Fish keeping is a hobby which having a long history.
Keeping fish in a closed environment has been tradition in the past.
In the Roman Empire, people used to keep sea barbels in tanks for entertaining guests.
When the glass was available, the Romans started using it happily as the view was considerably improved.
In China, the emperors ordered for big tanks of porcelain for keeping goldfish.
Over a period of time, the design of these tanks was modified in big bowls.
In the UK, people started building up tanks in the early 19th century to keep fish.
Since that time, the tradition of keeping lot of plants in the tank has continued.
However, many people preferred to keep a salt water aquarium because they thought keeping of saltwater fish is much more convenient.
By the end of 19th century, there were more improvements.
Corals and stones were introduced in tanks.
The first marine aquarium was started in London by 1846.
During that time, some scientists were finding out the effects of keeping fish and snails together in the aquariums.
This hobby spread in Germany soon.
People started keeping salt water aquariums there.
However, the freshwater aquariums were seen by the end of 19th century.
It was obvious that the hobby spread to the United States from Europe soon.
There were certain books U.
S.
writers wrote on the subject.
The aquarium society was formed for the first time in 1893 in New York.
Several other societies came up in a short time in other states.
In 1876, the first publication on pet fish came in the market, which was called the New York Aquarium Journal.
During all this time, the design for an aquarium at home was almost identical everywhere.
It was a box of wood with the front of glass.
The bottom of the aquarium was made of slate.
The design improved later with the use of metal frames.
During early 20th century, a lot of designs for aquarium arrived in the market.
There were hanging tanks on a wall and metal structures mounted on windows.
With the arrival of electricity, there were drastic improvements in the designs of aquariums.
The concepts of artificial lighting, water heating and aeration of water were the most prominent ones.
In the beginning, people used to avoid exotic species of fish.
However the trend changed soon after relaxation in the import policies.
Initially, there were problems while importing the fish from overseas.
In the absence of proper treatment of water and absence of aeration systems, majority of the fish used to die during the travel.
However, with an introduction of plastic bags for shipping, things became easier.
After 1950, the imports were much easier due to air shipments.
It was possible to bring the fish within a very short time.
With the introduction of aluminum frames, the risks of corrosion were avoided.
The acrylic aquariums very innovated during that time.
They were very convenient for transportation, they were scratch free and their maintenance was easier.
Since then, the hobby has moved much ahead.
About 60 million people are fish-keepers around the world.
It is considered as the most popular hobby in the U.
S.
According to one estimate, about ten million homes have an aquarium, accommodating 140 million freshwater fish and 10 million salt water fish.
More than 40 per cent of the fish-keepers in the U.
S.
keep more than one tank at their home!