What is an Aquarium?

An aquarium (plural aquariums or aquaria) is a clear-sided container (typically constructed of glass or high-strength plastic) in which water-dwelling plants and animals (usually fish, and sometimes invertebrates, as well as amphibians, marine mammals, and reptiles) are kept in captivity, often for public display; or it is an establishment featuring such displays. Aquarium keeping is a popular hobby around the world, with about 60 million enthusiasts worldwide.

History and development

Etymology

The word aquarium itself is taken directly from the latin aqua, meaning water, with the suffix -rium, meaning "place" or "building".

Ancient practices

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. Ancient Sumerians were known to keep wild-caught fish in ponds, before preparing them for meals. In China, 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.

Glass enclosures

The concept of an aquarium, designed for the observation of fish in an enclosed, transparent tank to be kept indoors, emerged more recently. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact date of this development. In 1665 the diarist Samuel Pepys recorded seeing in London "a fine rarity, of fishes kept in a glass of water, that will live so forever, and finely marked they are, being foreign." The fish observed by Pepys were likely to have been the paradise fish, Macropodus opercularis, a familiar garden fish in Guangzhou (Canton), China, where the East India Company was then trading. In the 18th century, the biologist Abraham Trembley kept hydra found in the garden canals of the Bentinck residence 'Sorgvliet' in the Netherlands, in large cylindrical glass vessels for study. The concept of keeping aquatic life in glass containers, then, dates to at latest this period.

Popularization

South East Asian fish in the aquarium at Bristol Zoo, Bristol, England. The tank is about 2 meters (6 feet) high.

The keeping of fish in an aquarium first became a popular hobby in Britain only after ornate aquaria in cast-iron frames were featured at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The framed-glass aquarium was a specialized version of the glazed Wardian case developed for British horticulturists in the 1830s to protect exotic plants on long sea voyages. (One feature of some 19th century aquaria that would prove curious to hobbyists today was the use of a metal base panel so that the aquarium water could be heated by flame.) Germans rivaled the British in their interest, and by the turn of the century Hamburg became the European port of entry for many newly seen species. 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 the aeration, filtration, and heating of the water. Popularization was also assisted by the availability of air freight, which allowed a much wider variety of fish to be successfully imported from distant regions of origin that consequently attracted new hobbyists.

There are currently estimated to be about 60 million aquarium hobbyists worldwide, and many more aquaria kept by them. The hobby has the strongest following in Europe, Asia, and North America. In the United States, a large minority (40%) of aquarists maintain two or more tanks at any one time.

Classifications

Aquaria can be classified by several variables that determine the type of aquatic life that can be suitably housed. The conditions and characteristics of the water contained in an aquarium are the most important classification criteria, as most aquatic life will not survive even limited exposure to unsuitable water conditions. The size of an aquarium also limits the aquarist in what types of ecosystems he can reproduce, species selection, and biological loading.

Water conditions

A saltwater aquarium

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 (a salt level of < 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. 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. For freshwater aquaria, additives formulated to remove chlorine or chloramine (used to disinfect drinking water supplies for human consumption) 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. 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.

Secondary water characteristics

Secondary water characteristics are also important to the success of an aquarium. 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.

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 temperature can be regulated with a combined thermometer/heater unit (or, more rarely, with a cooling unit), while water movement can be controlled through the use of powerheads and careful design of internal water flow (such as location of filtration system points of inflow and outflow).

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