
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| thought that the proper aim of an
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| | excrement...
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| aquarium keeper was to reproduce a
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| | Plants also breathe oxygen, but in
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| segment of nature...
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| | sufficiently bright light they
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| They now realize that their task is the
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| | manufacture sugars, etc., from carbon
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| maintenance of a highly artificial and
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| | dioxide taken from their surroundings,
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| restricted community of animals and
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| | whether air or water, and they release
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| plants, with a balance that can easily
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| | oxygen. This is done in the green leaf...
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| topple with disastrous results to at
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| | Plants also absorb dissolved salts and
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| least some of the members. At the same
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| | use these together with carbon dioxide in
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| time, aquariums can generally be easily
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| | building up complex organic compounds.
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| maintained as long as a few fundamental
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| | Very few higher plants can utilize solid
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| facts are recognized and applied with
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| | or very complex substances, and before
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| commonsense to the problems that arise...
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| | animal excrement (usually known as "mulm"
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| So lets talk now about some of the
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| | in the fish tank) is available to them it
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| characteristics of aquariums and tropical
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| | must be broken down by fungi or bacteria
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| fish...
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| | and made soluble...
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| The old fashioned fish bowl has almost
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| | So plants, in adequate light, tend to
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| completelyreplaced for serious
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| | restore oxygen to the environment and to
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| fish-keeping by the rectangular glass
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| | remove the waste products of animals. In
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| tank, either made wholly of glass or with
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| | poor light or in darkness they deplete
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| a metal frame and glass sides and a
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| | the water or air of oxygen just as
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| bottom of glass, slate, or other rigid
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| | animals do. It is only in the daytime, or
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| material...
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| | under bright artificial light, that they
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| Except when used for spawning, for
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| | perform the complementary function to
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| exhibition purposes, or as a hospital
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| | animals...
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| tank for the treatment of disease, the
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| | From these facts grew the concept of a
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| tank contains growing, rooted plants;
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| | balanced aquarium, with the waste
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| these are set in a sand or gravel layer 1
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| | products of the fishes absorbed by the
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| or 2 inches thick. There may be
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| | plants, and the oxygen necessary for the
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| decorative rocks, but the chief
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| | fishes provided by the action of the
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| decoration is usually the plants
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| | plants in light...
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| themselves, which contribute more to the
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| | The moral of the story? A well-planted
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| attractive appearance of a well set-up
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| | tank with adequate illumination will
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| tank than do the fishes...
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| | usually stay clear and sweet for months
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| Rectangular tanks are usually between 5
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| | or years with little attention...
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| and 25 gallons in capacity; a 15-gallon
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| | Hopefully this article has given you a
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| tank measures 24 X 12 X 12 inches and is
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| | great insight into tropical fish as pets
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| a favorite size. Smaller tanks than these
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| | and the healthy keeping of aquariums.
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