Fish Keeping Essay

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The hobby of fish keeping is very large and is popular in the United States. It has expanded rapidly over the past half century, with millions of hobbyists worldwide. The hobby can be divided into two specific areas depending on the type of water the fish originate from. The two basic and most popular areas are freshwater and saltwater fishkeeping. It is important to understand the differences between the two types of the aquarium trade because they are vastly different. Saltwater species and conservation issues involve many international aspects because these fish come from many different reefs around the world. A good amount of attention has been given to the impact of the trade on coral reef fish since most marine fishes are wild-caught. The marine aquaria trade also requires high impact collecting methods such as cyanide use. On the other hand, freshwater aquarium species come from major lakes and rivers. Some major areas of study are Lake Victoria and the Amazon River Basin. …show more content…

These various species come from all over the world. One type of fish that is the most popular are cichlids. Cichlids are one of the largest vertebrate families in the world. They are most diverse in Africa and South America. Africa, by far, contains the largest amount, but the actual number of species is unknown, with estimates varying between 2,000 and 3,000 (Carleton 2009). Cichlids species sizes range from as small as 2.5 cm to about 1 m in length. Many cichlids play vital roles in things other than the aquarium hobby. The most popular aquarium fish come from South America, which include angelfish, oscars, and discus. Cichlids have the largest number of endangered species among vertebrate families (Carleton 2009). Cichlids have evolved rapidly into a large number of closely related and diverse species within the large lakes of Tanganyika, Victoria, Malawi. Cichlids are found mostly at shallow depths, with a few

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