From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A freshwater aquarium with plants and tropical fish.An aquarium (plural aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Aquaria are primarily used for fishkeeping, although invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, and aquatic plants are also housed in aquaria. The term combines the Latin root aqua, meaning water, with the suffix -arium, meaning "a place for relating to".
The aquarium has a long history and maintaining an aquarium has become immensely popular worldwide; a person who owns or maintains an aquarium is known as an aquarist. Aquaria can come in a variety of materials, shapes, and sizes. They are typically constructed of glass or high-strength plastic. Cuboid aquaria are also known as fish tanks or simply tanks, while bowl-shaped aquaria are also known as fish bowls. Size can range from a small glass bowl to immense public aquaria. A number of components are used to maintain appropriate water quality and characteristics suitable for the aquarium's residents. There are many types of aquaria, classified by the organisms maintained or the type of environment that is mimicked.
History and popularization
Fishkeeping in artificial environments has existed for centuries. In the Roman Empire, the first fish to be brought indoors was the sea barbel, which was kept under guest beds in small tanks made of marble. With the introduction of glass panes around the year 50, the Romans replaced one wall of the marble tank, improving their view of the fish. In 1369, the Chinese Emperor, Hongwu, established a porcelain company that produced large porcelain tubs for maintaining goldfish; over time, these tubs were produced more and more like modern fish bowls. Leonhard Baldner, who wrote Vogel-, Fisch- und Tierbuch (Bird, Fish, and Animal Book) in 1666, maintained weather loaches and newts.
In 1836, soon after his invention of the Wardian case, Ward proposed to use his tanks for tropical animals, and in 1841 he did so, though only with aquatic plants and toy fish. However, real animals were soon housed. In 1838, Félix Dujardin noted owning a saltwater aquarium, though he did not use the term. In 1846, Anna Thynne maintained stony corals and seaweed for almost three years, and was credited as the creator of the first balanced marine aquarium in London. At about the same time, Robert Warington experimented with a 13-gallon container, which contained goldfish, eelgrass, and snails, creating one of the first stable aquaria; he published his findings in 1850 in the Chemical Society's journal.
Pike in an aquarium c. 1908, at the Detroit Aquarium, Belle Isle Park.The keeping of fish in an aquarium became a popular hobby and spread quickly. In the United Kingdom, it became popular after ornate aquaria in cast iron frames were featured at the Great Exhibition of 1851. In 1853, the first large public aquarium opened in the London Zoo and came to be known as the Fish House. Philip Henry Gosse was the first person to actually use the word "aquarium", opting for this term (instead of "vivarium") in 1854 in his book The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea. In this book, Gosse primarily discussed saltwater aquaria. In the 1850s, the aquarium became a fad in the United Kingdom.
Germans soon rivaled the British in their interest. In 1854, two articles about the saltwater aquaria of the United Kingdom were published in Die Gartenlaube (The Garden House) entitled Der Ocean auf dem Tische (The Ocean on the Table) by an anonymous author. However, in 1856, Der See im Glase (The Lake in a Glass) was published, discussing freshwater aquaria, which were much easier to maintain in landlocked areas. During the 1870s, some of the first aquarist societies were appearing in Germany. The United States soon followed. Published in 1858, Henry D. Butler's The Family Aquarium was one of the first books written in the United States solely about the aquarium. According to the July issue of The North American Review of the same year, William Stimson may have owned some of the first functional aquaria, and had as many as seven or eight. The first aquarist society in the United States was founded in New York City in 1893, followed by others. The New York Aquarium Journal, first published in October 1876, is considered to be the world's first aquarium magazine.
In the Victorian era in the United Kingdom, a common design for the home aquarium was a glass front with the other sides made of wood (made watertight with a pitch coating). The bottom would be made of slate and heated from below. More advanced systems soon began to be introduced, along with tanks of glass in metal frames. During the latter half of the 19th century, a variety of aquarium designs were explored, such as hanging the aquarium on a wall, mounting it as part of a window, or even combining it with a birdcage.
Aquaria became more widely popular as houses became almost universally electrified after World War I. With electricity great improvements were made in aquarium technology, allowing artificial lighting as well as aeration, filtration, and heating of the water. Initially, amateur aquarists kept native fish (with the exception of goldfish); the entrance of exotic species from overseas also allowed aquaria to become even more popular. Jugs made from a variety of materials were initially used to import fish from overseas, including innovations such as using a bicycle foot pump for aeration. Plastic shipping bags were introduced in the 1950s, making it easier to ship fish. The eventual availability of air freight, which allowed a much wider variety of fish, especially marine, to be successfully imported from distant regions of origin, consequently attracted new hobbyists. In the 1960s, a great breakthrough was reached. Metal frames made marine aquaria almost impossible due to corrosion, but the development of silicone sealant allowed the first all-glass aquaria. The frames remained, however, though purely for aesthetic reasons.
Aquarium keeping is now a popular hobby around the world, with about 60 million aquarists worldwide.[citation needed] In the United States, aquarium keeping is the second-most popular hobby after stamp collecting.[22] The number of fish kept in aquaria vary by country. In 1999 it was estimated that over nine million U.S. households own an aquarium. In 2005, it was estimated that 139 million freshwater fish and 9 million saltwater fish were kept in aquaria in the U.S. Similarly, estimates of the numbers of fish kept in aquaria in Germany number at least 36 million. The hobby has the strongest following in Europe, Asia, and North America. In the United States, 40 percent of aquarists maintain two or more tanks at any one time.[citation needed]
Design
Materials
Most aquaria consist of simple glass panes bonded together by silicone. Usually plastic frames are attached to the upper and lower edges for decoration. Price, availability, and reliability make the glass aquarium an industry standard for sizes up to about 1000 litres (250 gal). However, glass is brittle and has very little give before fracturing, though generally the sealant fails first. Aquaria come in a variety of shapes such as cuboid, hexagonal, angled to fit in a corner (L-shaped), bow-front (the front side curves outwards), and more. Fish bowls are generally either plastic or glass, either spherical or some other round configuration.
Acrylic aquaria are also available and are the primary competitor with glass. Acrylics are stronger than glass, and much lighter. Acrylic-soluble cements are used to directly fuse acrylic together (as opposed to simply sealing the seam).[25] Acrylic allows for the formation of unusual shapes, such as hexagonal. Compared to glass, acrylics are easy to scratch; care must be taken with organisms with shells and teeth.
Laminated glass might be used, which combines the advantages of both glass and acrylic.
Large aquaria might use stronger materials such as fiberglass-reinforced plastics. However, this material is not transparent. Reinforced concrete is used for aquaria where weight and space are not factors. Concrete must be coated with a waterproof layer to prevent the water from breaking down the concrete as well as prevent contamination from the concrete.
Styles
Aquaria can come in more creative flavors. Aquariums have been fashioned into coffee tables, sinks, and even toilets. Another such example is the Macquarium, an aquarium made from the shell of an Apple Macintosh computer.[27]
A kreisel tank is a circular aquarium designed to hold delicate animals such as jellyfish. These aquariums provide slow, circular water flow with a lack of physical objects.[28] Originally a German design (kreisel means spinning top), the tank is designed to have no sharp corners, and keeps the housed animals away from the plumbing. Water moving into the tank gives a gentle flow that keeps the inhabitants suspended, and water leaving the tank is covered by a delicate screen that prevents the inhabitants from getting stuck. There are several types of kreisel tanks. In a true kreisel, a perfectly circular tank has a circular, submerged, lid. Pseudokreisels, have a curved bottom surface and a top surface flat, similar to the shape of either a "U" or a semicircle.[29] It is possible to combine these designs; a circular shaped tank is used without a lid or cover, and the surface of the water acts as the continuation of circular flow.
Aquarium size and volume
A large aquarium at the Osaka Aquarium houses a whale shark.An aquarium can range from a small glass bowl containing less than a litre (34 fl.oz.) of water to immense public aquaria which can house entire ecosystems such as kelp forests. Larger aquaria are typically recommended to hobbyists due to their resistance to rapid fluctuations of temperature and pH, allowing for greater system stability.[26]
Aquaria kept in homes by hobbyists can be as small as 11 litres (3 gal); this size is widely considered the smallest practical system with filtration and other basic systems.[citation needed] On the other hand, reef aquaria under 100 litres (20 gal) earn a special place in the aquarium hobby; these aquaria, termed nano reefs, are known to be more difficult due to their small water volume.[citation needed] Practical limitations, most notably the weight (One litre of fresh water has a mass of 1 kilogram (8.3 lb gal-1), and salt water is even denser) and internal water pressure (requiring thick, strong glass siding) of a large aquarium, keep most home aquaria to a maximum of around 1 cubic metre in volume (1,000 kg or 2,200 lb). Indeed, larger aquariums can even threaten the floor beneath the aquarium.[26] Some dedicated aquarists, however, have been known to construct custom aquaria of up to many thousands of litres, at great effort and expense.[30][31]
Aquaria within public aquariums designed for exhibition of large species or environments can be dramatically larger than any home aquarium. The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, for example, features an individual aquarium of 7.7 million litres (2 million gallons).
Components
Filtration system in a typical aquarium: (1)Intake.(2) Mechanical filtration.(3) Chemical filtration. Biological filtration medium. Outflow to tank.The typical hobbyist aquarium includes a filtration system, an artificial lighting system, and a heater or chiller depending on the inhabitants of the aquarium. Many aquaria incorporate a hood, which prevents evaporation and protects fish from leaving the aquarium (or anything else from entering the aquarium). They also often hold lights. Hoods can be opened and closed easily for access into the aquarium.
Combined biological and mechanical aquarium filtration systems are commonly used; these are designed to either convert ammonia to nitrate or remove it or sometimes remove phosphate from water, removing them being at the expense of aquatic plants. Particulates incorporated into the filter can provide energy for microbes and sponges that do these things. Filtration systems are often the most complex component of home aquaria, and various designs and combinations are used.
Aquarium heaters combine a heating element with a thermostat, allowing an aquarist to regulate water temperature at a level above that of the surrounding air, whereas coolers and chillers (refrigeration devices) are for use in cold water aquaria, or anywhere the ambient room temperature is above the desired tank temperature. A variety of different thermometers are used, such as the glass alcohol thermometers, adhesive external plastic strip thermometers, and even battery-powered LCD thermometers. In addition, some aquarists use air pumps attached to airstones or water pumps to increase water circulation and supply adequate gas exchange at the water surface. Wave-making devices have also been constructed to provide wave action.
An aquarium's physical characteristics form another aspect of aquarium design. Size, lighting conditions, density of floating and rooted plants, placement of bogwood, creation of caves or overhangs, type of substrate, and other factors (including an aquarium's positioning within a room) can all affect the behavior and survival of tank inhabitants. The combined function of these elements is to maintain appropriate water quality and characteristics suitable for the aquarium's residents.
An aquarium is often also placed on a specially-made aquarium stand. Because of the weight of an aquarium, they must be strong as well as level. A tank that is not level may distort, leak, or crack.[26] These are often built like cabinets to allow storage, available in many styles so it can match room decor. Simple metal tank stands are also available.[26] Some sources say that polystyrene should be placed under the aquarium as a safety precaution.[26]
Aquarium maintenance
A 335,000 U.S. gallon (1.3 million litre) aquarium at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California displaying a simulated kelp forest ecosystemIdeal aquarium ecology reproduces the balance found in nature in the closed system of an aquarium. In practice it is virtually impossible to maintain a perfect balance. As an example, a balanced predator-prey relationship is nearly impossible to maintain in even the largest of aquaria. Typically an aquarium keeper must take steps to maintain balance in the small ecosystem contained in his aquarium.
Approximate balance is facilitated by large volumes of water. Any event that perturbs the system pushes an aquarium away from equilibrium; the more water that is contained in a tank, the easier such a systemic shock is to absorb, as the effects of that event are diluted. For example, the death of the only fish in a three U.S. gallon tank (11 L) causes dramatic changes in the system, while the death of that same fish in a 100 U.S. gallon (400 L) tank with many other fish in it represents only a minor change in the balance of the tank. For this reason, hobbyists often favor larger tanks when possible, as they are more stable systems requiring less intensive attention to the maintenance of equilibrium.
There are a variety of nutrient cycles that are important in the aquarium. Dissolved oxygen enters the system at the surface water-air interface or through the actions of an air pump. Carbon dioxide escapes the system into the air. The phosphate cycle is an important, although often overlooked, nutrient cycle. Sulfur, iron, and micronutrients also cycle through the system, entering as food and exiting as waste. Appropriate handling of the nitrogen cycle, along with supplying an adequately balanced food supply and considered biological loading, is usually enough to keep these other nutrient cycles in approximate equilibrium.
Water conditions
The solute content of water is perhaps the most important aspect of water conditions, as total dissolved solids and other constituents can dramatically impact basic water chemistry, and therefore how organisms are able to interact with their environment. Salt content, or salinity, is the most basic classification of water conditions. An aquarium may have fresh water (salinity below 0.5 PPT), simulating a lake or river environment; brackish water (a salt level of 0.5 to 30 PPT), simulating environments lying between fresh and salt, such as estuaries; and salt water or sea water (a salt level of 30 to 40 PPT), simulating an ocean or sea environment. Rarely, even higher salt concentrations are maintained in specialized tanks for raising brine organisms.
Several other water characteristics result from dissolved contents of the water, and are important to the proper simulation of natural environments. Saltwater is typically alkaline, while the pH (alkalinity or acidicity) of fresh water varies more. Hardness measures overall dissolved mineral content; hard or soft water may be preferred. Hard water is usually alkaline, while soft water is usually neutral to acidic.[33] Dissolved organic content and dissolved gases content are also important factors.
An average home 10 gallon tropical Freshwater Aquarium.Home aquarists typically use modified tap water supplied through their local water supply network to fill their tanks. Because of the chlorine used to disinfect drinking water supplies for human consumption, straight tap water cannot be used. In the past, it was possible to "condition" the water by simply letting the water stand for a day or two, which allows the chlorine time to dissipate.[33] However, chloramine is now used more often as it is much stabler and will not leave the water as readily. Additives formulated to remove chlorine or chloramine are often all that is needed to make the water ready for aquarium use. Brackish or saltwater aquaria require the addition of a mixture of salts and other minerals, which are commercially available for this purpose.
More sophisticated aquarists may make other modifications to their base water source to modify the water's alkalinity, hardness, or dissolved content of organics and gases, before adding it to their aquaria. This can be accomplished by a range of different additives, such as sodium bicarbonate to raise pH.[33] Some aquarists will even filter or purify their water prior to adding it to their aquarium. There are two processes used for that: deionization or reverse osmosis. In contrast, public aquaria with large water needs often locate themselves near a natural water source (such as a river, lake, or ocean) in order to have easy access to a large volume of water that does not require much further treatment.
The temperature of the water forms the basis of one of the two most basic aquarium classifications: tropical vs. cold water. Most fish and plant species tolerate only a limited range of water temperatures: Tropical or warm water aquaria, with an average temperature of about 25 °C (77 °F), are much more common, and tropical fish are among the most popular aquarium denizens. Cold water aquaria are those with temperatures below what would be considered tropical; a variety of fish are better suited to this cooler environment. More importantly than the temperature range itself is the consistency in temperature; most organisms are not accustomed to sudden changes in temperatures, which could cause shock and lead to disease.[33] Water temperature can be regulated with a combined thermometer and heater unit (or, more rarely, with a cooling unit).
Water movement can also be important in accurately simulating a natural ecosystem. Aquarists may prefer anything from still water up to swift simulated currents in an aquarium, depending on the conditions best suited for the aquarium's inhabitants. Water movement can be controlled through the use of aeration from air pumps, powerheads, and careful design of internal water flow (such as location of filtration system points of inflow and outflow).
Nitrogen cycle
The nitrogen cycle in an aquarium.Main article: Nitrogen cycle
Of primary concern to the aquarist is management of the biological waste produced by an aquarium's inhabitants. Fish, invertebrates, fungi, and some bacteria excrete nitrogen waste in the form of ammonia (which will convert to ammonium, in acidic water) and must then pass through the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia is also produced through the decomposition of plant and animal matter, including fecal matter and other detritus. Nitrogen waste products become toxic to fish and other aquarium inhabitants at high concentrations.[33]
The process
A well-balanced tank contains organisms that are able to metabolize the waste products of other aquarium residents. The nitrogen waste produced in a tank is metabolized in aquaria by a type of bacteria known as nitrifiers (genus Nitrosomonas). Nitrifying bacteria capture ammonia from the water and metabolize it to produce nitrite. Nitrite is also highly toxic to fish in high concentrations. Another type of bacteria, genus Nitrospira, converts nitrite into nitrate, a less toxic substance to aquarium inhabitants. (Nitrobacter bacteria were previously believed to fill this role, and continue to be found in commercially available products sold as kits to "jump start" the nitrogen cycle in an aquarium. While biologically they could theoretically fill the same niche as Nitrospira, it has recently been found that Nitrobacter are not present in detectable levels in established aquaria, while Nitrospira are plentiful.) This process is known in the aquarium hobby as the nitrogen cycle.
