Aquarium Niche: Difference between revisions
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===Cold Freshwater=== | ===Cold Freshwater=== | ||
===Brackish=== | ===Brackish Aquarium=== | ||
Brackish-water aquarium is an artificial ecosystem that simulates the brackish water in the natural environment. The brackish water are mostly found in estuaries, a body of water in which freshwater, such as the river or streams, meets the open sea [2]. Brackish water can be found in Central America costal stream, East Africa mangrove swamp, and Southeast Asia estuaries. | Brackish-water aquarium is an artificial ecosystem that simulates the brackish water in the natural environment. The brackish water are mostly found in estuaries, a body of water in which freshwater, such as the river or streams, meets the open sea [2]. Brackish water can be found in Central America costal stream, East Africa mangrove swamp, and Southeast Asia estuaries. | ||
Revision as of 05:19, 26 August 2008
An aquarium is an artificial ecosystem that is inhabitable by various aquatic species. Nothing quite adds to the room décor as adding an aquarium with beautifully colored fishes with lively aquatic plants. However, what many non-aquarists fail to realize is that what keeps these beautiful organisms alive and healthy are none other than the series of micro-organisms, also known as microbes.
Description and Types of Aquarium Niche
Commercial aquariums come in variety of shapes and sizes, from tiny one gallon fish bowls to luxurious 100 gallon fish tanks, and normally can be set simply on a desk top or on top of a special aquarium stand. There are generally four types of aquariums a new aquarist can set up: tropical freshwater, cold freshwater, brackish, and saltwater. Each type of aquarium requires specific care and maintenance, and different types of fish reside in each of the designed ecosystem.
Tropical Freshwater
Cold Freshwater
Brackish Aquarium
Brackish-water aquarium is an artificial ecosystem that simulates the brackish water in the natural environment. The brackish water are mostly found in estuaries, a body of water in which freshwater, such as the river or streams, meets the open sea [2]. Brackish water can be found in Central America costal stream, East Africa mangrove swamp, and Southeast Asia estuaries.
Brackish water has 0.5 to 30 grams of salt per liter, which is more salt than freshwater (<0.5), but not as much as seawater (<35) [3]. To maintain the brackish-water aquarium, it needs to have a salinity between 20-50% that of normal seawater [3]. In addition, the aquarium needs to have a hardness of 200 mg/liter of CaCO3, pH of 7.5-8.5, and a specific gravity of 1.003-1.013 [2].
In the environment, salinity varies due to the amount of freshwater entering either by river or the rain. Filter bacteria cannot tolerate these changes, so in the aquarium, it is normal to make changes to the specific gravity scales. However, the SG varies depending on the species that will inhabit the aquarium The black water aquarium is also kept at a temperature between 22-28°C; however, this may vary depending on the type of species that are placed in the water.
A large variety of species inhabit the black water, such as Sailfin, Monos, Scats, Archerfisher, Pufferfish, and Cichlids. Planting black water aquarium is difficult because there are limited distributions of black water tolerant plants, such as Microsorium pteropus, Crinum calamistratum, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Bacopa monnieri, and Cryptocoryne ciliata. However, some freshwater plants can adapt to the salinity of the water, including Vallisneria gigantea, Anubias barteri, Hygrophila polysperma, Ceratophyllum demersum, Crinum thaianum, and Cryptocoryne wendtii*.
Saltwater
Where located?
Physical Conditions?
What are the conditions in your niche? Temperature, pressure, pH, moisture, etc.
Influence by Adjacent Communities (if any)
Is your niche close to another niche or influenced by another community of organisms?
Conditions under which the environment changes
Do any of the physical conditions change? Are there chemicals, other organisms, nutrients, etc. that might change the community of your niche.
Who lives there?
Which microbes are present?
You may refer to organisms by genus or by genus and species, depending upon how detailed the your information might be. If there is already a microbewiki page describing that organism, make a link to it.
Are there any other non-microbes present?
Plants? Animals? Fungi? etc.
Do the microbes that are present interact with each other?
Describe any negative (competition) or positive (symbiosis) behavior
Do the microbes change their environment?
Do they alter pH, attach to surfaces, secrete anything, etc. etc.
Do the microbes carry out any metabolism that affects their environment?
Do they ferment sugars to produce acid, break down large molecules, fix nitrogen, etc. etc.
'Super' bacteria live on sheets, fingernails: study
On June 6, 2005, U.S reserachers
References
- "c-saltwater-aquarium.jpg". Mysaltwateraquarium's Weblog. 25 August 2008. <http://mysaltwateraquarium.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/28/>.
