FISH ALIVE-0!

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 998, 14 June 1930, Page 9

FISH ALIVE-0!

AUCKLANDER HAS FINE AQUARIUM SNAILS CLEAN WINDOWS Snails trained to clean windows —a Frenchman, no doubt in the lighter mood, is said to be speculating on this interesting possibility. But while Monsieur is dreaming about the scope for harnessing Nature in yet another aspect, the mollusc in the role he contemplates mav be seen at work today in the home of a resident of North Shore.

The particular work of these Auckland snails is to keep bright the glass walls of an aquarium which is the hobby of Mr. W. E. Sinclair, Stanlev Bay. When water is left standing ir any vessel an organism like a greenish moss of microscopic texture begins to form on the walls of the container Marching characteristically the snail inhabitants eat down the moss as fast as it appears, and hey presto!—clean windows.

Recognised as an authority on natural history sub-marine, Mr. Sinclair has a collection of fishes, newts and turtles which he keeps in a series of

glass tanks, discarded electric battery jars, ranged in the manner of window: boxes in the drawing and dining-rooms. At first glance the square tanks with water weed growing appear as a gallery of pictures. Visitors have puzzled over the objects from a distance and started visibly on seeing the “pictures” move.

Mr. Sinclair does things scientifically For example, so many inches of tisn go to so many gallons. Thus, one of his seven-gallon tanks can accommodate seven times two inches of fish, besides a stated number of snails for window cleaning. It pains one who understands the fine art to see a big fat goldfish labouring in a few' pints of water on a fishmonger’s stall. On occasion such a sight has so distressed Mr. Sinclair that he has bought the iisli to give it proper care. An arresting, and to the unin.dated, an almost Incredible point about the aquarium is that the water is never changed! The explanation? Simply the growing water weed, which ensures a continual replenishment of the oxygen the fish draw from the w’ater. The degree of a oration is regulated by the amount of light the plants absorb, hence the establishment of the tanks on the window ledges Two species of weed, vallisneria spiralis and elodea Canadensis, thrive in each tank, the latter kind being acquired in Sydney. Vallisneria luxuriates in Lake Pupuke. much to the annoyance of the North Shore Water Board, which spends a not inconsiderable sum periodically in clearing a weed for which Australian aquarium folk are willing to pay a shilling a root. Troubled by corrosion ot the pump pipes the engineers could not determine the cause. Mr. Sinclair pointed out that the vallisneria was to blame, its oxygen emanation attacking the metal. At certain times the weed grows so rapidly under the influence of strong sunlight that its increase can in fact be noted minute* by minute. DO NOT NEED FEEDING Most species of ornamental fish do not need feeding, deriving, as they do. sufficient from the teeming organisms which multiply from the decaying of the weed. To householders, pets are an anxiety when holiday time comes. ' An aquarium therefore seems the idea] solution. Mr. Sinclair says that he can leave his entire system for weeks ar.u return to find all alive. Few persons know how to care for fish. Those kept in bowls without growing weed require changed water practically daily. More fish aro murdered through ignorance in this respect than through any other way. Some people be ieve that a fish thrusting its open mouth above Lie surface is pleading for food, but what it needs is air, the water having staled. From old Nippon domes a large proportion of the fancy fish that inhabit the world’s aquariums. The Japanese have long been famed as breeders of remarkable specimens of gaudy hue. very much in keeping with the national Jove of colour. Freaks whose tails and fins look much more like the plumage of birds of paradise than aids to aquatics have come down from the Orient. Mr. Sinclair’s present collection includes Japanese red-bellied newts, queer things like lizards. Patrolling the gravel in the depths of their tank they appear very much like a slow motion film of greyhounds on the trail of a hare. If they simultaneously find a worm there is enacted a rough and tumble as stern as a Town Hall wrestling bout. Paradise fish are fellows whose brilliant marking is only exceeded by their prowess as gourmonds. Mr. Sinclair, who breeds mosquito larvae (but gives an assurance that he lets none escape), says that he once deposited about 80u wrigg ers in a tank containing but one paradise fish, and within an hour all had been devoured. In science this fi-sh is called viascropodes polycanthus opercularis, which name, typewritten, is exactly twice as long as its fullgrown owner! The Siamese fighting fish is bellicose, as his name suggests, and must be kept in solitary confinement. A local dealer had two jars each containing a bad-tempered hermit. Spying each other through the glass they threshed about, only desisting when cardboard was slipped between the jars. Gambusia is one of the world's curiosities, being a live bearing carp. Mr. Sinclair, who is also an authority on snakes, crocodiles, tarantula spiders and other nightmares, began his studies in his boyhood days in Australia and has lived in the Argentine. He has lectured before aquarium societies, and people used to come from far to consult him If sufficient interest exists in Auckland, Mr. Sinclair has a mind to start an aquarium society here, and hopes to see a fish section at the Auckland Zoo.