21 Fin-tastic Aquarium Facts On Underwater Worlds For Kids

An aquarium is a glass box or area where aquatic animals, fish, and plants are kept.

Aquariums can be a way to exhibit these underwater delights to the public. Any type of sea life or fish can be kept in an aquarium, in a variety of sizes and shapes.

It requires a lot of maintenance to keep an aquarium in a good condition. An aquarium should be regularly cleaned and the temperature should be optimum for aquatic life to grow and thrive.

The fishbowl was the first and the simplest form of an aquarium that was ever made by man. There are no filters or electrical equipment in fish bowls, so the fish are easy to maintain.

There are now different types of aquariums, such as planted aquariums, saltwater aquariums, community aquariums, freshwater and goldfish aquariums. There are also different types of aquarium tanks, including floor aquariums, stand-alone aquariums, wall aquariums, cabinet aquariums, and aquarium stands. These tanks usually contain a large number of fish and other sea life.

They require appropriate lighting, filters, and heaters. The pH levels of the water must be regularly checked so that it does not endanger plant life.

Floor aquariums are usually open to the public and built inside a building. This requires a strong floor plan and heavy pillars.

Commercial buildings, such as malls, sometimes have a wall that is built to be an aquarium. Cabinet aquariums are smaller, and are essentially just a cabinet built in the wall, which is then used as an aquarium. Stand-alone and aquarium stands are a piece of furniture that contain an aquarium.

What is an aquarium?

An aquarium is an area where plants and animals that live in water are kept for observation and domesticated. It is a box that has at least one transparent side, made of glass or plastic. Aquatic reptiles, fishes, amphibians, invertebrates, and aquatic plants are kept in them.

Philip Henry Gosse invented the term 'aquarium'. He was an English naturalist.

It takes the Latin word 'aqua' which means water and 'ium', as a suffix, means 'a place relating to'. Robert Warrington, a chemist, created the first aquarium principle in 1850.

He did this for an experiment, to show that plants produced enough oxygen for animals living underwater, as long as the number of aquatic species doesn't grow larger than the amount of oxygen produced by the plants.

In 1853, in Victorian England, an aquarium establishment was founded in London Zoo. In 1854, the first manual, 'The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea', was published.

Very large aquariums contain diverse aquatic species such as turtles, sharks, otters, whales, and dolphins. The animals in an aquarium are kept under high-quality check. The fish that are fed to sea lions, for example, are inspected for their health.

The body, eyes, and stomach are pressed to see if the fish is not too soft. The regulations are so strict, that even if a scale is slightly out of place, the fish is not used for feeding.

Training a sea lion or seal is a very laborious process. Training them to lift their flipper on command, can take over 30 hours. This method is used by almost every zookeeper.

Some fish are mouth breeders, which means that they keep their eggs inside their mouth until they are hatched. Zoos and aquariums are a great way for families to spend their time, where children can learn about aquatic life.

Sea animals require extra attention in a tank kept at home. Virtual aquariums are a computer program that allows people to view inside a tank, where animals who live underwater can be seen. Positive reinforcement operant conditioning is employed by most trainers to train sea animals.

Famous Aquariums Around The World

There are many famous aquariums around the world. Located in Atlanta, USA, the Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the world. It has about 31,000 cubic meters (8.5 million gallons) of water. It contains fresh water and saltwater and has about 120,000 animals for display. There are about 500 species of animals in the Georgia Aquarium.

One of the most famous aquariums, is the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, located in Japan. Its specialty is the gigantic whale shark and it contains about 750 species of animals. The S.E.A Aquarium located in Singapore also has animals living in over 50 different habitats.

The Aquarium of Genoa of Italy also attracts a lot of visitors every year. It has 70 tanks and is built like a ship. About 1.2 million people visit this unique aquarium every year.

The world's largest suspended aquarium is in UAE. The Dubai Aquarium and underwater zoo have the largest collection of sand sharks in the world. There is a glass-bottom boat tour available as well, to get another view of the sea life. It has submersible simulator features available for the visitors to give them a real underwater experience.

Interestingly, smaller fish consume a larger amount of oxygen than larger fish, per gram of body weight. Some fish are territorial and do not like overcrowded aquariums with many fish around them. Other fish, such as Labyrinth fish for example, do not require much space.

