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Monday 5 September 2011

Aquarium

An aquarium water-filled tank, usually with glass sides, in which aquatic plants and animals, particularly fish, are kept.

A freshwater aquarium with plants and tropical fish

Aquariums have been kept for thousands of years. The Sumerians of Mesopotamia kept fish in artificial ponds at least 4,500 years ago. Other early cultures that had aquariums include the Egyptians, Assyrians, Chinese, Japanese, and Romans.   

Aquariums in ancient times served several purposes. They provided both entertainment and a place to breed fishes for market.

Aquarium keeping did not become a well-established science until the relationship between oxygen, animals, and plants became known in the 1800s.

The term aquarium first appeared in the works of Phillip Gosse (1810-88), a British scientist.  

The first public aquarium, the Aquatic Vivarium, was opened in Regent's Park Zoo, London in 1853; it was closed shortly afterward, and a new one was not erected until 1924. It was followed by aquariums in Berlin, Naples, and Paris.


There was once a three acre aquarium in Montreal. The aquarium closed down in 1991 after all of the dolphin trainers went on strike, leaving the dolphins unfed for 38 days and causing most of them to die.

An aquarium known as the Aquatic Habitat was installed on the Space Station in 2012 to further the study of marine life in space.

Aquariums aren't allowed to pay to get animals from other aquariums as it encourages poaching. So there is a barter system in place where they swap animals. The New England Aquarium out on the waterfront in Boston traded a dozen penguins for 800 mackerel and their basic unit of trade is the jellyfish

Goldfish enjoy cool water, but the popular tropical fish must have water at a constant temperature of 22° C (72° F) or more.


It's common for dentists to have aquariums because they reduce stress. Aquarium Therapy has been shown to reduce anxiety and high blood pressure; achieving results that are the same, or better than, hypnosis

Source Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc

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