Casey and Peanut: Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: What Kind Of Freshwater Aquarium History Do You Remember?

Ancient civilizations kept fish in artificial
ponds for food. In time, they have seen the
beauty of some species of fish and began to keep
them for amusement. This is what the Romans did
when they kept sea barbels in marble tanks and
put them under the bed of guests. Freshwater
aquarium history has started since then and now,
the aquarium hobby is being enjoyed by millions
of people in the whole world. It is almost a
status symbol to own a freshwater aquarium at
home and in some countries people have giant 500
to 1000 gallon aquariums in their offices, which
are quite a sight to behold

In 1841, Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward used his
Wardian case for tropical animals where he kept
toy fish and aquatic plants. The glazed case was
originally used in his experiment on ferns. It
was also used to transfer ferns and grasses from
England to Australia and became the forerunner of
the terrarium.

The basic concept and design of the Wardian case
became the inspiration for the present day
aquarium. Botanists and biologists started the
idea of keeping plants and animals in an
enclosure for the purpose of observing them
indoors whenever they want. Anna Thynne of London
created the first balanced marine aquarium when
for almost three years; she maintained stony
corals and seaweed.

The idea of a balanced aquarium was developed in
the 1800s. The guiding principle was that a
symbiotic relationship between fish and aquatic
plants could be duplicated in a miniature aquatic
ecosystem. It proved to be a valuable concept in
freshwater aquarium history that is still being
followed to this day.

English naturalist Philip Henry Gosse was
credited as the person to use the word "aquarium"
and it was in his time that aquarium became very
popular in the United Kingdom. This was
attributed to the Great Exhibition of 1851 where
exhibits of modern industrial technology and
design were showcased. One of the exhibits
featured in the event were flamboyant aquariums
in cast iron frames. The people were happy with
what they watched that went to the exhibit. Two
years after the exhibit, the Fish House was
opened in London Zoo. It was the first large
public aquarium ever built.

freshwater aquarium history was heavily
influenced by the creation of books and articles
as well as public speeches about their beauty.
Philip Henry Gosse's book, "The Aquarium: An
Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea" and
provided the reader with details of aquatic life
although he particularly discussed saltwater
aquaria.

In 1856, the article "The Lake in a Glass" was
published in Germany and it talked about
freshwater aquaria. After more than ten years,
aquarists' societies were being formed in the
country. The United States published the world's
first aquarium magazine in 1876 and two years
after, the first tropical fish from the Far East
were introduced by Rear Admiral Daniel Ammon. One
of the first published books in the country about
aquaria was Henry D. Butler's, "The Family
Aquarium" and its first aquarist society was
founded in New York in 1893.

As aquariums became widely accepted as a hobby,
improvements in the tank design and introduction
of the first freshwater aquarium accessories gave
the first aquarists the motivation to continue
what they have started. The first mechanical air
pump powered by running water was invented in the
early 1900s.

Filtering and heating became popular with the
advent of common electricity and this allowed for
the creation of various kinds of aquarium
equipment like heaters and water pumps. Another
pivotal improvement that played an important role
in freshwater aquarium history was the
development of the plastic shipping bag in the
1950's. It made shipping of fish easier allowing
the transfer and exchange of different varieties
of fish to many locations. Before plastic
shipping bags were used, fish transports were
done by using jugs made from various materials.

The aquarium tank itself greatly improved from
the marble tank of the Roman era to the custom
built MacQuarium, an aquarium built from the
shell of an Apple Macintosh computer. In the
Victorian Era, aquariums were made by a
combination of glass front and wood sealed by a
type of resin. Robert Warrington created the
first aquarium made entirely of glass. At
present, glass is still used as tank material but
in recent years acrylic was introduced. It is a
transparent thermoplastic that is
shatter-resistant and lighter than glass. A
material that combines the strength of acrylic
and clarity of glass is the laminated glass and
aquarium that is now becoming popular worldwide.

The evolution of freshwater fish is also a
momentous part of freshwater aquarium history.
The goldfish have been bred in lots of varieties
from the original Carp species. Tropical fish
have been also successfully bred with fancy
varieties that are more colorful and appealing.
New species of wild tropical fish have been
discovered and introduced to the freshwater
aquarium hobby. More scientific studies and
research provided much needed information about
the fish and their habitat which in turn helped
them live longer in the tank. Nowadays, in the
U.S. and Asia most of the fish used in aquariums
are bred and caught in the wild.

At the end of the 20th century, an estimated nine
million households in the United States keep an
aquarium. More data from 2005 to 2006 suggests
that these American households own 139 million
freshwater fish and 9.6 million saltwater fish.
Aquarium keeping as a hobby is already second to
stamp collecting and will continue to grow as
technology continues to improve.

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secrets that will make your aquarium thrive and
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http://www.freshwateraquariumcenteronline.com/fres
hwater-aquarium-history/ .

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