In addition to bacteria, aquatic plants also eliminate nitrogen waste by metabolizing ammonia and nitrate. When plants metabolize nitrogen compounds, they remove nitrogen from the water by using it to build biomass. However, this is only temporary, as the plants release nitrogen back into the water when older leaves die off and decompose.
Maintaining the nitrogen cycle
Although informally called the nitrogen cycle by hobbyists, it is in fact only a portion of a true cycle: nitrogen must be added to the system (usually through food provided to the tank inhabitants), and nitrates accumulate in the water at the end of the process, or become bound in the biomass of plants. This accumulation of nitrates in home aquaria requires the aquarium keeper to remove water that is high in nitrates, or remove plants which have grown from the nitrates.
Aquaria kept by hobbyists often do not have the requisite populations of bacteria needed to detoxify nitrogen waste from tank inhabitants. This problem is most often addressed through two filtration solutions: Activated carbon filters absorb nitrogen compounds and other toxins from the water, while biological filters provide a medium specially designed for colonization by the desired nitrifying bacteria. Activated carbon and other substances, such as ammonia absorbing resines, will stop working when their pores get full, so these components have to be replaced with fresh stocks constantly.
New aquaria often have problems associated with the nitrogen cycle due to insufficient number of beneficial bacteria, known as the "New Tank Syndrome". Therefore new tanks have to be "matured" before stocking them with fish. There are three basic approaches to this: the fishless cycle the silent cycle and slow growth.
No fish are kept in a tank undergoing a fishless cycle. Instead, small amounts of ammonia are added to the tank to feed the bacteria being cultured. During this process, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are tested to monitor progress. The silent cycle is basically nothing more than densely stocking the aquarium with fast-growing aquatic plants and relying on them to consume the nitrogen, allowing the necessary bacterial populations time to develop. According to anecdotal reports of aquarists specializing in planted tanks, the plants can consume nitrogenous waste so efficiently that the spikes in ammonia and nitrite levels normally seen in more traditional cycling methods are greatly reduced, if they are detectable at all. More commonly slow growth entails slowly increasing the population of fish over a period of 6 to 8 weeks, giving bacteria colonies time to grow and stabilize with the increase in fish waste.
The largest bacterial populations are found in the filter; efficient filtration is vital. Sometimes, a vigorous cleaning of the filter is enough to seriously disturb the biological balance of an aquarium. Therefore, it is recommended to rinse mechanical filters in an outside bucket of aquarium water to dislodge organic materials that contribute to nitrate problems, while preserving bacteria populations. Another safe practice consists of cleaning only one half of the filter media every time the filter or filters are serviced.
Biological loading
19 Litre AquariumBiological loading is a measure of the burden placed on the aquarium ecosystem by its living inhabitants. High biological loading in an aquarium represents a more complicated tank ecology, which in turn means that equilibrium is easier to perturb. In addition, there are several fundamental constraints on biological loading based on the size of an aquarium. The surface area of water exposed to air limits dissolved oxygen intake by the tank. The capacity of nitrifying bacteria is limited by the physical space they have available to colonize. Physically, only a limited size and number of plants and animals can be fit into an aquarium while still providing room for movement.
Calculating aquarium capacity
An aquarium can only support a certain number of fish. Limiting factors include the availability of oxygen in the water and the rate at which the filter can process waste. Aquarists have developed a number of rules of thumb to allow them to estimate the number of fishes that can be kept in a given aquarium; the examples below are for small freshwater fish, larger freshwater fishes and most marine fishes need much more generous allowances.
3 cm of fish length per 4 litres of water (i.e., a 6 cm-long fish would need about 8 litres of water).
1 cm of fish length per 30 square centimetres of surface area.
1 inch of fish length per gallon of water.
1 inch of fish length per 12 square inches of surface area.
Experienced aquarists warn against applying these rules too strictly because they do not consider other important issues such as growth rate, activity level, social behaviour, and so on. To some degree, establishing the maximum loading capacity of an aquarium depends upon slowly adding fish and monitoring water quality over time, essentially a trial and error approach.
Factors affecting capacity
Though many conventional methods of calculating the capacity of aquarium is based on volume and pure length of fish, there are other variables. One variable is differences between fish. Smaller fish consume more oxygen per gram of body weight than larger fish. Labyrinth fish, having the capability to breathe atmospheric oxygen, are noted for not needing as much surface area (however, some of these fish are territorial, and may not appreciate crowding). Barbs also require more surface area than tetras of comparable size.
Oxygen exchange at the surface is an important constraint, and thus the surface area of the aquarium. Some aquarists go so far as to say that a deeper aquarium with more volume holds no more fish than a shallower aquarium of the same surface area. The capacity can be improved by surface movement and water circulation such as through aeration, which not only improves oxygen exchange, but also the decomposition of waste materials.
The presence of waste materials presents itself as a variable as well. Decomposition is an oxygen-consuming process, therefore the more decaying matter there is, the less oxygen as well. Oxygen dissolves less readily in warmer water; this is a double-edged sword as warmer temperatures make more active fish, which in turn consume even more oxygen. Stress due to temperature changes is especially obvious in coldwater aquaria where the temperature may swing from low temperatures to high temperatures on hotter days.
Aquarium classifications
A planted freshwater aquarium.From the outdoor ponds and glass jars of antiquity, modern aquaria have evolved into a wide range of specialized systems. Individual aquaria can vary in size from a small bowl large enough for a single small fish, to the huge public aquaria that can simulate entire marine ecosystems. A variety of different aquarium types exist; for the most part, many of these classifications are based on the environment the aquarium intends to mimic.
One of the most basic ways to classify aquaria is their salinity. Freshwater aquaria are the most popular kind of aquarium due to their lower cost and ease of maintenance. Marine aquaria are generally require more complex equipment to set up and maintain than freshwater aquaria. Along with fish species, marine aquaria frequently feature a diverse range of invertebrates. Brackish water aquaria combine elements of both marine and freshwater fishkeeping. Fish kept in brackish water aquaria generally come from habitats with varying salinity, such as mangroves and estuaries. Certain subtypes of aquaria also exist within these types, such as the reef aquarium, a type of marine aquarium that houses coral.
Another method to classify aquaria is their temperature range. Most aquarists maintain a tropical aquarium as these fish tend to be more colorful. However, the coldwater aquarium is also popular, which often includes fish such as goldfish.
A saltwater aquarium.Aquaria may be grouped by their species selection. The community tank is the most common type of aquarium kept today, where several non-aggressive species are housed peacefully together. Aggressive tanks, in contrast, house a limited number of species that can be aggressive toward other fish, or are able to withstand aggression well. Species or specimen tanks usually only house one fish species, along with plants, perhaps found in the fishes' natural environment and decorations simulating a true ecosystem. This type is useful for fish that simply cannot be housed safely with other fish, such as the electric eel, as an extreme example. Some tanks of this sort are used simply to house adults for breeding. In these aquaria, the aquarium fish, invertebrates, and plants may or may not originate from the same geographic region, but generally tolerate similar water conditions.
Ecotype, ecotope, or biotope aquaria is another type based on species selection. In it, an aquarist attempts to simulate a specific ecosystem found in the natural world, bringing together fish, invertebrate species, and plants found only in that ecosystem in a tank with water conditions and decorations designed to simulate their natural environment. These ecotype aquaria might be considered the most sophisticated hobby aquaria; indeed, reputable public aquaria all use this approach in their exhibits whenever possible. This approach best simulates the experience of observing an aquarium's inhabitants in the wild, and also usually serves as the healthiest possible artificial environment for the tank's occupants.
Public aquaria
One of the large aquaria at the Georgia Aquarium, USA.Main article: Public aquarium
Public aquariums are facilities open to the public for viewing of aquatic species in aquaria. Most public aquariums feature a number of smaller aquaria, as well those greater in size than could be kept by home aquarists. The largest tanks hold millions of U.S. gallons of water and can house large species, including sharks or beluga whales. Dolphinariums are aquaria specifically for housing dolphins. Aquatic and semiaquatic animals, including otters and penguins, may also be kept by public aquariums. Public aquariums may also be included in larger establishments such as a marine mammal park or a marine park.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Aquascaping
Aquascaping is an art form enjoyed by aquarium enthusiasts around the world. It entails arranging aquatic plants in an aesthetically pleasing manner within an aquarium.
Quite possibly the most influential aquarist is Takashi Amano, who introduced the Japanese style of aquarium design to the world and sparked a wave of interest in aquarium gardening with his three-volume series Nature Aquarium World. Takashi Amano's compositions draw on Japanese gardening techniques that attempt to mimic nature by way of the asymmetrical arrangement of constituent elements. Another popular style is the "Dutch tank", which consists of a more orderly, and hence, more unnatural style.
Aquascaping also commonly refers to the arrangement of rocks and cavework within the tank. This often occurs specifically in regard to marine fish and cichlids.
Although an aquascaping artist's primary aim is to artfully create an underwater landscape, he or she is also necessarily concerned with the technical aspects of aquatic plant maintenance. Filtration, carbon dioxide supply, fertilisation, lighting and alga control are among the many factors that must be balanced in the closed system of an aquarium tank to ensure the success of an aquascape.
There are many organizations and groups in existence that support the aquascaping community. One such group, based in the U.S., is the Aquatic Gardener's Association, which holds an annual aquascaping competition that draws entries from all over the world.
Quite possibly the most influential aquarist is Takashi Amano, who introduced the Japanese style of aquarium design to the world and sparked a wave of interest in aquarium gardening with his three-volume series Nature Aquarium World. Takashi Amano's compositions draw on Japanese gardening techniques that attempt to mimic nature by way of the asymmetrical arrangement of constituent elements. Another popular style is the "Dutch tank", which consists of a more orderly, and hence, more unnatural style.
Aquascaping also commonly refers to the arrangement of rocks and cavework within the tank. This often occurs specifically in regard to marine fish and cichlids.
Although an aquascaping artist's primary aim is to artfully create an underwater landscape, he or she is also necessarily concerned with the technical aspects of aquatic plant maintenance. Filtration, carbon dioxide supply, fertilisation, lighting and alga control are among the many factors that must be balanced in the closed system of an aquarium tank to ensure the success of an aquascape.
There are many organizations and groups in existence that support the aquascaping community. One such group, based in the U.S., is the Aquatic Gardener's Association, which holds an annual aquascaping competition that draws entries from all over the world.
Fishkeeping
Fishkeeping is a popular hobby concerned with keeping fish in the home aquarium or garden pond
Types of fishkeeping
The hobby can be broadly divided into three specific disciplines, freshwater, brackish, and marine (also called saltwater) fishkeeping.
Freshwater fishkeeping is by far the most popular branch of the hobby, with even small pet stores often selling a variety of freshwater fish, such as goldfish, guppies, and angelfish. While most freshwater aquaria are set up as community tanks containing a variety of peaceful species, many aquarists keep single-species aquaria with a view to breeding. Livebearing fish such as mollies and guppies are among the species that are most easily raised in captivity, but aquarists also regularly breed numerous other species, including many types of cichlid, catfish, characin, and killifish.
Marine aquaria are generally more difficult to maintain and the livestock is significantly more expensive, and as a result this branch of the hobby tends to attract more experienced fishkeepers. However, marine aquaria can be exceedingly beautiful, due to the attractive colours and shapes of the corals and coral reef fish kept in them. Temperate zone marine fish are not as commonly kept in home aquaria, primarily because they do not do well at room temperature. An aquarium containing these coldwater species usually needs to be either located in a cool room (such as an unheated basement) or else chilled using a refrigeration device known as a 'chiller'.
Brackish water aquaria combine elements of both marine and freshwater fishkeeping, reflecting the fact that these aquaria contain water with a salinity in between that of freshwater and seawater. Fish kept in brackish water aquaria come from habitats with varying salinity, such as mangroves and estuaries and do not do well if permanently kept in freshwater aquaria. Although brackish water aquaria are not overly familiar to newcomers to the hobby, a surprising number of species prefer brackish water conditions, including the mollies, many gobies, some pufferfish, monos, scats, and virtually all the freshwater soles.
Fishkeepers are often known as aquarists, since many of them are not solely interested in keeping fish. Many fishkeepers create freshwater aquaria where the focus is on the aquatic plants rather than on the fish. This is known as the 'Dutch Aquarium' in some circles, in reference to the pioneering work carried out by European aquarists in designing these sorts of aquaria. In recent years, one of the most active advocates of the heavily planted aquarium is the Japanese aquarist Takashi Amano. Marine aquarists often attempt to recreate the coral reef in their aquaria using large quantities of living rock, porous calcareous rocks encrusted with algae, sponges, worms, and other small marine organisms. Larger corals as well as shrimps, crabs, echinoderms, and mollusks are added later on, once the aquarium has matured, as well as a variety of small fish. Such aquaria are sometimes called 'reef tanks'.
Garden ponds are in some ways similar to freshwater aquaria, but are usually much larger and exposed to the ambient climatic conditions. In the tropics, tropical fish can be kept in garden ponds, but in the cooler regions temperate zone species such as goldfish, koi, and orfe are kept instead.
The origins of fishkeeping
Koi have been kept in decorative ponds for centuries in China and Japan.The keeping of fish in confined or artificial environments is a practice with deep roots in history.
Fish have been raised as food in pools and ponds for thousands of years. In Medieval Europe, carp pools were a standard feature of estates and monasteries, providing an alternative to meat on feast days when meat could not be eaten for religious reasons. Similarly, throughout Asia there is a long history of stocking rice paddies with freshwater fish suitable for eating, including various types of catfish and cyprinid. Ancient Sumerians were known to keep wild-caught fish in ponds, before preparing them for meals. Particularly brightly coloured or tame specimens of fish in these pools have sometimes been valued as pets rather than food, and some of these have given rise to completely domesticated varieties, most notably the goldfish and the koi carp, which have their origins in China and Japan respectively. Selective breeding of carp into today's popular koi and goldfish is believed to have begun over 2,000 years ago. Depictions of the sacred fish of Oxyrhynchus kept in captivity in rectangular temple pools have been found in ancient Egyptian art. Many other cultures also have a history of keeping fish for both functional and decorative purposes. The Chinese brought goldfish indoors during the Song dynasty to enjoy them in large ceramic vessels.
Marine fish have been similarly valued for centuries, and many wealthy Romans kept lampreys and other fish in salt water pools. Cicero reports that the advocate Quintus Hortensius wept when a favoured specimen died, while Tertullian reports that Asinius Celer paid 8000 sesterces for a particularly fine mullet.[1] Cicero, rather cynically, referred to these ancient fishkeepers as the Piscinarii, the "fish-pond owners" or "fish breeders", for example when saying that ...the rich (I mean your friends the fish-breeders) did not disguise their jealousy of me.[2][3][4]
Aquarium maintenance
A 335,000 U.S. gallon (1.3 million litre) aquarium at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California displaying a simulated kelp forest ecosystemIdeal aquarium ecology reproduces the balance found in nature in the closed system of an aquarium. In practice it is virtually impossible to maintain a perfect balance. As an example, a balanced predator-prey relationship is nearly impossible to maintain in even the largest of aquaria. Typically an aquarium keeper must take steps to maintain balance in the small ecosystem contained in his aquarium.
Approximate balance is facilitated by large volumes of water. Any event that perturbs the system pushes an aquarium away from equilibrium; the more water that is contained in a tank, the easier such a systemic shock is to absorb, as the effects of that event are diluted. For example, the death of the only fish in a three U.S. gallon tank (11 L) causes dramatic changes in the system, while the death of that same fish in a 100 U.S. gallon (400 L) tank with many other fish in it represents only a minor change in the balance of the tank. For this reason, hobbyists often favor larger tanks when possible, as they are more stable systems requiring less intensive attention to the maintenance of equilibrium.
There are a variety of nutrient cycles that are important in the aquarium. Dissolved oxygen enters the system at the surface water-air interface or through the actions of an air pump. Carbon dioxide escapes the system into the air. The phosphate cycle is an important, although often overlooked, nutrient cycle. Sulfur, iron, and micronutrients also cycle through the system, entering as food and exiting as waste. Appropriate handling of the nitrogen cycle, along with supplying an adequately balanced food supply and considered biological loading, is usually enough to keep these other nutrient cycles in approximate equilibrium.
Water conditions
The solute content of water is perhaps the most important aspect of water conditions, as total dissolved solids and other constituents can dramatically impact basic water chemistry, and therefore how organisms are able to interact with their environment. Salt content, or salinity, is the most basic classification of water conditions. An aquarium may have fresh water (salinity below 0.5 PPT), simulating a lake or river environment; brackish water (a salt level of 0.5 to 30 PPT), simulating environments lying between fresh and salt, such as estuaries; and salt water or sea water (a salt level of 30 to 40 PPT), simulating an ocean or sea environment. Rarely, even higher salt concentrations are maintained in specialized tanks for raising brine organisms.
Several other water characteristics result from dissolved contents of the water, and are important to the proper simulation of natural environments. The pH of the water is a measure of the degree to which it is alkaline or acidic. Saltwater is typically alkaline, while the pH of fresh water varies more. Hardness measures overall dissolved mineral content; hard or soft water may be preferred. Hard water is usually alkaline, while soft water is usually neutral to acidic.[5] Dissolved organic content and dissolved gases content are also important factors.