The Romans are considered to be the first to have constructed aquariums. They kept fish in specially constructed ponds and supplied the ponds with fresh seawater from the ocean. Many applications are sent to aquariums and zoos for animal care positions. Like zoos, aquariums are also an interesting way for kids and adults to learn about different species of the world.

Benefits of Aquariums

Keeping aquariums at homes, or visiting them for a day out, can have a positive impact on people. According to many health researchers, having fish at home and watching them, reduces stress and hypertension. Keeping aquariums at home or schools can calm down hyperactive children. They also provide a serene atmosphere.

Fish are one of the easiest pets to domesticate and look after. As such, children are usually given a fish in a fishbowl as their first real pet.

There are aquariums in hospitals to calm down patients and help them be in a relaxing mood. They can be used to help in the conversation of endangered species, by giving them optimum temperature and food. They mimic coral reef conservation by providing them with habitat.

The first aquarium had 650,000 visitors. To be able to work in an aquarium, it is preferred to be scuba certified. Previous experience with marine life is also a plus when working in aquariums.

The diets of marine life are also closely monitored by the authorities. For marine life shows, such as dolphin shows, an animal trainer has to train the animal. It is an extremely tiring process to train them and is also a very time-consuming process to train marine life.

According to a study, certain fish have the possibility of recognizing familiar faces. In an experiment, an archerfish could recognize familiar faces from over a collection of 44 faces.

It had an accuracy of almost 80%. Many times, large species such as lemon sharks and nurse sharks are kept together with smaller fishes.

Though they are kept with them, the larger creatures do not eat the smaller fish, as the rule of the carnivores is that they do not hunt when they are full. Therefore, the aquarists make sure to feed the larger sharks constantly and so they remain full.

The lights in tanks are also regulated. Fluorescent lights have even illumination, but the lights can over illuminate the walls of the tank over time.

The natural colors of the room are accentuated by colored lights in a tank. The lamps which encourage maximum growth of marine plants in a tank are mercury-vapor lamps. The presence of aquatic plants is essential in large tanks for maintaining life.

Marine Life of Aquariums

Seals, octopus, dolphins, sharks, sea lions, and beluga whales are marine animals that can be seen in aquariums over the world. The first public aquarium was situated in London Zoo and aquariums were first known as an underwater vivarium. An aquarium specific for dolphins is called a Dolphinaria.

Millions of gallons of water are used in aquariums to maintain marine life. Semiaquatic animals like tortoises are also kept in an aquarium.

People specializing in marine biology find it useful to study marine animals if they are kept inside aquariums. There is a special filtration system in aquariums, that is an expansive system, distributing many million gallons of water inside the aquarium facility. There is also a specialized system called the life support system for overlooking marine animals.

They oversee more than 255 pumps individually and contain very skilled employees. These employees monitor the pH level and water temperature in each tank.

In an aquarium, installing a filtration system is the most complex part. It is especially difficult in home aquariums.

The heater is regulated with a thermostat and the water temperature should be kept at a level that is above the surrounding air. Apart from that, chillers and coolers are also kept for places where the temperature is warm. It can be very expensive to maintain the optimum temperature in an aquarium.

There is also a hood in an aquarium to decrease the level of evaporation, which also prevents the fish from leaving the aquarium, and also prevents other animals from entering the aquarium. Lights are also mostly present in the hood of the aquarium. The filtration systems which are widely used are combined mechanical and biological.

They often convert ammonia to nitrate by removing nitrogen and phosphate. Microbes are present in the filter media to mediate the nitrification process.

Sharks and seals require the most maintenance of all aquatic life. They are checked for diseases and bacteria thoroughly.

Aquarium workers spend a lot of time making food for the aquatic life. In particular, octopus are very troublesome to keep and have been known to interfere with the aquatic tank system. One octopus was seen interfering with the valves and another broke the light above the tank.

Fun Fish Facts

• Goldfish have teeth at the back of their throats, which help them grind their food.
• Some fish play dead to protect themselves. They do this by floating at the top of the tank, which can look like they really are dead!
• Fish are able to associate a sound with feeding time.
• Sharks are often the main attraction in an aquarium, with many people flocking to see them.
• People who work in aquariums, who take care of water-dwelling plants, fish, and animals, are called aquarists. They have the very important responsibility of maintaining the environment of their aquarium and ensuring the safety of its inhabitants.