Aquariums: A glimpse into underwater life
Nowadays, there are a lot of different kinds of hobbies that one can enjoy. One of them is aquaristics. In today’s world, if someone decides to set up an aquarium at home, it's quite easy to achieve it. You just need to read up on the topic, which is a fast process thanks to the very varied online sources. Then you choose the species you are interested in keeping and buy the equipment you will need. You can always shop online or just visit a pet shop for all that you need. But it was not always this easy...
The first known aquarists in ancient times were the Sumerians, who used artificial ponds to keep fish. Asian carps have been kept and raised in China for thousands of years, and the selective breeding of the gold fish originates from there too (Tang dynasty, AD 618–907). The ancient Romans used to keep seawater fish for food and entertainment in ponds that were supplied with fresh seawater. So, we can say that they were the first marine aquarists.
(An aquarium of the 1850s)
Nowadays, there are a lot of different kinds of hobbies that one can enjoy. One of them is aquaristics. In today’s world, if someone decides to set up an aquarium at home, it's quite easy to achieve it. You just need to read up on the topic, which is a fast process thanks to the very varied online sources. Then you choose the species you are interested in keeping and buy the equipment you will need. You can always shop online or just visit a pet shop for all that you need. But it was not always this easy...
The first known aquarists in ancient times were the Sumerians, who used artificial ponds to keep fish. Asian carps have been kept and raised in China for thousands of years, and the selective breeding of the gold fish originates from there too (Tang dynasty, AD 618–907). The ancient Romans used to keep seawater fish for food and entertainment in ponds that were supplied with fresh seawater. So, we can say that they were the first marine aquarists.
(Amaterske akvarium)
Another notable person in this field is Anna Thynne (Lady John Thynne), who was a British marine zoologist, and the first to successfully built a stable marine aquarium, and she maintained corals and sponges in it for 3 years. In 1847, she created the first balanced marine aquarium by adding marine plants to the glass bowls she used as an aquarium.
Currently, the variety of aquariums one can try is quite extensive. Be it freshwater, marine, brackish water or coral aquarium, sustaining one needs dedication, attention and patience. Owning a piece of underwater life in our home is a fabulous thing but be aware that it demands a lot of care to keep it up!
Sources: https://www.bri HYPERLINK "https://www.britannica.com/science/aquarium"tannica.com/science/aquarium , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarium , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Henry_Gosse , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Warington , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Thynne
(Cover photo: Jordy Meow from Pixabay)