Home aquarists typically use modified tap water supplied through their local water supply network to fill their tanks. Because of the chlorine used to disinfect drinking water supplies for human consumption, straight tap water cannot be used. In the past, it was possible to "condition" the water by simply letting the water stand for a day or two, which allows the chlorine time to dissipate.[5] However, chloramine is now used more often as it is much stabler and will not leave the water as readily. Additives formulated to remove chlorine or chloramine are often all that is needed to make the water ready for aquarium use. Brackish or saltwater aquaria require the addition of a mixture of salts and other minerals, which are commercially available for this purpose.
More sophisticated aquarists may make other modifications to their base water source to modify the water's alkalinity, hardness, or dissolved content of organics and gases, before adding it to their aquaria. This can be accomplished by a range of different additives, such as sodium bicarbonate to raise pH.[5] Some aquarists will even filter or purify their water prior to adding it to their aquarium. There are two processes used for that: deionization or reverse osmosis. In contrast, public aquaria with large water needs often locate themselves near a natural water source (such as a river, lake, or ocean) in order to have easy access to a large volume of water that does not require much further treatment.
The temperature of the water forms the basis of one of the two most basic aquarium classifications: tropical vs. cold water. Most fish and plant species tolerate only a limited range of water temperatures: Tropical or warm water aquaria, with an average temperature of about 25 °C (77 °F), are much more common, and tropical fish are among the most popular aquarium denizens. Cold water aquaria are those with temperatures below what would be considered tropical; a variety of fish are better suited to this cooler environment. More importantly than the temperature range itself is the consistency in temperature; most organisms are not accustomed to sudden changes in temperatures, which could cause shock and lead to disease.[5] Water temperature can be regulated with a combined thermometer and heater unit (or, more rarely, with a cooling unit).
Water movement can also be important in accurately simulating a natural ecosystem. Aquarists may prefer anything from still water up to swift simulated currents in an aquarium, depending on the conditions best suited for the aquarium's inhabitants. Water movement can be controlled through the use of aeration from air pumps, powerheads, and careful design of internal water flow (such as location of filtration system points of inflow and outflow).
Nitrogen cycle
The nitrogen cycle in an aquarium.Of primary concern to the aquarist is management of the biological waste produced by an aquarium's inhabitants. Fish, invertebrates, fungi, and some bacteria excrete nitrogen waste in the form of ammonia (which will convert to ammonium, in acidic water) and must then pass through the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia is also produced through the decomposition of plant and animal matter, including fecal matter and other detritus. Nitrogen waste products become toxic to fish and other aquarium inhabitants at high concentrations.[5]
The process
A well-balanced tank contains organisms that are able to metabolize the waste products of other aquarium residents. The nitrogen waste produced in a tank is metabolized in aquaria by a type of bacteria known as nitrifiers (genus Nitrosomonas). Nitrifying bacteria capture ammonia from the water and metabolize it to produce nitrite. Nitrite is also highly toxic to fish in high concentrations. Another type of bacteria, genus Nitrospira, converts nitrite into nitrate, a less toxic substance to aquarium inhabitants. (Nitrobacter bacteria were previously believed to fill this role, and continue to be found in commercially available products sold as kits to "jump start" the nitrogen cycle in an aquarium. While biologically they could theoretically fill the same niche as Nitrospira, it has recently been found that Nitrobacter are not present in detectable levels in established aquaria, while Nitrospira are plentiful.) This process is known in the aquarium hobby as the nitrogen cycle.
In addition to bacteria, aquatic plants also eliminate nitrogen waste by metabolizing ammonia and nitrate. When plants metabolize nitrogen compounds, they remove nitrogen from the water by using it to build biomass. However, this is only temporary, as the plants release nitrogen back into the water when older leaves die off and decompose.
Maintaining the Nitrogen cycle
Although informally called the nitrogen cycle by hobbyists, it is in fact only a portion of a true cycle: nitrogen must be added to the system (usually through food provided to the tank inhabitants), and nitrates accumulate in the water at the end of the process, or become bound in the biomass of plants. This accumulation of nitrates in home aquaria requires the aquarium keeper to remove water that is high in nitrates, or remove plants which have grown from the nitrates.
Aquaria kept by hobbyists often do not have the requisite populations of bacteria needed to detoxify nitrogen waste from tank inhabitants. This problem is most often addressed through two filtration solutions: Activated carbon filters absorb nitrogen compounds and other toxins from the water, while biological filters provide a medium specially designed for colonization by the desired nitrifying bacteria. Activated carbon and other substances, such as ammonia absorbing resines, will stop working when their pores get full, so these components have to be replaced with fresh stocks constantly.
New aquaria often have problems associated with the nitrogen cycle due to insufficient number of beneficial bacteria, known as the "New Tank Syndrome". Therefore new tanks have to be "matured" before stocking them with fish. There are three basic approaches to this: the fishless cycle the silent cycle and slow growth.
No fish are kept in a tank undergoing a fishless cycle. Instead, small amounts of ammonia are added to the tank to feed the bacteria being cultured. During this process, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are tested to monitor progress. The silent cycle is basically nothing more than densely stocking the aquarium with fast-growing aquatic plants and relying on them to consume the nitrogen, allowing the necessary bacterial populations time to develop. According to anecdotal reports of aquarists specializing in planted tanks, the plants can consume nitrogenous waste so efficiently that the spikes in ammonia and nitrite levels normally seen in more traditional cycling methods are greatly reduced, if they are detectable at all. More commonly slow growth entails slowly increasing the population of fish over a period of 6 to 8 weeks, giving bacteria colonies time to grow and stabilize with the increase in fish waste.
The largest bacterial populations are found in the filter; efficient filtration is vital. Sometimes, a vigorous cleaning of the filter is enough to seriously disturb the biological balance of an aquarium. Therefore, it is recommended to rinse mechanical filters in an outside bucket of aquarium water to dislodge organic materials that contribute to nitrate problems, while preserving bacteria populations. Another safe practice consists of cleaning only one half of the filter media every time the filter or filters are serviced.
Biological loading
19 Litre Aquarium, seems to be overcrowdedBiological loading is a measure of the burden placed on the aquarium ecosystem by its living inhabitants. High biological loading in an aquarium represents a more complicated tank ecology, which in turn means that equilibrium is easier to perturb. In addition, there are several fundamental constraints on biological loading based on the size of an aquarium. The surface area of water exposed to air limits dissolved oxygen intake by the tank. The capacity of nitrifying bacteria is limited by the physical space they have available to colonize. Physically, only a limited size and number of plants and animals can be fit into an aquarium while still providing room for movement.
Calculating aquarium capacity
An aquarium can only support a certain number of fish. Limiting factors include the availability of oxygen in the water and the rate at which the filter can process waste. Aquarists have developed a number of rules of thumb to allow them to estimate the number of fishes that can be kept in a given aquarium; the examples below are for small freshwater fish, larger freshwater fishes and most marine fishes need much more generous allowances.
3 cm of fish length per 4 litres of water (i.e., a 6 cm-long fish would need about 8 litres of water).[6]
1 cm of fish length per 30 square centimetres of surface area.
1 inch of fish length per gallon of water.
1 inch of fish length per 12 square inches of surface area.
Experienced aquarists warn against applying these rules too strictly because they do not consider other important issues such as growth rate, activity level, social behaviour, and so on. To some degree, establishing the maximum loading capacity of an aquarium depends upon slowly adding fish and monitoring water quality over time, essentially a trial and error approach.
Factors affecting capacity
Though many conventional methods of calculating the capacity of aquarium is based on volume and pure length of fish, there are other variables. One variable is differences between fish. Smaller fish consume more oxygen per gram of body weight than larger fish. Labyrinth fish, having the capability to breathe atmospheric oxygen, are noted for not needing as much surface area (however, some of these fish are territorial, and may not appreciate crowding). Barbs also require more surface area than tetras of comparable size.
Oxygen exchange at the surface is an important constraint, and thus the surface area of the aquarium. Some aquarists go so far as to say that a deeper aquarium with more volume holds no more fish than a shallower aquarium of the same surface area. The capacity can be improved by surface movement and water circulation such as through aeration, which not only improves oxygen exchange, but also the decomposition of waste materials.
The presence of waste materials presents itself as a variable as well. Decomposition is an oxygen-consuming process, therefore the more decaying matter there is, the less oxygen as well. Oxygen dissolves less readily in warmer water; this is a double-edged sword as warmer temperatures make more active fish, which in turn consume even more oxygen. Stress due to temperature changes is especially obvious in coldwater aquaria where the temperature may swing from low temperatures to high temperatures on hotter days.
Fishkeeping industry
Worldwide, the fishkeeping hobby is a multi-million dollar industry, and the United States is considered the largest market in the world, followed by Europe and Japan. In 1994, 56% of U.S. households had pets, and 10.6% owned ornamental freshwater or saltwater fish, with an average of 8.8 fish per household. In 1993, the retail value of the fish hobby in the United States was $910 million.
From 1989 to 1992, almost 79% of all U.S. ornamental fish imports arrived from Southeast Asia and Japan. Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Indonesia were the top five exporting nations. South America was the second largest exporting region, accounting for 14% of the total annual value. Colombia, Brazil, and Peru were the major suppliers. The remaining 7% of ornamental fish imports came from other regions of the world.
Approximately 201 million fish worth $44.7 million were imported into the United States in 1992. These fish comprised 1,539 different species; 730 freshwater species, and 809 saltwater species. The freshwater fish accounted for approximately 96% of the total volume and 80% of the total import value. Of the total of all trade, only 32 species had import values over $10,000. These top species were all of freshwater origin and accounted for 58% of the total imported value of the fish. The top imported species are the guppy, neon tetra, platy, betta, Chinese algae eater, and goldfish.
Several large companies are focused primarily or extensively on supplying the fishkeeping hobby, producing products such as fish food, medicine, and aquarium hardware. Among the largest of these are Eheim, Tetra, Sera, all based in Germany; Hikari, a Japanese company; Fluval, part of the Canadian Rolf C. Hagen group; Interpet, a British company that also owns the Red Sea brand; and the American company Aquarian, owned by Mars, Incorporated but usually trading under the Waltham pet foods brand.
Historically, fish and plants for the first modern aquaria were gathered from the wild and transported (usually by ship) to European and American ports. During the early 20th century many species of small colorful tropical fish were caught and exported from Manaus, Brazil; Bangkok, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia; the Netherlands Antilles; Kolkata, India; and other tropical ports. Collection of fish, plants, and invertebrates from the wild for supply to the aquarium trade continues today at locations around the world. In many developing countries, local villagers collect specimens for the aquarium trade as their prime means of income. It remains an important source for many species that have not been successfully bred in captivity, and continues to introduce new species to enthusiastic aquarists.
Fish breeding
A Discus (Symphysodon spp.) guarding its eggs.Fish breeding is a challenge that many aquarists find attractive. While some species reproduce freely in community tanks, most require special conditions, known as spawning triggers before they will breed. The majority of fish lay eggs, known as spawning, and the juvenile fish that emerge are very small and need tiny live foods or their substitutes to survive. A fair number of popular aquarium fish are livebearers, and these fish produce a small number of relatively large offspring, and these will usually take ground flake food straight away (see article on live-bearing aquarium fish).
Animal welfare
At its best, a properly maintained aquarium allows the fish to socialise with their own kind and in many cases breed successfully. This is in marked contrast to the conditions enjoyed by larger animals like cats and dogs, which are often kept alone and neutered in an environment different from that they would experience in the wild. However, in many cases fish are maintained in the wrong conditions and therefore live short lives and never breed. Inexperienced aquarists often attempt to keep too many fish in their tanks, or introduce too many fish into an immature aquarium, with the result that large numbers of fish sicken and die. This has given the hobby a bad reputation among some animal welfare groups, such as PETA, for treating aquarium fish as nothing more than cheap toys that are simply replaced when they die.
Goldfish and bettas in particular have often been kept in cramped bowls or aquaria that are really far too small for their needs.[10] In some cases fish have been installed in all sorts of inappropriate objects such as the AquaBabies Micro Aquaria, Bubble Gear Bubble Bag and Betta in a Vase, all of which contain live fish housed in unfiltered and entirely too small quantities of water.[11][12] The Betta in a Vase is sometimes marketed as a complete ecosystem if a plant is included in the neck of the vase, some sellers claiming the fish will eat the roots of the plant. However, bettas are carnivorous and need to be fed live food or pellet foods as they cannot survive on plant roots. Another problem is that the plant sometimes blocks the betta's passage to the water surface; they are labyrinth fishes, and need to be able to take breaths at the surface of the water or else they will die from suffocation.
These types of products are not really aimed at aquarists but rather at people looking for a novelty gift, and in fact most aquarists abhor them. Similarly, the awarding of goldfish as prizes at funfairs is traditional in many parts of the world, but has been criticised by aquarists and animal welfare charities alike as cruel and irresponsible, and giving away live-animal prizes such as goldfish was made illegal in the UK in 2004.
The use of live prey to feed carnivorous fish such as piranhas also brings criticism.
Fish modification
Modifying fish to make them more attractive as pets is an increasingly divisive issue. Historically, artificially dyeing fish was fairly common, with glassfish in particular often being injected with fluorescent dyes to increase their attractiveness to aquarists. The major British fishkeeping magazine, Practical Fishkeeping, has been effective in its campaign to remove these fish from the market by educating retailers and aquarists to the cruelty and health risks involved.
In 2006, Practical Fishkeeping published an article exposing the techniques for performing cosmetic surgery on aquarium fish, without anaesthesia, as described by Singaporean fishkeeping magazine Fish Love Magazine. The tail is cut off and dye is injected into the body to make the fish more valuable. The piece also included the first documented evidence to demonstrate that parrot cichlids are dyed through injections of coloured dye. Practical Fishkeeping reported that suppliers in Hong Kong were offering a service in which fish could be tattooed with company logos or messages using a dye laser; such fishes have been sold in the UK under the name of Kaleidoscope gourami and Striped parrot cichlid. Some people give their fish body piercings.
Hybrid fish such as flowerhorn cichlids and parrot cichlids are highly controversial. Parrot cichlids in particular have a very unnatural shape that prevents them from swimming properly and makes it difficult for them to engage in their normal feeding and social behaviours. The biggest concern with hybrids is that they may be bred back with true species, making it difficult for hobbyists to identify and breed particular species. This is especially important where hobbyists are conserving species that are rare or extinct in the wild. Even within a single species, extreme mutations have been selected for by some breeders; some of the fancy goldfish varieties in particular have been criticised for having features that prevent the fish from swimming, seeing, or feeding properly.
Genetically modified fish like the glofish are likely to become increasingly available as well, particularly in the United States and Asia. Although glofish are said to be unharmed by their genetic modifications, they remain illegal in many places, including the European Union, though at least some have been smuggled into the EU from Asia, most likely Taiwan, via the Czech Republic.
Conservation
There are two main sources of fish, either from the wild or by captively breeding them. Studies by the United Nations have shown that while more than 90% of the freshwater aquarium fish traded are captive bred, virtually all marine aquarium fish and invertebrates are caught from the wild. The few marine species bred in captivity supplement but rarely replace the trade in wild-caught specimens. Fish and invertebrates that are collected from the wild can provide a valuable source of income for people in regions where other high-value exports are lacking. Marine fish in particular tend to be less resilient during transportation than freshwater fish, and relatively large numbers of them die before they are finally sold to the aquarist. Although the trade in marine fish and corals for aquaria probably represents a minor threat to coral reefs when compared with habitat destruction, fishing for food, and climate change, it is a booming trade and may be a serious problem in specific locations such as the Philippines and Indonesia where most of the collecting is done. Catching fish in the wild can potentially reduce their population sizes, placing them in danger of extinction in the areas where the fish are collected, as has been observed with the dragonet Synchiropus splendidus.
Fish capture
In theory, wild fish should be a good example of a renewable resource that places value on maintaining the integrity and diversity of the natural habitat: more and better fish can be exported from clean, pristine aquatic habitat than one that has been polluted or otherwise degraded. However, this has not been the case with industries such as fur trapping, logging, or fishing where a similar situation existed. Historically, wild resources have tended to be over-exploited rather than managed (see Tragedy of the Commons). Moreover, in places where collecting for aquaria is very intensive, there is good evidence that collecting can result in a decline in fish populations. A particular notorious example is to be found on the Philippines, where overfishing and the widespread use of cyanide to stun the fish has caused a drastic decline in the diversity of the coral reef fish considered most desirable by aquarists.
There are several methods used to catch fish. Fish are caught by net, trap, or cyanide. The most damaging of these techniques is cyanide. It is a poison used to stun reef fish to make them easier to collect. However, it can not only damage fish irreversibly, but even kill them; even if fish or coral are not collected they may remain in contact with cyanide long enough to be killed. It has become in the interest of wholesalers and hobbyists to not purchase fish caught by this method. Because of this, some UK-based wholesalers proudly advertise their lack of cyanide-caught animals. Now, the Philippines have started a movement away from cyanide and towards nets.
The practice of collection in the wild for eventual display in aquaria has several disadvantages. Collecting expeditions can be lengthy and costly, and are not always successful. The shipping process is very hazardous for the fish involved; mortality rates are high. Many others are weakened by stress and become diseased upon arrival. Fish can also be injured during the collection process itself, most notably during the process of using cyanide. This poisoning substance if often used for collecting freshwater species as well, specially in muddy water bodies with lots of vegetation in it, which would make catching small and fast moving fish very difficult.
