Page 383 - Encyclopedia of Aquarium and Pond Fish, 3rd Edition

GLOSSARY 381

Gravid Describes a female whose called larvae, since they are poorly brine shrimp, which is an important Photosynthesis The process by
body is swollen with eggs or developed when they hatch. rearing food for fry. which plants use light energy to make
developing young. food from carbon dioxide and water,
Lateral line A fluid-filled canal that New tank syndrome The sudden releasing oxygen as a waste product.
Habitat The place where a plant or runs horizontally along each side of a illness and/or death of fish that occurs
animal naturally lives. fish’s body. It contains sensory pores when inefficient filtration allows toxic Plankton Microscopic plant and
that detect pressure changes in the chemicals, such as nitrite and animal life found in the sea. Plankton
Half-hardy Describes a plant that water, aiding navigation and giving ammonia, to build up in the water. provides a rich source of nourishment
is likely to be killed off by frost if early warning of impending danger. for many marine creatures.
left unprotected. Nitrogen cycle The natural
Length A standard dimension for process by which nitrogenous waste Power filter A self-contained
Hand-stripping The manual describing fish, taken from the snout is recycled in aquatic environments. filtration system that incorporates a
removal of eggs from a female fish to the end of the caudal peduncle, but Ammonia excreted by fish is broken motorized pump to move water
and sperm from a male. not including the caudal fin. down by bacteria, first into nitrite through the filter.
and subsequently into nitrate. Plants
Hard water Fresh water containing Livebearer A fish whose eggs are absorb the nitrate and use it for Powerhead A small pump that
a high level of dissolved calcium and fertilized and develop inside the body. growth. Fish then eat the plants, creates surface water movement to
magnesium mineral salts, typically in completing the cycle. improve aeration.
excess of 150 milligrams per liter. Live foods Invertebrates used as
fish food. They can be bred at home Prepared foods Foods that have
Hardy Describes a plant that can and fed to the fish alive or purchased Nuchal hump The swelling on the been specifically formulated to meet
forehead of mature male cichlids.
withstand regular exposure to in frozen or freeze-dried form. the nutritional needs of fish.
freezing winter temperatures.
Live rock Marine rock that harbors Offset A new plant that develops Protein skimmer A filtration
Hermaphrodite An animal with many different invertebrate and plant when a runner sets down roots and device that creates and collects an
detaches from the parent plant.
both male and female sexual organs. organisms, some of which will not be electrically charged foam, which
apparent to the naked eye. draws waste products from the water.
Operculum (plural opercula)
Hospital tank A small, simply The covering over the gills,
equipped tank that allows sick fish to Marginals Plants that can be grown sometimes called the gill flap. Rays The bony supports found in the
be treated and recover in isolation in shallow water around the pond fins of many different types of fish.
edge (includes so-called bog plants).
from those in the main aquarium.
Ovipositor An extendable tube
Mechanical filtration A method used by some egg-layers to deposit Reverse osmosis (RO) A process
Hybridization The cross-breeding of filtration that relies on straining used by some water-softening units,
of different species together. their eggs at breeding times. in which water is forced through a
particulate matter out of the water. membrane to remove mineral salts.
Oxygenators Plants that mostly
Hydrometer A device used to Metabolism The biochemical
measure the specific gravity—and processes that occur in living things. grow below the surface and give off Rhizome A swollen plant stem that
hence the salinity—of water. streams of oxygen bubbles in sunlight. spreads underground and produces
Midline The central horizontal axis Parasite An organism that lives on shoots along its length, which then
Invertebrates Animals without a of a fish’s body. develop above ground.
backbone (vertebral column). or in the body of a host animal or
Morph A naturally occurring color plant and feeds off it. Rotifer A component of plankton,
Ion-exchange column A water- variant of a species. used by fishkeepers as a first food for
softening device that uses resins to Pectoral fins Paired fins, one on rearing marine fish.
remove mineral salts from tap water. Mouth-brooder An egg-laying fish each side of the body behind the gills.
that incubates and hatches its eggs in Runner A creeping horizontal stem
Isolation tank A tank in which the mouth. Some cichlids and Pelvic fins Paired fins on the that grows above the ground and on
new fish are quarantined before being anabantoids are mouth-brooders. underside of the body in front which new plants (offsets) develop.
added to the main aquarium, to make of the anal fin.
sure that they are free from disease. Mulm Waste matter, such as fish Salinity The concentration of
feces, unwanted food, and decaying pH An expression of the hydrogen dissolved mineral salts, especially
Labyrinth organs Auxiliary plant debris, that builds up on the ion content of water. The pH scale sodium chloride, in water.
respiratory organs, located close to floor of the aquarium or pond. runs from 1 to 14, with a pH of 7
the gills, that enable anabantoids to being neutral. Low numbers, indicate Scales Small protective platelets
breathe air at the water’s surface. Mutation An unexpected change in acidity, and higher numbers alkalinity. that cover the bodies of most fish.
the genetic makeup of an organism.
Larva (plural larvae) The Pharyngeal teeth Projections in School A group of fish that
post-hatching stage in an invertebrate’s Nauplius (plural nauplii) The the throat of cyprinids and some other associate together, usually (but not
life cycle. Marine fish fry are often larval stage in the life cycle of the fish, which help to break down food. always) of the same species.

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