Aquarium Niche

Saltwater Aquarium [1]

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.

Brackish-Water Aquarium

Aquarium [4

Brackish-water aquarium is an artificial ecosystem that simulates the natural environment of brackish water. The brackish water is mostly found in an estuary, where freshwater, such as the river or streams, meets the open sea [2]. This includes Central American costal stream, East Africa mangrove swamp, and Southeast Asia estuaries.

Brackish-water aquarium should be kept at a temperature between 22-29°C, with a pH of 7.5-8.5, a hardness of 200 mg/liter of CaCO3, and a specific gravity of 1.003-1.012 [2]. The aquarium is kept at a salinity between 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]. 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 have a stable salinity level [3].

A large variety of species inhabit the brackish water, such as Sailfin, Monos, Scats, Archerfisher, Pufferfish, and Cichlids [3]. Planting Brackish-water aquarium is difficult because there are limited distributions of brackish water tolerant plants, such as Microsorium pteropus, Crinum calamistratum, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Bacopa monnieri, and Cryptocoryne ciliata [3]. 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 [3].

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

1. "c-saltwater-aquarium.jpg". Mysaltwateraquarium's Weblog. 25 August 2008. <http://mysaltwateraquarium.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/28/>.