More recently, the potentially detrimental environmental impact of fish and plant collecting has come to the attention of aquarists worldwide. These include the poisoning of coral reefs and non-target species, the depletion of rare species from their natural habitat, and the degradation of ecosystems from large scale removal of key species. Additionally, the destructive fishing techniques used have become a growing concern to environmentalists and hobbyists alike. Therefore, there has been a concerted movement by many concerned aquarists to reduce the trade's dependence on wild-collected specimens through captive breeding programs and certification programs for wild-caught fish. Among American keepers of marine aquaria surveyed in 1997, two thirds said that they prefer to purchase farm raised coral instead of wild-collected coral, and over 80% think that only sustainably caught or captive bred fish should be allowed for trade.
Captive breeding and aquaculture
Since the Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens) was first successfully bred[citation needed] in France in 1893, captive spawning techniques have been slowly discovered. Captive breeding for the aquarium trade is now concentrated in southern Florida, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok, with smaller industries in Hawaii and Sri Lanka.[citation needed] Captive breeding programs of marine organisms for the aquarium trade have been urgently in development since the mid-1990s. Breeding programs for freshwater species are comparatively more advanced than for saltwater species. Currently, only a handful of captive-bred marine species are in the trade, including clownfish, damselfish, and dwarf angelfish.
Breeding programs by aquarists have helped to preserve species that have become rare or extinct in the wild, most notably among the Lake Victoria cichlids. Some species of aquarium fish have also become important as laboratory animals, with cichlids and poecilids being especially important for studies on learning, mating, and social behaviour. Aquarists also observe a large number of fishes not otherwise studied, and thereby provide valuable data on the ecology and behaviour of many species.
Captive fish breeding has reduced the final price of many species in the fish trade, allowing a large amount of formerly budget restricted fish be kept by home aquarists. Also, selective breeding has led to several variations among a single species, creating a wider stock of fish in the trade. At this point, however, captive bred marine fish tend to be more expensive than their wild counterparts.
Aquaculture is the cultivation of aquatic organisms in a controlled environment. Supporters of aquaculture programs for supply to the aquarium trade claim that well-planned programs can bring benefits to the environment as well as the society around it. Aquaculture can help in lessening the impacts on wild stocks, either by using raised cultivated organisms directly for sale or by releasing them to replenish wild stock, although such a practice is associated with several environmental risks.
Invasive species
Serious problems can occur when fish originally kept in ponds or aquaria are released into the wild. While tropical species of fish will not live for long in temperate zone climates, fish released into places with similar climatic conditions to those that they originally came from can survive and potentially form viable populations. Species that have established themselves in places that they are not native to are called exotic species. Examples of exotic fishes that have become established outside their normal range are the various species of cichlids in Florida, goldfish in temperate waters, and South American suckermouth catfishes in warm waters around the world. Some of these exotic species can become extremely disruptive preying on, or competing with, the native fish (see invasive species). Many marine fish have also been introduced into non-native waters.
Types of fishkeeping
The hobby can be broadly divided into three specific disciplines, freshwater, brackish, and marine (also called saltwater) fishkeeping.
Freshwater fishkeeping is by far the most popular branch of the hobby, with even small pet stores often selling a variety of freshwater fish, such as goldfish, guppies, and angelfish. While most freshwater aquaria are set up as community tanks containing a variety of peaceful species, many aquarists keep single-species aquaria with a view to breeding. Livebearing fish such as mollies and guppies are among the species that are most easily raised in captivity, but aquarists also regularly breed numerous other species, including many types of cichlid, catfish, characin, and killifish.
Marine aquaria are generally more difficult to maintain and the livestock is significantly more expensive, and as a result this branch of the hobby tends to attract more experienced fishkeepers. However, marine aquaria can be exceedingly beautiful, due to the attractive colours and shapes of the corals and coral reef fish kept in them. Temperate zone marine fish are not as commonly kept in home aquaria, primarily because they do not do well at room temperature. An aquarium containing these coldwater species usually needs to be either located in a cool room (such as an unheated basement) or else chilled using a refrigeration device known as a 'chiller'.
Brackish water aquaria combine elements of both marine and freshwater fishkeeping, reflecting the fact that these aquaria contain water with a salinity in between that of freshwater and seawater. Fish kept in brackish water aquaria come from habitats with varying salinity, such as mangroves and estuaries and do not do well if permanently kept in freshwater aquaria. Although brackish water aquaria are not overly familiar to newcomers to the hobby, a surprising number of species prefer brackish water conditions, including the mollies, many gobies, some pufferfish, monos, scats, and virtually all the freshwater soles.
Fishkeepers are often known as aquarists, since many of them are not solely interested in keeping fish. Many fishkeepers create freshwater aquaria where the focus is on the aquatic plants rather than on the fish. This is known as the 'Dutch Aquarium' in some circles, in reference to the pioneering work carried out by European aquarists in designing these sorts of aquaria. In recent years, one of the most active advocates of the heavily planted aquarium is the Japanese aquarist Takashi Amano. Marine aquarists often attempt to recreate the coral reef in their aquaria using large quantities of living rock, porous calcareous rocks encrusted with algae, sponges, worms, and other small marine organisms. Larger corals as well as shrimps, crabs, echinoderms, and mollusks are added later on, once the aquarium has matured, as well as a variety of small fish. Such aquaria are sometimes called 'reef tanks'.
Garden ponds are in some ways similar to freshwater aquaria, but are usually much larger and exposed to the ambient climatic conditions. In the tropics, tropical fish can be kept in garden ponds, but in the cooler regions temperate zone species such as goldfish, koi, and orfe are kept instead.
The origins of fishkeeping
Koi have been kept in decorative ponds for centuries in China and Japan.The keeping of fish in confined or artificial environments is a practice with deep roots in history.
Fish have been raised as food in pools and ponds for thousands of years. In Medieval Europe, carp pools were a standard feature of estates and monasteries, providing an alternative to meat on feast days when meat could not be eaten for religious reasons. Similarly, throughout Asia there is a long history of stocking rice paddies with freshwater fish suitable for eating, including various types of catfish and cyprinid. Ancient Sumerians were known to keep wild-caught fish in ponds, before preparing them for meals. Particularly brightly coloured or tame specimens of fish in these pools have sometimes been valued as pets rather than food, and some of these have given rise to completely domesticated varieties, most notably the goldfish and the koi carp, which have their origins in China and Japan respectively. Selective breeding of carp into today's popular koi and goldfish is believed to have begun over 2,000 years ago. Depictions of the sacred fish of Oxyrhynchus kept in captivity in rectangular temple pools have been found in ancient Egyptian art. Many other cultures also have a history of keeping fish for both functional and decorative purposes. The Chinese brought goldfish indoors during the Song dynasty to enjoy them in large ceramic vessels.
Marine fish have been similarly valued for centuries, and many wealthy Romans kept lampreys and other fish in salt water pools. Cicero reports that the advocate Quintus Hortensius wept when a favoured specimen died, while Tertullian reports that Asinius Celer paid 8000 sesterces for a particularly fine mullet.[1] Cicero, rather cynically, referred to these ancient fishkeepers as the Piscinarii, the "fish-pond owners" or "fish breeders", for example when saying that ...the rich (I mean your friends the fish-breeders) did not disguise their jealousy of me.[2][3][4]
Aquarium maintenance
A 335,000 U.S. gallon (1.3 million litre) aquarium at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California displaying a simulated kelp forest ecosystemIdeal aquarium ecology reproduces the balance found in nature in the closed system of an aquarium. In practice it is virtually impossible to maintain a perfect balance. As an example, a balanced predator-prey relationship is nearly impossible to maintain in even the largest of aquaria. Typically an aquarium keeper must take steps to maintain balance in the small ecosystem contained in his aquarium.
Approximate balance is facilitated by large volumes of water. Any event that perturbs the system pushes an aquarium away from equilibrium; the more water that is contained in a tank, the easier such a systemic shock is to absorb, as the effects of that event are diluted. For example, the death of the only fish in a three U.S. gallon tank (11 L) causes dramatic changes in the system, while the death of that same fish in a 100 U.S. gallon (400 L) tank with many other fish in it represents only a minor change in the balance of the tank. For this reason, hobbyists often favor larger tanks when possible, as they are more stable systems requiring less intensive attention to the maintenance of equilibrium.
There are a variety of nutrient cycles that are important in the aquarium. Dissolved oxygen enters the system at the surface water-air interface or through the actions of an air pump. Carbon dioxide escapes the system into the air. The phosphate cycle is an important, although often overlooked, nutrient cycle. Sulfur, iron, and micronutrients also cycle through the system, entering as food and exiting as waste. Appropriate handling of the nitrogen cycle, along with supplying an adequately balanced food supply and considered biological loading, is usually enough to keep these other nutrient cycles in approximate equilibrium.
Water conditions
The solute content of water is perhaps the most important aspect of water conditions, as total dissolved solids and other constituents can dramatically impact basic water chemistry, and therefore how organisms are able to interact with their environment. Salt content, or salinity, is the most basic classification of water conditions. An aquarium may have fresh water (salinity below 0.5 PPT), simulating a lake or river environment; brackish water (a salt level of 0.5 to 30 PPT), simulating environments lying between fresh and salt, such as estuaries; and salt water or sea water (a salt level of 30 to 40 PPT), simulating an ocean or sea environment. Rarely, even higher salt concentrations are maintained in specialized tanks for raising brine organisms.
Several other water characteristics result from dissolved contents of the water, and are important to the proper simulation of natural environments. The pH of the water is a measure of the degree to which it is alkaline or acidic. Saltwater is typically alkaline, while the pH of fresh water varies more. Hardness measures overall dissolved mineral content; hard or soft water may be preferred. Hard water is usually alkaline, while soft water is usually neutral to acidic.[5] Dissolved organic content and dissolved gases content are also important factors.
Home aquarists typically use modified tap water supplied through their local water supply network to fill their tanks. Because of the chlorine used to disinfect drinking water supplies for human consumption, straight tap water cannot be used. In the past, it was possible to "condition" the water by simply letting the water stand for a day or two, which allows the chlorine time to dissipate.[5] However, chloramine is now used more often as it is much stabler and will not leave the water as readily. Additives formulated to remove chlorine or chloramine are often all that is needed to make the water ready for aquarium use. Brackish or saltwater aquaria require the addition of a mixture of salts and other minerals, which are commercially available for this purpose.
More sophisticated aquarists may make other modifications to their base water source to modify the water's alkalinity, hardness, or dissolved content of organics and gases, before adding it to their aquaria. This can be accomplished by a range of different additives, such as sodium bicarbonate to raise pH.[5] Some aquarists will even filter or purify their water prior to adding it to their aquarium. There are two processes used for that: deionization or reverse osmosis. In contrast, public aquaria with large water needs often locate themselves near a natural water source (such as a river, lake, or ocean) in order to have easy access to a large volume of water that does not require much further treatment.
The temperature of the water forms the basis of one of the two most basic aquarium classifications: tropical vs. cold water. Most fish and plant species tolerate only a limited range of water temperatures: Tropical or warm water aquaria, with an average temperature of about 25 °C (77 °F), are much more common, and tropical fish are among the most popular aquarium denizens. Cold water aquaria are those with temperatures below what would be considered tropical; a variety of fish are better suited to this cooler environment. More importantly than the temperature range itself is the consistency in temperature; most organisms are not accustomed to sudden changes in temperatures, which could cause shock and lead to disease.[5] Water temperature can be regulated with a combined thermometer and heater unit (or, more rarely, with a cooling unit).
Water movement can also be important in accurately simulating a natural ecosystem. Aquarists may prefer anything from still water up to swift simulated currents in an aquarium, depending on the conditions best suited for the aquarium's inhabitants. Water movement can be controlled through the use of aeration from air pumps, powerheads, and careful design of internal water flow (such as location of filtration system points of inflow and outflow).
Nitrogen cycle
The nitrogen cycle in an aquarium.Of primary concern to the aquarist is management of the biological waste produced by an aquarium's inhabitants. Fish, invertebrates, fungi, and some bacteria excrete nitrogen waste in the form of ammonia (which will convert to ammonium, in acidic water) and must then pass through the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia is also produced through the decomposition of plant and animal matter, including fecal matter and other detritus. Nitrogen waste products become toxic to fish and other aquarium inhabitants at high concentrations.[5]
The process
A well-balanced tank contains organisms that are able to metabolize the waste products of other aquarium residents. The nitrogen waste produced in a tank is metabolized in aquaria by a type of bacteria known as nitrifiers (genus Nitrosomonas). Nitrifying bacteria capture ammonia from the water and metabolize it to produce nitrite. Nitrite is also highly toxic to fish in high concentrations. Another type of bacteria, genus Nitrospira, converts nitrite into nitrate, a less toxic substance to aquarium inhabitants. (Nitrobacter bacteria were previously believed to fill this role, and continue to be found in commercially available products sold as kits to "jump start" the nitrogen cycle in an aquarium. While biologically they could theoretically fill the same niche as Nitrospira, it has recently been found that Nitrobacter are not present in detectable levels in established aquaria, while Nitrospira are plentiful.) This process is known in the aquarium hobby as the nitrogen cycle.
In addition to bacteria, aquatic plants also eliminate nitrogen waste by metabolizing ammonia and nitrate. When plants metabolize nitrogen compounds, they remove nitrogen from the water by using it to build biomass. However, this is only temporary, as the plants release nitrogen back into the water when older leaves die off and decompose.
Maintaining the Nitrogen cycle
Although informally called the nitrogen cycle by hobbyists, it is in fact only a portion of a true cycle: nitrogen must be added to the system (usually through food provided to the tank inhabitants), and nitrates accumulate in the water at the end of the process, or become bound in the biomass of plants. This accumulation of nitrates in home aquaria requires the aquarium keeper to remove water that is high in nitrates, or remove plants which have grown from the nitrates.
Aquaria kept by hobbyists often do not have the requisite populations of bacteria needed to detoxify nitrogen waste from tank inhabitants. This problem is most often addressed through two filtration solutions: Activated carbon filters absorb nitrogen compounds and other toxins from the water, while biological filters provide a medium specially designed for colonization by the desired nitrifying bacteria. Activated carbon and other substances, such as ammonia absorbing resines, will stop working when their pores get full, so these components have to be replaced with fresh stocks constantly.
New aquaria often have problems associated with the nitrogen cycle due to insufficient number of beneficial bacteria, known as the "New Tank Syndrome". Therefore new tanks have to be "matured" before stocking them with fish. There are three basic approaches to this: the fishless cycle the silent cycle and slow growth.
No fish are kept in a tank undergoing a fishless cycle. Instead, small amounts of ammonia are added to the tank to feed the bacteria being cultured. During this process, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are tested to monitor progress. The silent cycle is basically nothing more than densely stocking the aquarium with fast-growing aquatic plants and relying on them to consume the nitrogen, allowing the necessary bacterial populations time to develop. According to anecdotal reports of aquarists specializing in planted tanks, the plants can consume nitrogenous waste so efficiently that the spikes in ammonia and nitrite levels normally seen in more traditional cycling methods are greatly reduced, if they are detectable at all. More commonly slow growth entails slowly increasing the population of fish over a period of 6 to 8 weeks, giving bacteria colonies time to grow and stabilize with the increase in fish waste.
The largest bacterial populations are found in the filter; efficient filtration is vital. Sometimes, a vigorous cleaning of the filter is enough to seriously disturb the biological balance of an aquarium. Therefore, it is recommended to rinse mechanical filters in an outside bucket of aquarium water to dislodge organic materials that contribute to nitrate problems, while preserving bacteria populations. Another safe practice consists of cleaning only one half of the filter media every time the filter or filters are serviced.
Biological loading
19 Litre Aquarium, seems to be overcrowdedBiological loading is a measure of the burden placed on the aquarium ecosystem by its living inhabitants. High biological loading in an aquarium represents a more complicated tank ecology, which in turn means that equilibrium is easier to perturb. In addition, there are several fundamental constraints on biological loading based on the size of an aquarium. The surface area of water exposed to air limits dissolved oxygen intake by the tank. The capacity of nitrifying bacteria is limited by the physical space they have available to colonize. Physically, only a limited size and number of plants and animals can be fit into an aquarium while still providing room for movement.
Calculating aquarium capacity
An aquarium can only support a certain number of fish. Limiting factors include the availability of oxygen in the water and the rate at which the filter can process waste. Aquarists have developed a number of rules of thumb to allow them to estimate the number of fishes that can be kept in a given aquarium; the examples below are for small freshwater fish, larger freshwater fishes and most marine fishes need much more generous allowances.
3 cm of fish length per 4 litres of water (i.e., a 6 cm-long fish would need about 8 litres of water).[6]
1 cm of fish length per 30 square centimetres of surface area.
1 inch of fish length per gallon of water.
1 inch of fish length per 12 square inches of surface area.
Experienced aquarists warn against applying these rules too strictly because they do not consider other important issues such as growth rate, activity level, social behaviour, and so on. To some degree, establishing the maximum loading capacity of an aquarium depends upon slowly adding fish and monitoring water quality over time, essentially a trial and error approach.
