Page 24 - Encyclopedia of Aquarium and Pond Fish, 3rd Edition

22 INTRODUCTION TO FISHKEEPING

The popularity of fishkeeping

It is unclear when people started keeping fish for their
aesthetic qualities, rather than as a source of food, but the
activity certainly dates back well over a thousand years.
It probably began in China with the domestication of
goldfish and koi and has spread worldwide with advances
in aquarium technology and transportation. Today’s aquatic
industry produces a vast range of products to make
fishkeeping more rewarding than ever before.

“Thence home and to see my Lady Pen, where my wife and I
were shown a fine rarity: of fishes kept in a glass of water, that
will live so for ever; and finely marked they are, being foreign.”
This extract from the diary of Samuel Pepys, dated
May 28, 1665, shows that ornamental goldfish were known
in Restoration London. Even earlier records of fishkeeping The design of public aquariums has
in China have been found, and one of the oldest surviving changed radically over the last 100
years, but they continue to fascinate
essays on goldfish—The Book of the Vermilion Fish—dates back visitors of all ages.
to 1596. While keeping coldwater fish seems to be an ancient
pursuit, tropical fishkeeping is probably a more recent Victorian enthusiasts
interest, although Siamese Fighting Fish have been bred Interest in fishkeeping in the West blossomed in Victorian
selectively in Siam (now Thailand) for many centuries. England, where the name “aquarium” was first coined, and
Some of the hardier tropical fish—such as Paradise Fish (see keeping fish in the home became immensely fashionable.
pp.108–109)—were kept successfully in the late 19th century, The first public aquarium opened at London Zoo in 1853,
decorating the Imperial Court of the Russian czar. The earliest and scientific papers were published setting out the recipe
tropical aquariums were for a “balanced aquarium.” The public flocked to see amazing
equipped with slate bases, and The international trade in displays of native marine life, which were especially popular
heated from beneath using a species for the aquarium is in the coastal resorts of Great Britain, where water could be
naked flame, making a perilous growing at a rate of 10–30 pumped into the tanks from the sea.
life for the fish. percent per year. Aquarium
plants are today cultivated and
imported on a massive scale.

In Japan, the keeping of ornamental fish—particularly
colored carp—has a distinguished history that dates back
more than 500 years. This Japanese woodcut from 1888
shows children enjoying the pastime.

US_022-023_Popularity_V4.indd 22 29/08/18 4:08 PM