The History of Aquarium dates to almost 4,000 years back when man used to keep fishes initially in ponds and then in tanks. The Sumerians are considered as the first aquarists who used to keep fishes in ponds in and around 2500 B.C and used these fishes for eating. Though History of Aquarium originated several thousand years ago, the methods of keeping aquarium and aquarium filtration varied significantly. In fact, pisciculture most probably started when fishes were kept in the enclosures after the floodwaters drew back. Proofs of keeping fishes at Assyria and Egypt have also been found. The Egyptians opted for breeding some specific types of fish particularly for their attractiveness and usefulness as decorative items.
Fresco paintings of fishes that show them as holy beings, have been found in the ancient tombs of Egypt. The Roman traders also kept freshwater fishes for selling them as food items at the public aquariums. The Chinese used to breed carp for using them as food in around 2000 B.C, and supposedly were the first human beings to successfully raise fish. They use to raise exclusive varieties of attractive goldfishes which the Japanese also started doing later on. Goldfishes were first sent to Japan in 1500 B.C and these were imported by England during the late 1600s. History of Aquarium also records the keeping of goldfishes in England in different types of glass vessels in the mid 1700s. The first marine aquarists, who were known to be keeping fishes, were the Romans of the ancient world. These Romans built ponds that contained fresh seawater.
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The act of keeping fishes in aquariums did not develop completely until man came to know about the association of oxygen, plants, and animals. In the mid 1800s, the only procedure of keeping fishes in the aquariums was the approach of “Balanced Aquarium”. For studying nature, the act of keeping fishes, reptiles, and amphibians became commonplace around 1850 and in the works of the British naturalist Philip Gosse, the term aquarium first came along. Philip Gosse’s work made people curious about the aquatic animals and the first public aquarium that started to welcome common people, was opened in London at the Regent Park in 1853, this opening being followed by that of the aquariums in Paris, Naples and Berlin. Realizing the possible commercial popularity of the aquariums, P.T. Barnum, an industrialist, opened the first aquarium for public viewing, at the famous American Museum of New York City in 1856.
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Over the next 50 long years, interest in the fishes grew a lot among the common masses and many notable institutions like the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute were founded, several of which had big aquariums for public display. The 20th century saw great scientific advancements which made the keeping of aquariums simpler and more effortless. Good quality of tanks, oxygen pumps, developed filters, and nourishing foods have made the fishes flourish in the aquariums, similar to the way they used to thrive in the Sumerian ponds. Currently fishes are the second most favorite pets of the Americans.
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