Factors affecting capacity
Though many conventional methods of calculating the capacity of aquarium is based on volume and pure length of fish, there are other variables. One variable is differences between fish. Smaller fish consume more oxygen per gram of body weight than larger fish. Labyrinth fish, having the capability to breathe atmospheric oxygen, are noted for not needing as much surface area (however, some of these fish are territorial, and may not appreciate crowding). Barbs also require more surface area than tetras of comparable size.
Oxygen exchange at the surface is an important constraint, and thus the surface area of the aquarium. Some aquarists go so far as to say that a deeper aquarium with more volume holds no more fish than a shallower aquarium of the same surface area. The capacity can be improved by surface movement and water circulation such as through aeration, which not only improves oxygen exchange, but also the decomposition of waste materials.
The presence of waste materials presents itself as a variable as well. Decomposition is an oxygen-consuming process, therefore the more decaying matter there is, the less oxygen as well. Oxygen dissolves less readily in warmer water; this is a double-edged sword as warmer temperatures make more active fish, which in turn consume even more oxygen. Stress due to temperature changes is especially obvious in coldwater aquaria where the temperature may swing from low temperatures to high temperatures on hotter days.
Fishkeeping industry
Worldwide, the fishkeeping hobby is a multi-million dollar industry, and the United States is considered the largest market in the world, followed by Europe and Japan. In 1994, 56% of U.S. households had pets, and 10.6% owned ornamental freshwater or saltwater fish, with an average of 8.8 fish per household. In 1993, the retail value of the fish hobby in the United States was $910 million.
From 1989 to 1992, almost 79% of all U.S. ornamental fish imports arrived from Southeast Asia and Japan. Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Indonesia were the top five exporting nations. South America was the second largest exporting region, accounting for 14% of the total annual value. Colombia, Brazil, and Peru were the major suppliers. The remaining 7% of ornamental fish imports came from other regions of the world.
Approximately 201 million fish worth $44.7 million were imported into the United States in 1992. These fish comprised 1,539 different species; 730 freshwater species, and 809 saltwater species. The freshwater fish accounted for approximately 96% of the total volume and 80% of the total import value. Of the total of all trade, only 32 species had import values over $10,000. These top species were all of freshwater origin and accounted for 58% of the total imported value of the fish. The top imported species are the guppy, neon tetra, platy, betta, Chinese algae eater, and goldfish.
Several large companies are focused primarily or extensively on supplying the fishkeeping hobby, producing products such as fish food, medicine, and aquarium hardware. Among the largest of these are Eheim, Tetra, Sera, all based in Germany; Hikari, a Japanese company; Fluval, part of the Canadian Rolf C. Hagen group; Interpet, a British company that also owns the Red Sea brand; and the American company Aquarian, owned by Mars, Incorporated but usually trading under the Waltham pet foods brand.
Historically, fish and plants for the first modern aquaria were gathered from the wild and transported (usually by ship) to European and American ports. During the early 20th century many species of small colorful tropical fish were caught and exported from Manaus, Brazil; Bangkok, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia; the Netherlands Antilles; Kolkata, India; and other tropical ports. Collection of fish, plants, and invertebrates from the wild for supply to the aquarium trade continues today at locations around the world. In many developing countries, local villagers collect specimens for the aquarium trade as their prime means of income. It remains an important source for many species that have not been successfully bred in captivity, and continues to introduce new species to enthusiastic aquarists.
Fish breeding
A Discus (Symphysodon spp.) guarding its eggs.Fish breeding is a challenge that many aquarists find attractive. While some species reproduce freely in community tanks, most require special conditions, known as spawning triggers before they will breed. The majority of fish lay eggs, known as spawning, and the juvenile fish that emerge are very small and need tiny live foods or their substitutes to survive. A fair number of popular aquarium fish are livebearers, and these fish produce a small number of relatively large offspring, and these will usually take ground flake food straight away (see article on live-bearing aquarium fish).
Animal welfare
At its best, a properly maintained aquarium allows the fish to socialise with their own kind and in many cases breed successfully. This is in marked contrast to the conditions enjoyed by larger animals like cats and dogs, which are often kept alone and neutered in an environment different from that they would experience in the wild. However, in many cases fish are maintained in the wrong conditions and therefore live short lives and never breed. Inexperienced aquarists often attempt to keep too many fish in their tanks, or introduce too many fish into an immature aquarium, with the result that large numbers of fish sicken and die. This has given the hobby a bad reputation among some animal welfare groups, such as PETA, for treating aquarium fish as nothing more than cheap toys that are simply replaced when they die.
Goldfish and bettas in particular have often been kept in cramped bowls or aquaria that are really far too small for their needs.[10] In some cases fish have been installed in all sorts of inappropriate objects such as the AquaBabies Micro Aquaria, Bubble Gear Bubble Bag and Betta in a Vase, all of which contain live fish housed in unfiltered and entirely too small quantities of water.[11][12] The Betta in a Vase is sometimes marketed as a complete ecosystem if a plant is included in the neck of the vase, some sellers claiming the fish will eat the roots of the plant. However, bettas are carnivorous and need to be fed live food or pellet foods as they cannot survive on plant roots. Another problem is that the plant sometimes blocks the betta's passage to the water surface; they are labyrinth fishes, and need to be able to take breaths at the surface of the water or else they will die from suffocation.
These types of products are not really aimed at aquarists but rather at people looking for a novelty gift, and in fact most aquarists abhor them. Similarly, the awarding of goldfish as prizes at funfairs is traditional in many parts of the world, but has been criticised by aquarists and animal welfare charities alike as cruel and irresponsible, and giving away live-animal prizes such as goldfish was made illegal in the UK in 2004.
The use of live prey to feed carnivorous fish such as piranhas also brings criticism.
Fish modification
Modifying fish to make them more attractive as pets is an increasingly divisive issue. Historically, artificially dyeing fish was fairly common, with glassfish in particular often being injected with fluorescent dyes to increase their attractiveness to aquarists. The major British fishkeeping magazine, Practical Fishkeeping, has been effective in its campaign to remove these fish from the market by educating retailers and aquarists to the cruelty and health risks involved.
In 2006, Practical Fishkeeping published an article exposing the techniques for performing cosmetic surgery on aquarium fish, without anaesthesia, as described by Singaporean fishkeeping magazine Fish Love Magazine. The tail is cut off and dye is injected into the body to make the fish more valuable. The piece also included the first documented evidence to demonstrate that parrot cichlids are dyed through injections of coloured dye. Practical Fishkeeping reported that suppliers in Hong Kong were offering a service in which fish could be tattooed with company logos or messages using a dye laser; such fishes have been sold in the UK under the name of Kaleidoscope gourami and Striped parrot cichlid. Some people give their fish body piercings.
Hybrid fish such as flowerhorn cichlids and parrot cichlids are highly controversial. Parrot cichlids in particular have a very unnatural shape that prevents them from swimming properly and makes it difficult for them to engage in their normal feeding and social behaviours. The biggest concern with hybrids is that they may be bred back with true species, making it difficult for hobbyists to identify and breed particular species. This is especially important where hobbyists are conserving species that are rare or extinct in the wild. Even within a single species, extreme mutations have been selected for by some breeders; some of the fancy goldfish varieties in particular have been criticised for having features that prevent the fish from swimming, seeing, or feeding properly.
Genetically modified fish like the glofish are likely to become increasingly available as well, particularly in the United States and Asia. Although glofish are said to be unharmed by their genetic modifications, they remain illegal in many places, including the European Union, though at least some have been smuggled into the EU from Asia, most likely Taiwan, via the Czech Republic.
Conservation
There are two main sources of fish, either from the wild or by captively breeding them. Studies by the United Nations have shown that while more than 90% of the freshwater aquarium fish traded are captive bred, virtually all marine aquarium fish and invertebrates are caught from the wild. The few marine species bred in captivity supplement but rarely replace the trade in wild-caught specimens. Fish and invertebrates that are collected from the wild can provide a valuable source of income for people in regions where other high-value exports are lacking. Marine fish in particular tend to be less resilient during transportation than freshwater fish, and relatively large numbers of them die before they are finally sold to the aquarist. Although the trade in marine fish and corals for aquaria probably represents a minor threat to coral reefs when compared with habitat destruction, fishing for food, and climate change, it is a booming trade and may be a serious problem in specific locations such as the Philippines and Indonesia where most of the collecting is done. Catching fish in the wild can potentially reduce their population sizes, placing them in danger of extinction in the areas where the fish are collected, as has been observed with the dragonet Synchiropus splendidus.
Fish capture
In theory, wild fish should be a good example of a renewable resource that places value on maintaining the integrity and diversity of the natural habitat: more and better fish can be exported from clean, pristine aquatic habitat than one that has been polluted or otherwise degraded. However, this has not been the case with industries such as fur trapping, logging, or fishing where a similar situation existed. Historically, wild resources have tended to be over-exploited rather than managed (see Tragedy of the Commons). Moreover, in places where collecting for aquaria is very intensive, there is good evidence that collecting can result in a decline in fish populations. A particular notorious example is to be found on the Philippines, where overfishing and the widespread use of cyanide to stun the fish has caused a drastic decline in the diversity of the coral reef fish considered most desirable by aquarists.
There are several methods used to catch fish. Fish are caught by net, trap, or cyanide. The most damaging of these techniques is cyanide. It is a poison used to stun reef fish to make them easier to collect. However, it can not only damage fish irreversibly, but even kill them; even if fish or coral are not collected they may remain in contact with cyanide long enough to be killed. It has become in the interest of wholesalers and hobbyists to not purchase fish caught by this method. Because of this, some UK-based wholesalers proudly advertise their lack of cyanide-caught animals. Now, the Philippines have started a movement away from cyanide and towards nets.
The practice of collection in the wild for eventual display in aquaria has several disadvantages. Collecting expeditions can be lengthy and costly, and are not always successful. The shipping process is very hazardous for the fish involved; mortality rates are high. Many others are weakened by stress and become diseased upon arrival. Fish can also be injured during the collection process itself, most notably during the process of using cyanide. This poisoning substance if often used for collecting freshwater species as well, specially in muddy water bodies with lots of vegetation in it, which would make catching small and fast moving fish very difficult.
More recently, the potentially detrimental environmental impact of fish and plant collecting has come to the attention of aquarists worldwide. These include the poisoning of coral reefs and non-target species, the depletion of rare species from their natural habitat, and the degradation of ecosystems from large scale removal of key species. Additionally, the destructive fishing techniques used have become a growing concern to environmentalists and hobbyists alike. Therefore, there has been a concerted movement by many concerned aquarists to reduce the trade's dependence on wild-collected specimens through captive breeding programs and certification programs for wild-caught fish. Among American keepers of marine aquaria surveyed in 1997, two thirds said that they prefer to purchase farm raised coral instead of wild-collected coral, and over 80% think that only sustainably caught or captive bred fish should be allowed for trade.
Captive breeding and aquaculture
Since the Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens) was first successfully bred[citation needed] in France in 1893, captive spawning techniques have been slowly discovered. Captive breeding for the aquarium trade is now concentrated in southern Florida, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok, with smaller industries in Hawaii and Sri Lanka.[citation needed] Captive breeding programs of marine organisms for the aquarium trade have been urgently in development since the mid-1990s. Breeding programs for freshwater species are comparatively more advanced than for saltwater species. Currently, only a handful of captive-bred marine species are in the trade, including clownfish, damselfish, and dwarf angelfish.
Breeding programs by aquarists have helped to preserve species that have become rare or extinct in the wild, most notably among the Lake Victoria cichlids. Some species of aquarium fish have also become important as laboratory animals, with cichlids and poecilids being especially important for studies on learning, mating, and social behaviour. Aquarists also observe a large number of fishes not otherwise studied, and thereby provide valuable data on the ecology and behaviour of many species.
Captive fish breeding has reduced the final price of many species in the fish trade, allowing a large amount of formerly budget restricted fish be kept by home aquarists. Also, selective breeding has led to several variations among a single species, creating a wider stock of fish in the trade. At this point, however, captive bred marine fish tend to be more expensive than their wild counterparts.
Aquaculture is the cultivation of aquatic organisms in a controlled environment. Supporters of aquaculture programs for supply to the aquarium trade claim that well-planned programs can bring benefits to the environment as well as the society around it. Aquaculture can help in lessening the impacts on wild stocks, either by using raised cultivated organisms directly for sale or by releasing them to replenish wild stock, although such a practice is associated with several environmental risks.
Invasive species
Serious problems can occur when fish originally kept in ponds or aquaria are released into the wild. While tropical species of fish will not live for long in temperate zone climates, fish released into places with similar climatic conditions to those that they originally came from can survive and potentially form viable populations. Species that have established themselves in places that they are not native to are called exotic species. Examples of exotic fishes that have become established outside their normal range are the various species of cichlids in Florida, goldfish in temperate waters, and South American suckermouth catfishes in warm waters around the world. Some of these exotic species can become extremely disruptive preying on, or competing with, the native fish (see invasive species). Many marine fish have also been introduced into non-native waters.
List of aquarium diseases
The following is a list of aquarium diseases. New fish can sometimes introduce diseases to aquaria, and these can be difficult to diagnose and treat. Most fish diseases are also aggravated when the fish is stressed. Common aquarium diseases include the following:
Amylodinium (marine velvet)
Anchor worms
Columnaris
Cryptocaryon (marine ick)
Dropsy
Fin rot
Skin or Gill Flukes
Ichthyophthirius (white spot or ick)
Velvet Disease, including Oodinium
Hexamita (hole in the head)
Lymphocystis
Flexibacter columnaris
Amylodinium (marine velvet)
Anchor worms
Columnaris
Cryptocaryon (marine ick)
Dropsy
Fin rot
Skin or Gill Flukes
Ichthyophthirius (white spot or ick)
Velvet Disease, including Oodinium
Hexamita (hole in the head)
Lymphocystis
Flexibacter columnaris
List of freshwater aquarium invertebrate species
Invertebrates are commonly introduced into freshwater aquaria. There are several snail species, numerous shrimps, and crayfish that are found in aquaria. Some of these species are:
Shrimp
Atyopsis moluccensis, Bamboo Shrimp
Caridina cf. babaulti, green midget shrimp
Caridina gracilirostris, redfronted shrimp
Caridina cf. gracilirostris, white-nose Shrimp
Caridina multidentata, Amano shrimp
Caridina cf. cantonensis, bee shrimp , crystal red shrimp, tiger shrimp
Caridina solearipes,
Caridina brevifrons,
Caridina sp., black midget shrimp
Caridina serratirostris, Ninja Shrimp
Caridina palmata,
Caridina solearipes,
Macrobrachium lar','
Neocaridina heteropoda,
Neocaridina heteropoda var. yellow, Yellow shrimp
Neocaridina denticulata sinensis, Red Cherry shrimp
Neocaridina cf. zhangjiajiensis var. white, Snowball shrimp
Palaeomonetes sp., ghost (glass, grass) shrimp
Crayfish
Procambarus alleni
Procambarus species
Cambarellus montezuema
Cambarellus shufeldtii
Snails
Asolene spixi (apple snail)
Corbicula fluminea (Asian clam)
Marisa cornuarietis (apple snail)
Planorbis species
Pomacea bridgesii (apple snail)
Pomacea canaliculata (apple snail)
Branchiopods
Artemia, brine shrimp
Triops longicaudatus longtail tadpole shrimp
Shrimp
Atyopsis moluccensis, Bamboo Shrimp
Caridina cf. babaulti, green midget shrimp
Caridina gracilirostris, redfronted shrimp
Caridina cf. gracilirostris, white-nose Shrimp
Caridina multidentata, Amano shrimp
Caridina cf. cantonensis, bee shrimp , crystal red shrimp, tiger shrimp
Caridina solearipes,
Caridina brevifrons,
Caridina sp., black midget shrimp
Caridina serratirostris, Ninja Shrimp
Caridina palmata,
Caridina solearipes,
Macrobrachium lar','
Neocaridina heteropoda,
Neocaridina heteropoda var. yellow, Yellow shrimp
Neocaridina denticulata sinensis, Red Cherry shrimp
Neocaridina cf. zhangjiajiensis var. white, Snowball shrimp
Palaeomonetes sp., ghost (glass, grass) shrimp
Crayfish
Procambarus alleni
Procambarus species
Cambarellus montezuema
Cambarellus shufeldtii
Snails
Asolene spixi (apple snail)
Corbicula fluminea (Asian clam)
Marisa cornuarietis (apple snail)
Planorbis species
Pomacea bridgesii (apple snail)
Pomacea canaliculata (apple snail)
Branchiopods
Artemia, brine shrimp
Triops longicaudatus longtail tadpole shrimp
List of freshwater aquarium plant species
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aquatic plants are used to give the aquarium a natural appearance, oxygenate the water, and provide habitat for fish, especially fry (babies) and for invertebrate species. Some aquarium fish and invertebrates also eat live plants. Recently, there has been a movement in the hobby to use aquatic plants as part of aesthetic aquarium design and aquascaping, spearheaded by Japanese aquarist Takashi Amano.
Most of these plant species are found either partially or fully submersed in their natural habitat. Although there are a handful of obligate aquatic plants that must be grown in water (Cabomba sp., for example), most grow and thrive fully emersed if the soil is kept moist
Listed alphabetically by scientific name
As a very important note, the taxonomy of most plant genera is not final. Scientific names and classifications have changed often in the past years, creating confusion for most aquarists. Most of the old names are still in use today on some web sites.
Common aquarium plant species:
Acorus calamus
Aglaonema modestum
Aglaonema simplex
Alisma gramineum
Alternanthera bettzichiana
Alternanthera lilacina
Alternanthera philoxeroides
Alternanthera reineckii "rosaefolia"
Alternanthera sessilis
Ammania gracilis (Delicate ammania, red ammania)
Ammania latifolia
Ammania senegalensis
Anubias afzelii (Narrow-leafed anubias, small anubias)
Anubias barteri var. barteri (Broadleaved anubias)
Anubias barteri var. angustifolia
Anubias barteri var. caladiifolia
Anubias barteri var. glabra
Anubias barteri var. nana (Dwarf anubias)
Anubias gilletti
Anubias gracilis
Anubias hastifolia
Anubias heterophylla
Anubias pynaertii
Aponogeton appendiculatus
Aponogeton bernierianus
Aponogeton boivinianus
Aponogeton capuronii
Aponogeton crispus (Crinkled or ruffled apongeton)
Aponogeton decartyi
Aponogeton desertorum
Aponogeton dioecus
Aponogeton distachyos
Aponogeton elongatus
Aponogeton fenestralis
Aponogeton henkelianus
Aponogeton junceus
Aponogeton longiplumulosus
Aponogeton loriae
Aponogeton madagascariensis (Madagascar laceleaf, lace plant)
Aponogeton natans
Aponogeton rigidifolius
Aponogeton tenuispicatus
Aponogeton ulvaceus (Compact apongeton)
Aponogeton undulatus
Armoracia aquatica
Azolla caroliniana (Water velvet)
Azolla filiculoïdes (Azolla, moss fern)
Azolla pinnata
Bacopa amplexicaulis
Bacopa australis
Bacopa caroliniana (lemon bacopa, water hyssop, giant bacopa)
Bacopa crenata
Bacopa monnieri (water hyssop, dwarf bacopa, baby tears)
Bacopa myriophylloides
Bacopa rotundifolia (Round bacopa)
Baldellia ranunculoides
Barclaya longifolia (Orchid lily)
Barclaya motleyi
Blyxa aubertii
Blyxa echinosperma
Blyxa japonica (Japanese rush)
Blyxa novoguineensis
Blyxa octandra
Bolbitis heteroclita
Bolbitis heudelotii (African or Congo fern)
Cabomba aquatica (Yellow cabomba, giant cabomba)
Cabomba caroliniana (Green cabomba)
Cabomba furcata
Cabomba palaeformis
Cabomba piauhyensis (Red cabomba)
Caldesia parnassifolia
Calla palustris
Callitriche hamulata
Callitriche hermaphroditica
Callitriche palustris
Callitriche stagnalis
Cardamine lyrata (Chinese ivy, Japanese cress)
Cardamine rotundifolia
Ceratophyllum demersum (Hornwort)
Ceratophyllum submersum (Tropical hornwort)
Ceratopteris cornuta
Ceratopteris pteridoides
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Cladophora aegagropila
Crassula aquatica
Crassula helmsii
Crinum calamistratum
Crinum natans (African onion plant)
Crinum purpurascens
Crinum thaianum (Water onion)
Cryptocoryne affinis
Cryptocoryne alba
Cryptocoryne albida
Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia
Cryptocoryne auriculata
Cryptocoryne axelrodii
Cryptocoryne balansae
Cryptocoryne beckettii (Beckett's Cryptocoryne)
Cryptocoryne blassii
Cryptocoryne bogneri
Cryptocoryne bullosa
Cryptocoryne ciliata
Cryptocoryne cognata
Cryptocoryne cordata (Giant cryptocoryne)
Cryptocoryne crispatula
Cryptocoryne cruddasiana
Cryptocoryne diderici
Cryptocoryne elliptica
Cryptocoryne ferruginea
Cryptocoryne fusca
Cryptocoryne grabowskii
Cryptocoryne gracilis
Cryptocoryne griffithii
Cryptocoryne huegelii
Cryptocoryne legroi
Cryptocoryne longicauda
Cryptocoryne lucens
Cryptocoryne lutea
Cryptocoryne minima
Cryptocoryne moehlmannii (Moehlmann's cryptocoryne)
Cryptocoryne nevillii
Cryptocoryne nurii
Cryptocoryne parva (Tiny cryptocoryne)
Cryptocoryne petchii
Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia
Cryptocoryne purpurea
Cryptocoryne retrospiralis
Cryptocoryne siamensis
Cryptocoryne spiralis
Cryptocoryne thwaitesii
Cryptocoryne tonkinensis
Cryptocoryne undulata (Undulate cryptocoryne)
Cryptocoryne usteriana
Cryptocoryne venemae
Cryptocoryne versteegii
Cryptocoryne walkeri
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica'
Cryptocoryne x willisii
Cryptocoryne zewaldiae
Cryptocoryne zonata
Cryptocoryne zukalii
Cyperus alternifolius
Cyperus helferi
Cyperus papyrus
Damasonium alisma
Didiplis diandra (Water hedge)
Echinodorus africanus
Echinodorus amazonicus (Amazon sword)
Echinodorus andrieuxii
Echinodorus angustifolius
Echinodorus argentinensis
Echinodorus aschersonianus
Echinodorus barthii
Echinodorus berteroi
Echinodorus bleheri (Broadleaved amazon)
Echinodorus bolivianus (Bolivian sword)
Echinodorus brevipedicellatus
Echinodorus cordifolius (Radicans sword, spade leaf sword)
Echinodorus fluitans
Echinodorus grandiflorus (Large-flowered amazon)
Echinodorus horemanii (Black-red amazon)
Echinodorus horizontalis
Echinodorus humilis
Echinodorus latifolius
Echinodorus longiscapus
Echinodorus macrophyllus (Large-leaved amazon sword)
Echinodorus martii
Echinodorus major (Ruffled amazon sword)
Echinodorus opacus (Opaque amazon sword)
Echinodorus osiris (Red amazon sword)
Echinodorus 'Ozelot'
Echinodorus palaefolius
Echinodorus paniculatus
Echinodorus parviflorus (Black amazon sword)
Echinodorus pelliscidus
Echinodorus quadricostatus (Dwarf sword)
Echinodorus radicans
Echinodorus rigidifolius
Echinodorus 'Rubin'
Echinodorus rubra
Echinodorus schlueteri
Echinodorus subalatus
Echinodorus tenellus (Pygmy chain sword)
Echinodorus tunicatus
Echinodorus uruguayensis (Uruguay amazon sword)
Egeria densa (Elodea, pondweed)
Egeria naias
Eichhornia crassipes (Water hyacinth)
Eichhornia diversifolia
Elatine hydropiper
Elatine macropoda
Eleocharis acicularis (Hairgrass)
Eleocharis dulcis
Eleocharis minima
Eleocharis obtusa
Eleocharis parvula
Eleocharis vivipare
Elodea canadensis (Canadian pondweed)
Elodea nuttallii
Elodea occidentalis
Eriocaulon sp.
Eusteralis stellata (Star rotala)
Fittonia argyroneura
Fontinalis antipyretica (Willow moss)
Glossadelphus zollingeri
Glossostigma diandrum
Glossostigma elatinoides
Gymnocoronis spilanthoides (Spadeleaf plant)
Hemianthus callitrichoides (Dwarf helzine)
Hemianthus micranthemoides (Pearlweed)
Heteranthera dubia
Heteranthera reniformis
Heteranthera zosterifolia (Stargrass)
Hippuris vulgaris
Hottonia inflata
Hottonia palustris (Water violet)
Hydrilla verticillata
Hydrocharis morsus-ranae
Hydrocleis nymphoides
Hydrocotyle leucocephala (Brazilian pennywort)
Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides
Hydrocotyle verticillata (Whorled umbrella plant)
Hydrocotyle vulgaris
Hydrothrix gardneri
Hydrotriche hottoniiflora
Hygrophila angustifolia
Hygrophila corymbosa 'crispa'
Hygrophila corymbosa 'glabra' (Broadlead giant stricta)
Hygrophila corymbosa 'gracilis'
Hygrophila corymbosa 'siamensis'
Hygrophila corymbosa 'strigosa'
Hygrophila difformis (Water wisteria)
Hygrophila guianensis
Hygrophila lacustris
Hygrophila lancea
Hygrophila natalis
Hygrophila polysperma (Dwarf hygrophilia)
Hygrophila salicifolia
Hygrophila stricta (Thai stricta, green stricta)
Hygroryza aristata
Isoetes lacustris
Isoetes malinverniana
Isoetes velata
Isolepis setracea
Juncus repens
Lagarosiphon madagascariensis
Lagarosiphon major (Elodea crispa)
Lagenandra dewitii
Lagenandra insignis
Lagenandra koenigii
Lagenandra lancifolia
Lagenandra nairii
Lagenandra ovata
Lagenandra thwaitesii
Lemna gibba
Lemna minor (Duckweed)
Lemna paucicostata
Lemna perpusilla
Lemna trisulca
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Lilaeopsis carolinensis
Lilaeopsis macloviana
Lilaeopsis mauritiana
Lilaeopsis novae zelandiae (New Zealand grassplant)
Lilaeopsis ruthiana
Limnobium laevigatum (Amazon frogbit)
Limnobium spongia
Limnocharis flava
Limnophila aquatica (Giant ambulia)
Limnophila aromatica
Limnophila glabra
Limnophila heterophylla
Limnophila indica (Indian ambulia)
Limnophila sessiflora
Limnophila sessiliflora (Dwarf ambulia)
Lindernia crustacea F. Muell.
Lindernia rotundifolia
Littorella uniflora
Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower, scarlet lobelia)
Lobelia dortmanna
Ludwigia alternifolia
Ludwigia arcuata
Ludwigia glandulosa (Glandular ludwigia, red star ludwigia)
Ludwigia helminthorrhiza
Ludwigia inclinata
Ludwigia inclinata var. verticellata 'Cuba'
Ludwigia mullertii
Ludwigia natans
Ludwigia palustris
Ludwigia pulvinaris
Ludwigia repens (Creeping ludwigia, narrow-leaf ludwigia)
Luronium natans
Lycopodium inundatum
Lysimachia nummularia (Creeping Jenny, moneywort)
Marsilea crenata
Marsilea drummondii
Marsilea hirsuta
Marsilea pubescens
Marsilea quatrifolia
Mayaca fluviatilis
Mayaca vandellii
Micranthemum umbrosum (Helzine)
Microsorum pteropus (Java fern)
Monosolenium tenerum (commercial name; plants sold under this name are probably Metzgeria sp.)
Myriophyllum alterniflorum
Myriophyllum aquaticum (Brazilian milfoil, milfoil)
Myriophyllum elatinoides
Myriophyllum heterophyllum
Myriophyllum hippuroides (Green milfoil, water milfoil)
Myriophyllum matogrossense
Myriophyllum proserpinacoides
Myriophyllum scabratum (Foxtail)
Myriophyllum spicatum
Myriophyllum tuberculatum (Red myriophyllum)
Myriophyllum ussuriense
Myriophyllum verticillatum
Myriophylumm oguraense
Najas graminea
Najas guadelupensis
Najas indica
Najas marina
Najas minor
Najas pectinata
Nesaea crassicaulis
Nitella capillaris
Nitella flexilis
Nitella gracilis
Nomaphila siamensis
Nomaphila stricta
Nuphar advenum
Nuphar japonica (Spatterdock)
Nuphar luteum
Nuphar pumilum
Nuphar sagittifolium
Nymphaea alba
Nymphaea lotus (Tiger lotus)
Nymphaea lotus var. rubra (Red tiger lotus)
Nymphaea micrantha
Nymphaea pubescens
Nymphaea pygmea
Nymphaea stellata (Red and blue water lily)
Nymphaea zenkeri 'lotus'
Nymphoides aquatica (Banana plant)
Nymphoides humboldtiana
Nymphoides indica
Nymphoides peltata
Orontium aquaticum
Ottelia alismoides
Ottelia mesenterum
Ottelia ulvifolia
Phyllanthus fluitans
Pilularia americana
Pilularia globulifera
Pistia stratiotes (Water lettuce)
Pogostemon helferi
Pogostemon stellatus
Pontederia cordata
Potamogeton coloratus
Potamogeton crispus
Potamogeton densus
Potamogeton filiformis
Potamogeton gayi
Potamogeton gramineus
Potamogeton lucens
Potamogeton malaianus
Potamogeton natans
Potamogeton perfoliatus
Proserpinaca palustris
Ranunculus aquatilis
Ranunculus limosella
Regnellidium diphyllum
Riccia fluitans (Crystalwort)
Ricciocarpus natans
Rorippa aquatica
Rotala indica
Rotala macrandra (Giant red rotala)
Rotala rotundifolia (Dwarf rotala)
Rotala wallichii (Whorly rotala)
Ruppia maritima
Sagittaria chapmani
Sagittaria eatonii
Sagittaria filiformis
Sagittaria graminea
Sagittaria guyanensis
Sagittaria isoëtiformis
Sagittaria latifolia
Sagittaria microfila
Sagittaria montevidensis
Sagittaria natans
Sagittaria papillosa
Sagittaria platyphylla (Giant sagittaria)
Sagittaria pusilla (Dwarf sagittaria)
Sagittaria sagittifolia
Sagittaria subulata (Needle sagittaria, floating arrowhead)
Salvinia auriculata
Salvinia cucullata
Salvinia minima
Salvinia natans
Salvinia oblongifolia
Salvinia rotundifolia
Samolus valerandi (Water cabbage)
Saururus cernuus (Lizard's tail)
Selaginella sp.
Shinnersia rivularis (Mexican oak leaf)
Spathiphyllum tasson (Brazilian Sword)
Spathiphyllum wallisii (Peace lily)
Spiranthes romanzoffiana
Spirodela polyrhiza
Stratiotes aloides
Subularia aquatica
Synnema triflorum
Taxiphyllum barbieri
Tonina fluviatilis
Trapa natans (Water chestnut)
Triglochin maritima
Triglochin palustre
Triglochin striata
Typha angustifolia
Typha latifolia
Utricularia gibba
Utricularia graminifolia
Utricularia minor
Utricularia vulgaris
Vallisneria americana (Dwarf vallisneria)
Vallisneria asiatica
Vallisneria asiatica var. biwaensis (Corkscrew vallisneria)
Vallisneria gigantea (Giant vallisneria)
Vallisneria neotropicalis
Vallisneria rubra
Vallisneria spiralis (Straight vallisneria)
Vallisneria tortifolia (Twisted vallisneria, dwarf vallisneria)
Vallisneria tortissima
Versicularia dubyana (Java moss)
Wolffia arrhiza
Wolffia microscopica
Wolffiella floridana
Zannichellia palustris
[edit] False aquatics or pseudo-aquarium plants
Several species of terrestrial plants are frequently sold as "aquarium plants". While such plants are beautiful and can survive and even flourish for months under water, they will eventually die and must be removed so their decay does not contaminate the aquarium water.
Acorus gramineus var. pusilus (Dwarf sedge, Japanese rush)
Acorus gramineus var. variegatus (Dwarf sedge, Japanese rush)
Chlorophytum bichetii (Pongol sword)
Dracaena sanderiana (Striped dragonplant)
Hemigraphis colorata (Crimson ivy)
Ophiopogon japonicus (Fountain plant)
Pilea cadairei (Aluminum plant)
Sciadopitys verticillata) (Umbrella pine, Koyamaki)
Syngonium podophyllum (Stardust ivy)
Aquatic plants are used to give the aquarium a natural appearance, oxygenate the water, and provide habitat for fish, especially fry (babies) and for invertebrate species. Some aquarium fish and invertebrates also eat live plants. Recently, there has been a movement in the hobby to use aquatic plants as part of aesthetic aquarium design and aquascaping, spearheaded by Japanese aquarist Takashi Amano.
Most of these plant species are found either partially or fully submersed in their natural habitat. Although there are a handful of obligate aquatic plants that must be grown in water (Cabomba sp., for example), most grow and thrive fully emersed if the soil is kept moist
Listed alphabetically by scientific name
As a very important note, the taxonomy of most plant genera is not final. Scientific names and classifications have changed often in the past years, creating confusion for most aquarists. Most of the old names are still in use today on some web sites.
Common aquarium plant species:
Acorus calamus
Aglaonema modestum
Aglaonema simplex
Alisma gramineum
Alternanthera bettzichiana
Alternanthera lilacina
Alternanthera philoxeroides
Alternanthera reineckii "rosaefolia"
Alternanthera sessilis
Ammania gracilis (Delicate ammania, red ammania)
Ammania latifolia
Ammania senegalensis
Anubias afzelii (Narrow-leafed anubias, small anubias)
Anubias barteri var. barteri (Broadleaved anubias)
Anubias barteri var. angustifolia
Anubias barteri var. caladiifolia
Anubias barteri var. glabra
Anubias barteri var. nana (Dwarf anubias)
Anubias gilletti
Anubias gracilis
Anubias hastifolia
Anubias heterophylla
Anubias pynaertii
Aponogeton appendiculatus
Aponogeton bernierianus
Aponogeton boivinianus
Aponogeton capuronii
Aponogeton crispus (Crinkled or ruffled apongeton)
Aponogeton decartyi
Aponogeton desertorum
Aponogeton dioecus
Aponogeton distachyos
Aponogeton elongatus
Aponogeton fenestralis
Aponogeton henkelianus
Aponogeton junceus
Aponogeton longiplumulosus
Aponogeton loriae
Aponogeton madagascariensis (Madagascar laceleaf, lace plant)
Aponogeton natans
Aponogeton rigidifolius
Aponogeton tenuispicatus
Aponogeton ulvaceus (Compact apongeton)
Aponogeton undulatus
Armoracia aquatica
Azolla caroliniana (Water velvet)
Azolla filiculoïdes (Azolla, moss fern)
Azolla pinnata
Bacopa amplexicaulis
Bacopa australis
Bacopa caroliniana (lemon bacopa, water hyssop, giant bacopa)
Bacopa crenata
Bacopa monnieri (water hyssop, dwarf bacopa, baby tears)
Bacopa myriophylloides
Bacopa rotundifolia (Round bacopa)
Baldellia ranunculoides
Barclaya longifolia (Orchid lily)
Barclaya motleyi
Blyxa aubertii
Blyxa echinosperma
Blyxa japonica (Japanese rush)
Blyxa novoguineensis
Blyxa octandra
Bolbitis heteroclita
Bolbitis heudelotii (African or Congo fern)
Cabomba aquatica (Yellow cabomba, giant cabomba)
Cabomba caroliniana (Green cabomba)
Cabomba furcata
Cabomba palaeformis
Cabomba piauhyensis (Red cabomba)
Caldesia parnassifolia
Calla palustris
Callitriche hamulata
Callitriche hermaphroditica
Callitriche palustris
Callitriche stagnalis
Cardamine lyrata (Chinese ivy, Japanese cress)
Cardamine rotundifolia
Ceratophyllum demersum (Hornwort)
Ceratophyllum submersum (Tropical hornwort)
Ceratopteris cornuta
Ceratopteris pteridoides
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Cladophora aegagropila
Crassula aquatica
Crassula helmsii
Crinum calamistratum
Crinum natans (African onion plant)
Crinum purpurascens
Crinum thaianum (Water onion)
Cryptocoryne affinis
Cryptocoryne alba
Cryptocoryne albida
Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia
Cryptocoryne auriculata
Cryptocoryne axelrodii
Cryptocoryne balansae
Cryptocoryne beckettii (Beckett's Cryptocoryne)
Cryptocoryne blassii
Cryptocoryne bogneri
Cryptocoryne bullosa
Cryptocoryne ciliata
Cryptocoryne cognata
Cryptocoryne cordata (Giant cryptocoryne)
Cryptocoryne crispatula
Cryptocoryne cruddasiana
Cryptocoryne diderici
Cryptocoryne elliptica
Cryptocoryne ferruginea
Cryptocoryne fusca
Cryptocoryne grabowskii
Cryptocoryne gracilis
Cryptocoryne griffithii
Cryptocoryne huegelii
Cryptocoryne legroi
Cryptocoryne longicauda
Cryptocoryne lucens
Cryptocoryne lutea
Cryptocoryne minima
Cryptocoryne moehlmannii (Moehlmann's cryptocoryne)
Cryptocoryne nevillii
Cryptocoryne nurii
Cryptocoryne parva (Tiny cryptocoryne)
Cryptocoryne petchii
Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia
Cryptocoryne purpurea
Cryptocoryne retrospiralis
Cryptocoryne siamensis
Cryptocoryne spiralis
Cryptocoryne thwaitesii
Cryptocoryne tonkinensis
Cryptocoryne undulata (Undulate cryptocoryne)
Cryptocoryne usteriana
Cryptocoryne venemae
Cryptocoryne versteegii
Cryptocoryne walkeri
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica'
Cryptocoryne x willisii
Cryptocoryne zewaldiae
Cryptocoryne zonata
Cryptocoryne zukalii
Cyperus alternifolius
Cyperus helferi
Cyperus papyrus
Damasonium alisma
Didiplis diandra (Water hedge)
Echinodorus africanus
Echinodorus amazonicus (Amazon sword)
Echinodorus andrieuxii
Echinodorus angustifolius
Echinodorus argentinensis
Echinodorus aschersonianus
Echinodorus barthii
Echinodorus berteroi
Echinodorus bleheri (Broadleaved amazon)
Echinodorus bolivianus (Bolivian sword)
Echinodorus brevipedicellatus
Echinodorus cordifolius (Radicans sword, spade leaf sword)
Echinodorus fluitans
Echinodorus grandiflorus (Large-flowered amazon)
Echinodorus horemanii (Black-red amazon)
Echinodorus horizontalis
Echinodorus humilis
Echinodorus latifolius
Echinodorus longiscapus
Echinodorus macrophyllus (Large-leaved amazon sword)
Echinodorus martii
Echinodorus major (Ruffled amazon sword)
Echinodorus opacus (Opaque amazon sword)
Echinodorus osiris (Red amazon sword)
Echinodorus 'Ozelot'
Echinodorus palaefolius
Echinodorus paniculatus
Echinodorus parviflorus (Black amazon sword)
Echinodorus pelliscidus
Echinodorus quadricostatus (Dwarf sword)
Echinodorus radicans
Echinodorus rigidifolius
Echinodorus 'Rubin'
Echinodorus rubra
Echinodorus schlueteri
Echinodorus subalatus
Echinodorus tenellus (Pygmy chain sword)
Echinodorus tunicatus
Echinodorus uruguayensis (Uruguay amazon sword)
Egeria densa (Elodea, pondweed)
Egeria naias
Eichhornia crassipes (Water hyacinth)
Eichhornia diversifolia
Elatine hydropiper
Elatine macropoda
Eleocharis acicularis (Hairgrass)
Eleocharis dulcis
Eleocharis minima
Eleocharis obtusa
Eleocharis parvula
Eleocharis vivipare
Elodea canadensis (Canadian pondweed)
Elodea nuttallii
Elodea occidentalis
Eriocaulon sp.
Eusteralis stellata (Star rotala)
Fittonia argyroneura
Fontinalis antipyretica (Willow moss)
Glossadelphus zollingeri
Glossostigma diandrum
Glossostigma elatinoides
Gymnocoronis spilanthoides (Spadeleaf plant)
Hemianthus callitrichoides (Dwarf helzine)
Hemianthus micranthemoides (Pearlweed)
Heteranthera dubia
Heteranthera reniformis
Heteranthera zosterifolia (Stargrass)
Hippuris vulgaris
Hottonia inflata
Hottonia palustris (Water violet)
Hydrilla verticillata
Hydrocharis morsus-ranae
Hydrocleis nymphoides
Hydrocotyle leucocephala (Brazilian pennywort)
Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides
Hydrocotyle verticillata (Whorled umbrella plant)
Hydrocotyle vulgaris
Hydrothrix gardneri
Hydrotriche hottoniiflora
Hygrophila angustifolia
Hygrophila corymbosa 'crispa'
Hygrophila corymbosa 'glabra' (Broadlead giant stricta)
Hygrophila corymbosa 'gracilis'
Hygrophila corymbosa 'siamensis'
Hygrophila corymbosa 'strigosa'
Hygrophila difformis (Water wisteria)
Hygrophila guianensis
Hygrophila lacustris
Hygrophila lancea
Hygrophila natalis
Hygrophila polysperma (Dwarf hygrophilia)
Hygrophila salicifolia
Hygrophila stricta (Thai stricta, green stricta)
Hygroryza aristata
Isoetes lacustris
Isoetes malinverniana
Isoetes velata
Isolepis setracea
Juncus repens
Lagarosiphon madagascariensis
Lagarosiphon major (Elodea crispa)
Lagenandra dewitii
Lagenandra insignis
Lagenandra koenigii
Lagenandra lancifolia
Lagenandra nairii
Lagenandra ovata
Lagenandra thwaitesii
Lemna gibba
Lemna minor (Duckweed)
Lemna paucicostata
Lemna perpusilla
Lemna trisulca
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Lilaeopsis carolinensis
Lilaeopsis macloviana
Lilaeopsis mauritiana
Lilaeopsis novae zelandiae (New Zealand grassplant)
Lilaeopsis ruthiana
Limnobium laevigatum (Amazon frogbit)
Limnobium spongia
Limnocharis flava
Limnophila aquatica (Giant ambulia)
Limnophila aromatica
Limnophila glabra
Limnophila heterophylla
Limnophila indica (Indian ambulia)
Limnophila sessiflora
Limnophila sessiliflora (Dwarf ambulia)
Lindernia crustacea F. Muell.
Lindernia rotundifolia
Littorella uniflora
Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower, scarlet lobelia)
Lobelia dortmanna
Ludwigia alternifolia
Ludwigia arcuata
Ludwigia glandulosa (Glandular ludwigia, red star ludwigia)
Ludwigia helminthorrhiza
Ludwigia inclinata
Ludwigia inclinata var. verticellata 'Cuba'
Ludwigia mullertii
Ludwigia natans
Ludwigia palustris
Ludwigia pulvinaris
Ludwigia repens (Creeping ludwigia, narrow-leaf ludwigia)
Luronium natans
Lycopodium inundatum
Lysimachia nummularia (Creeping Jenny, moneywort)
Marsilea crenata
Marsilea drummondii
Marsilea hirsuta
Marsilea pubescens
Marsilea quatrifolia
Mayaca fluviatilis
Mayaca vandellii
Micranthemum umbrosum (Helzine)
Microsorum pteropus (Java fern)
Monosolenium tenerum (commercial name; plants sold under this name are probably Metzgeria sp.)
Myriophyllum alterniflorum
Myriophyllum aquaticum (Brazilian milfoil, milfoil)
Myriophyllum elatinoides
Myriophyllum heterophyllum
Myriophyllum hippuroides (Green milfoil, water milfoil)
Myriophyllum matogrossense
Myriophyllum proserpinacoides
Myriophyllum scabratum (Foxtail)
Myriophyllum spicatum
Myriophyllum tuberculatum (Red myriophyllum)
Myriophyllum ussuriense
Myriophyllum verticillatum
Myriophylumm oguraense
Najas graminea
Najas guadelupensis
Najas indica
Najas marina
Najas minor
Najas pectinata
Nesaea crassicaulis
Nitella capillaris
Nitella flexilis
Nitella gracilis
Nomaphila siamensis
Nomaphila stricta
Nuphar advenum
Nuphar japonica (Spatterdock)
Nuphar luteum
Nuphar pumilum
Nuphar sagittifolium
Nymphaea alba
Nymphaea lotus (Tiger lotus)
Nymphaea lotus var. rubra (Red tiger lotus)
Nymphaea micrantha
Nymphaea pubescens
Nymphaea pygmea
Nymphaea stellata (Red and blue water lily)
Nymphaea zenkeri 'lotus'
Nymphoides aquatica (Banana plant)
Nymphoides humboldtiana
Nymphoides indica
Nymphoides peltata
Orontium aquaticum
Ottelia alismoides
Ottelia mesenterum
Ottelia ulvifolia
Phyllanthus fluitans
Pilularia americana
Pilularia globulifera
Pistia stratiotes (Water lettuce)
Pogostemon helferi
Pogostemon stellatus
Pontederia cordata
Potamogeton coloratus
Potamogeton crispus
Potamogeton densus
Potamogeton filiformis
Potamogeton gayi
Potamogeton gramineus
Potamogeton lucens
Potamogeton malaianus
Potamogeton natans
Potamogeton perfoliatus
Proserpinaca palustris
Ranunculus aquatilis
Ranunculus limosella
Regnellidium diphyllum
Riccia fluitans (Crystalwort)
Ricciocarpus natans
Rorippa aquatica
Rotala indica
Rotala macrandra (Giant red rotala)
Rotala rotundifolia (Dwarf rotala)
Rotala wallichii (Whorly rotala)
Ruppia maritima
Sagittaria chapmani
Sagittaria eatonii
Sagittaria filiformis
Sagittaria graminea
Sagittaria guyanensis
Sagittaria isoëtiformis
Sagittaria latifolia
Sagittaria microfila
Sagittaria montevidensis
Sagittaria natans
Sagittaria papillosa
Sagittaria platyphylla (Giant sagittaria)
Sagittaria pusilla (Dwarf sagittaria)
Sagittaria sagittifolia
Sagittaria subulata (Needle sagittaria, floating arrowhead)
Salvinia auriculata
Salvinia cucullata
Salvinia minima
Salvinia natans
Salvinia oblongifolia
Salvinia rotundifolia
Samolus valerandi (Water cabbage)
Saururus cernuus (Lizard's tail)
Selaginella sp.
Shinnersia rivularis (Mexican oak leaf)
Spathiphyllum tasson (Brazilian Sword)
Spathiphyllum wallisii (Peace lily)
Spiranthes romanzoffiana
Spirodela polyrhiza
Stratiotes aloides
Subularia aquatica
Synnema triflorum
Taxiphyllum barbieri
Tonina fluviatilis
Trapa natans (Water chestnut)
Triglochin maritima
Triglochin palustre
Triglochin striata
Typha angustifolia
Typha latifolia
Utricularia gibba
Utricularia graminifolia
Utricularia minor
Utricularia vulgaris
Vallisneria americana (Dwarf vallisneria)
Vallisneria asiatica
Vallisneria asiatica var. biwaensis (Corkscrew vallisneria)
Vallisneria gigantea (Giant vallisneria)
Vallisneria neotropicalis
Vallisneria rubra
Vallisneria spiralis (Straight vallisneria)
Vallisneria tortifolia (Twisted vallisneria, dwarf vallisneria)
Vallisneria tortissima
Versicularia dubyana (Java moss)
Wolffia arrhiza
Wolffia microscopica
Wolffiella floridana
Zannichellia palustris
[edit] False aquatics or pseudo-aquarium plants
Several species of terrestrial plants are frequently sold as "aquarium plants". While such plants are beautiful and can survive and even flourish for months under water, they will eventually die and must be removed so their decay does not contaminate the aquarium water.
Acorus gramineus var. pusilus (Dwarf sedge, Japanese rush)
Acorus gramineus var. variegatus (Dwarf sedge, Japanese rush)
Chlorophytum bichetii (Pongol sword)
Dracaena sanderiana (Striped dragonplant)
Hemigraphis colorata (Crimson ivy)
Ophiopogon japonicus (Fountain plant)
Pilea cadairei (Aluminum plant)
Sciadopitys verticillata) (Umbrella pine, Koyamaki)
Syngonium podophyllum (Stardust ivy)
Aquarium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
List of marine aquarium fish species
The following is a list of marine aquarium fish species commonly available in the aquarium trade. It is not a completely comprehensive list; certain rare specimens may sometimes be available commercially yet not be listed here.
Angelfish (Large)
These big beauties are luridly coloured and very interesting to watch, but not for the faint hearted aquarist. They need large aquariums and should not be kept in groups. Two angels might be kept in the same aquarium provided it is a large aquarium, they are properly acclimated as juveniles, and they are have very different colouring and body shape. However, because all Angelfish have essentially the same diet, mixing them is a feat that should be left to only advanced keepers. None are reef safe, and a potential owner should be aware that they need to have plenty of vegetable matter in their diet. They undergo major changes in colouration while maturing, and unless specified given descriptions are for adult specimens.
Angelfish (Dwarf)
Although Dwarf Angelfish are smaller and generally more manageable than their larger counterparts, they still have some specific care requirements. They are omnivores, but plenty of vegetable matter, preferably in the form of macroalgae, should be provided for their grazing pleasure. Their suitability for reef tanks is hotly debated, so add at your own risk. The only possible exception to this is the Flame Angelfish, which is generally considered safe. However, for obvious reasons it should not be put into tanks with expensive decorative macroalgae
Anthias
Although Anthias resemble damsels in shape and size, the two should never be confused. Where damsels are the goats of the Saltwater world, Anthias (also called "Fairy Basslets in) are finicky and many starve to death in captivity. In the wild, they eat zooplankton, and will not accept anything but in the aquarium. They also need to be fed nearly constantly, three times a day at least. The best way to ensure the health and longevity of an Anthias is to attach a refugium where you can grow copepods to "drip" into the display tank. Unlike many other saltwater aquarium inhabitants, they can be kept in groups.
Bass & Groupers
In this exceedingly large group of fish, few are considered proper aquarium inhabitants, for various reasons including diet and size. Be aware that Basses vary greatly from species to species, and do appropriate research before purchasing a specimen. Many unsuspecting hobbyists bring home cute little specimens of popular aquarium fish such as the Lyretail Grouper, only to realize several months later that they don't have the resources to care for a meter-long that may cost hundreds of dollars a month to feed.
Basslets & Assessors
Basslets and Assessors are small, long bodied fish strongly resembling Anthias. Their care requirements, however, are closer to those of damsels. They should be kept individually, and generally not with other fish of similar shape and colour. Feeding is easy: they will generally eat any meaty foods offered. Good water quality should be maintained at all times.
Batfish
Young Dusky BatfishBatfish are gorgeous and striking fish that are not common in aquaria for one major reason: they get huge. A two or three hundred gallon tank is needed for one, minimum, and larger is better. They start out as tiny, manageable-looking cuties, which often fools aquarists into purchasing them for their small aquariums. However they quickly grow to gargantuan proportions, and require large amounts of food as well as space, so beware. They are not reef safe and should be fed plenty of large meaty foods. Batfish change greatly as they grow, however the potential aquarist is most likely to see them in their juvenile form, so that is the description of the colouration here. They all have generally the same body shape: disk-like with tall dorsal and anal fins, similar to a Freshwater Angelfish.
Blennies
Blennies are popular aquarium fish, and for good reason. They are peaceful, colorful, and many are downright helpful. For example, the aptly named Lawnmower Blenny will keep your green algae well trimmed and presentable. With the exception of Fang Blennies, Blennies are totally reef safe- in fact a reef environment is really best for them because they can be shy and the intricate rockwork of a reef provides ample hiding spaces. They are omnivores and should be fed a varied diet of frozen or live foods and plant matter. Blennies don't have teeth or functional jaw, so food must be big enough for them to swallow whole.
Blennies are often confused with Gobies, but there is an easy way to tell the difference. Gobies have two distinct dorsal fins, Blennies have a single dorsal fin that runs the length of their body. Also, Gobies' pelvic fins are fused to form a sucker, similar to Remoras.
Boxfish & Pufferfish
Members of the family Tetraodontidae, Boxfish, Puffers and their cousins Cowfishes and Porcupinefishes can be very personable and quirky pets, for the prepared.
They are not thought of as an ordinary aquarium tank mate, but are quickly gaining popularity. They do pose a hazard in the community tank however. They are capable of releasing a very powerful toxin which can kill other fish and in some cases, the boxfish itself. They generally only use it when threatened or dying, but can become disturbed easily with aggressive tank mates or overcrowded aquarium. Generally they are reef safe, though they will pick at invertebrates if not fed well enough.
Many people think puffed up Pufferfish, like in the picture, are cute, but an owner should never subject their pet to this as they are often unable to expel the air should they be out of the water. To prevent this, never remove a puffer from the water.
Butterflyfish
Butterflyfish, when properly cared for, can make beautiful and distinctive additions to fish only marine aquariums. Often large and usually not suited for those with smaller aquariums, nor those of the faint of heart. Nevertheless, when fed a varied diet and kept in pristine conditions, Butterflyfish will usually thrive. That is, if you choose the right species. With Butterflyfish, usually a fish is going to survive, or it's not. Many species simply cannot be kept in captivity, and potential keepers must take care to only purchase those species that have a fighting chance. Also, be very picky about which specimen you choose- any sign of mishandling should be taken as a red flag.
The following species are relatively hardy and an experienced aquarist should have no trouble with them, so long as they are diligent.
Cardinalfish
One of the few groups of shoaling fish commonly available to marine aquarists, Cardinalfish are nocturnal and tend to be quite shy. They require meaty foods and will often not take prepared foods such as flakes and tablets. For the best chance of success, keep a wide variety of frozen foods on hand. In the event of a hunger strike, they will almost always take adult brine shrimp. As far as other care requirements they are similar to damsels: not picky. So long as they are properly acclimated, they tolerate a wide range of parameters. Watch the ammonia/nitrite, as they are particularly sensitive to these chemicals
Chromis
Chromis are perhaps the ultimate reef fish. Generally peaceful, most species are easy to take care of and quite colorful. Like anthias, they will school, but in many cases this tendency disappears as they age. They are, nevertheless, at least ambivalent with their own species, as well as completely reef safe. Like Damsels and Anemonefish, their close cousins, Chromis are omnivores and will accept most foods offered. A flake staple is usually sufficient, but for best color and health supplement with frozen and live foods when possible.
Clownfish
Clownfish, more technically known as Anemonefish, are the classic aquarium fish. Both hardy and attractive, they are perhaps best known for their symbiotic relationship with Sea Anemones, a relative of coral. In the wild, Anemonefish are always found with a host, leading many potential keepers to believe that an anemone is necessary to keep them. Anemonefish are easy to keep, but their cnidarian counterparts are inordinately finicky and need high light levels, and luckily Anemonefish will thrive without them. Aquarists often find that Anemonefish will host in other things, from corals and Feather Duster Worms to powerheads and other equipment. Anemonefish care is identical to that of Damselfish, as they are actually very closely related.
Damsels
All Damselfish can be considered reef-safe, sometimes excluding larger, more aggressive Dascyllus varieties. Some Damselfish will host in anemones like clownfish. Most Damselfish are aggressive and difficult to catch once you put them in an aquarium.
Damselfish change gender as they grow larger and older. Small damselfish are ungendered. Eventually, they become males if no males prevent them from doing so. 1 or sometimes 2 males live with a female and guard over the eggs. Females are the largest fish and dominant over the males and juveniles. They will not allow other females into an area they have claimed as their territory without a fight. They may not allow new males or juveniles, either. Aggression increases with each change.
Dragonets
Dragonets are often mis-categorized as gobies or blennies by fish sellers. They are bottom-dwelling fish that constantly hunt tiny invertebrates for food. Most starve to death in a marine aquarium unless you provide a refugium or place for the invertebrates to reproduce safely without any fish being able to reach them.
Hawkfish
Attractive and relatively small, Hawkfish make excellent additions to fish only or FOWLR aquariums. With extreme caution taken, they could be kept in reef aquariums, but because of their propensity to eat small ornamental shrimps and other mobile invertabrates (usually leaving sessile invertabrates alone) they are not considered reef safe. Lacking a swim bladder, Hawkfish can often be found resting in crevices of rocks or among the branches of corals or gregonians. Hawkfish are easy to care for and not picky at all about water quality. A varied diet, including spirulina and small meaty foods like Mysis is recommended.
Seahorse
It takes a special aquarist to maintain these delicate beauties. A potential keeper must be dedicated and willing to throw artistic creativity to the winds- as what seahorses need isn't always beautiful. They require taller tanks, live/frozen food, and many hitching posts, as well as very peaceful tankmates. In fact, beginners would be well-advised not to mix seahorses with any other species until they have more experience.
Seahorses found in stores are generally Captive Bred, but occasionally one might find a Wild Caught specimen. WC Seahorses should only be purchased by Seahorse experts who are going to breed them, as they tend to be finicky and most are endangered in the wild.
One of the main upshots of Seahorses is that many species stay small and can (in fact, some should) be kept in smaller tanks, making them idea for aquarists who are pressed for space or money.
Seahorses are among the few popular marine aquarium species that can be temperate. Species vary in their temperature requirement, so here an extra category has been added.
TR=Tropical ST=Sub-Tropical TM=Temperate
Tangs
Tangs generally feed on algae, though there are a few carnivorous species. Most tangs will not tolerate other fish the same color and/or shape as them. They have a spine on their tails that can cut open other fish and unprotected hands. All tangs should be given plenty of swimming room; try to have at least a 4' tank. Contrary to popular belief they will tolerate smaller (4' to 5') tanks just fine but tend to live better in larger tanks, over 5'.
[edit] Tilefish
Though often categorized as Gobies, Tilefish are a separate species.
Triggerfish
While they are generally considered monsters that will chomp invertebrates, many will actually make great reef fish.
Wrasse
Some wrasse species are aggressive towards small fish and invertebrates.
List of marine aquarium fish species
The following is a list of marine aquarium fish species commonly available in the aquarium trade. It is not a completely comprehensive list; certain rare specimens may sometimes be available commercially yet not be listed here.
Angelfish (Large)
These big beauties are luridly coloured and very interesting to watch, but not for the faint hearted aquarist. They need large aquariums and should not be kept in groups. Two angels might be kept in the same aquarium provided it is a large aquarium, they are properly acclimated as juveniles, and they are have very different colouring and body shape. However, because all Angelfish have essentially the same diet, mixing them is a feat that should be left to only advanced keepers. None are reef safe, and a potential owner should be aware that they need to have plenty of vegetable matter in their diet. They undergo major changes in colouration while maturing, and unless specified given descriptions are for adult specimens.
Angelfish (Dwarf)
Although Dwarf Angelfish are smaller and generally more manageable than their larger counterparts, they still have some specific care requirements. They are omnivores, but plenty of vegetable matter, preferably in the form of macroalgae, should be provided for their grazing pleasure. Their suitability for reef tanks is hotly debated, so add at your own risk. The only possible exception to this is the Flame Angelfish, which is generally considered safe. However, for obvious reasons it should not be put into tanks with expensive decorative macroalgae
Anthias
Although Anthias resemble damsels in shape and size, the two should never be confused. Where damsels are the goats of the Saltwater world, Anthias (also called "Fairy Basslets in) are finicky and many starve to death in captivity. In the wild, they eat zooplankton, and will not accept anything but in the aquarium. They also need to be fed nearly constantly, three times a day at least. The best way to ensure the health and longevity of an Anthias is to attach a refugium where you can grow copepods to "drip" into the display tank. Unlike many other saltwater aquarium inhabitants, they can be kept in groups.
Bass & Groupers
In this exceedingly large group of fish, few are considered proper aquarium inhabitants, for various reasons including diet and size. Be aware that Basses vary greatly from species to species, and do appropriate research before purchasing a specimen. Many unsuspecting hobbyists bring home cute little specimens of popular aquarium fish such as the Lyretail Grouper, only to realize several months later that they don't have the resources to care for a meter-long that may cost hundreds of dollars a month to feed.
Basslets & Assessors
Basslets and Assessors are small, long bodied fish strongly resembling Anthias. Their care requirements, however, are closer to those of damsels. They should be kept individually, and generally not with other fish of similar shape and colour. Feeding is easy: they will generally eat any meaty foods offered. Good water quality should be maintained at all times.
Batfish
Young Dusky BatfishBatfish are gorgeous and striking fish that are not common in aquaria for one major reason: they get huge. A two or three hundred gallon tank is needed for one, minimum, and larger is better. They start out as tiny, manageable-looking cuties, which often fools aquarists into purchasing them for their small aquariums. However they quickly grow to gargantuan proportions, and require large amounts of food as well as space, so beware. They are not reef safe and should be fed plenty of large meaty foods. Batfish change greatly as they grow, however the potential aquarist is most likely to see them in their juvenile form, so that is the description of the colouration here. They all have generally the same body shape: disk-like with tall dorsal and anal fins, similar to a Freshwater Angelfish.
Blennies
Blennies are popular aquarium fish, and for good reason. They are peaceful, colorful, and many are downright helpful. For example, the aptly named Lawnmower Blenny will keep your green algae well trimmed and presentable. With the exception of Fang Blennies, Blennies are totally reef safe- in fact a reef environment is really best for them because they can be shy and the intricate rockwork of a reef provides ample hiding spaces. They are omnivores and should be fed a varied diet of frozen or live foods and plant matter. Blennies don't have teeth or functional jaw, so food must be big enough for them to swallow whole.
Blennies are often confused with Gobies, but there is an easy way to tell the difference. Gobies have two distinct dorsal fins, Blennies have a single dorsal fin that runs the length of their body. Also, Gobies' pelvic fins are fused to form a sucker, similar to Remoras.
Boxfish & Pufferfish
Members of the family Tetraodontidae, Boxfish, Puffers and their cousins Cowfishes and Porcupinefishes can be very personable and quirky pets, for the prepared.
They are not thought of as an ordinary aquarium tank mate, but are quickly gaining popularity. They do pose a hazard in the community tank however. They are capable of releasing a very powerful toxin which can kill other fish and in some cases, the boxfish itself. They generally only use it when threatened or dying, but can become disturbed easily with aggressive tank mates or overcrowded aquarium. Generally they are reef safe, though they will pick at invertebrates if not fed well enough.
Many people think puffed up Pufferfish, like in the picture, are cute, but an owner should never subject their pet to this as they are often unable to expel the air should they be out of the water. To prevent this, never remove a puffer from the water.
Butterflyfish
Butterflyfish, when properly cared for, can make beautiful and distinctive additions to fish only marine aquariums. Often large and usually not suited for those with smaller aquariums, nor those of the faint of heart. Nevertheless, when fed a varied diet and kept in pristine conditions, Butterflyfish will usually thrive. That is, if you choose the right species. With Butterflyfish, usually a fish is going to survive, or it's not. Many species simply cannot be kept in captivity, and potential keepers must take care to only purchase those species that have a fighting chance. Also, be very picky about which specimen you choose- any sign of mishandling should be taken as a red flag.
The following species are relatively hardy and an experienced aquarist should have no trouble with them, so long as they are diligent.
Cardinalfish
One of the few groups of shoaling fish commonly available to marine aquarists, Cardinalfish are nocturnal and tend to be quite shy. They require meaty foods and will often not take prepared foods such as flakes and tablets. For the best chance of success, keep a wide variety of frozen foods on hand. In the event of a hunger strike, they will almost always take adult brine shrimp. As far as other care requirements they are similar to damsels: not picky. So long as they are properly acclimated, they tolerate a wide range of parameters. Watch the ammonia/nitrite, as they are particularly sensitive to these chemicals
Chromis
Chromis are perhaps the ultimate reef fish. Generally peaceful, most species are easy to take care of and quite colorful. Like anthias, they will school, but in many cases this tendency disappears as they age. They are, nevertheless, at least ambivalent with their own species, as well as completely reef safe. Like Damsels and Anemonefish, their close cousins, Chromis are omnivores and will accept most foods offered. A flake staple is usually sufficient, but for best color and health supplement with frozen and live foods when possible.
Clownfish
Clownfish, more technically known as Anemonefish, are the classic aquarium fish. Both hardy and attractive, they are perhaps best known for their symbiotic relationship with Sea Anemones, a relative of coral. In the wild, Anemonefish are always found with a host, leading many potential keepers to believe that an anemone is necessary to keep them. Anemonefish are easy to keep, but their cnidarian counterparts are inordinately finicky and need high light levels, and luckily Anemonefish will thrive without them. Aquarists often find that Anemonefish will host in other things, from corals and Feather Duster Worms to powerheads and other equipment. Anemonefish care is identical to that of Damselfish, as they are actually very closely related.
Damsels
All Damselfish can be considered reef-safe, sometimes excluding larger, more aggressive Dascyllus varieties. Some Damselfish will host in anemones like clownfish. Most Damselfish are aggressive and difficult to catch once you put them in an aquarium.
Damselfish change gender as they grow larger and older. Small damselfish are ungendered. Eventually, they become males if no males prevent them from doing so. 1 or sometimes 2 males live with a female and guard over the eggs. Females are the largest fish and dominant over the males and juveniles. They will not allow other females into an area they have claimed as their territory without a fight. They may not allow new males or juveniles, either. Aggression increases with each change.
Dragonets
Dragonets are often mis-categorized as gobies or blennies by fish sellers. They are bottom-dwelling fish that constantly hunt tiny invertebrates for food. Most starve to death in a marine aquarium unless you provide a refugium or place for the invertebrates to reproduce safely without any fish being able to reach them.
Hawkfish
Attractive and relatively small, Hawkfish make excellent additions to fish only or FOWLR aquariums. With extreme caution taken, they could be kept in reef aquariums, but because of their propensity to eat small ornamental shrimps and other mobile invertabrates (usually leaving sessile invertabrates alone) they are not considered reef safe. Lacking a swim bladder, Hawkfish can often be found resting in crevices of rocks or among the branches of corals or gregonians. Hawkfish are easy to care for and not picky at all about water quality. A varied diet, including spirulina and small meaty foods like Mysis is recommended.
Seahorse
It takes a special aquarist to maintain these delicate beauties. A potential keeper must be dedicated and willing to throw artistic creativity to the winds- as what seahorses need isn't always beautiful. They require taller tanks, live/frozen food, and many hitching posts, as well as very peaceful tankmates. In fact, beginners would be well-advised not to mix seahorses with any other species until they have more experience.
Seahorses found in stores are generally Captive Bred, but occasionally one might find a Wild Caught specimen. WC Seahorses should only be purchased by Seahorse experts who are going to breed them, as they tend to be finicky and most are endangered in the wild.
One of the main upshots of Seahorses is that many species stay small and can (in fact, some should) be kept in smaller tanks, making them idea for aquarists who are pressed for space or money.
Seahorses are among the few popular marine aquarium species that can be temperate. Species vary in their temperature requirement, so here an extra category has been added.
TR=Tropical ST=Sub-Tropical TM=Temperate
Tangs
Tangs generally feed on algae, though there are a few carnivorous species. Most tangs will not tolerate other fish the same color and/or shape as them. They have a spine on their tails that can cut open other fish and unprotected hands. All tangs should be given plenty of swimming room; try to have at least a 4' tank. Contrary to popular belief they will tolerate smaller (4' to 5') tanks just fine but tend to live better in larger tanks, over 5'.
[edit] Tilefish
Though often categorized as Gobies, Tilefish are a separate species.
Triggerfish
While they are generally considered monsters that will chomp invertebrates, many will actually make great reef fish.
Wrasse
Some wrasse species are aggressive towards small fish and invertebrates.
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