# the use of marine mammals in marine aquaria



## maria3 (Jan 26, 2010)

Hi,

I'm a student studying biology. I have an exercise to do and i don't know if anyone can help! I would be very grateful. 

I've got a list of questions. 

1)what species are utilised in marine aquaria.
2)where do these species come from? are they bread from captivity or caught from the wild
3) how much money is the aquarium trade worth e.g price of tickets, number of visitors per year etc.
4) what are the aims and objectives of aquaria.
5) do aquaria serve a scientific purpose e.g increased awareness, mammal protection, education and research.
6)how do the conditions in aquaria generally compare to natural conditions. 
7) Are some species of marine mammal more suited than others to keep in aquaria-if so what species could be used and what should not.
8) are there any recommendations you could suggest to make the system more environmentally friendly?
9)do u consider marine aquaria to be useful or do u feel the cost to individual is too much to make aquaria worth while. How much effort is put into education?

if anyone can help send me an email pls: [email protected]

Or if u know any websites. Anything would be useful. Thank u!


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

maria3 said:


> Hi,
> 
> 1)what species are utilised in marine aquaria.


Hundreds of species, ranging from fish to invertebrates and corals.



> 2)where do these species come from? are they bread from captivity or caught from the wild


Most fish are wild caught, but a select number are bred in captivity. Many corals today are propogated and raised in captivity. 



> 3) how much money is the aquarium trade worth e.g price of tickets, number of visitors per year etc.


This forum is dedicated to the aquarium hobby. We would have no way of answering this question. 



> 4) what are the aims and objectives of aquaria.
> 
> 5) do aquaria serve a scientific purpose e.g increased awareness, mammal protection, education and research.


The industry as a whole is focused on creating an awareness of the diversity of life that exists on our coral reefs. 


> 6)how do the conditions in aquaria generally compare to natural conditions.


Water conditions are nearly identical to those found on a natural reef. 



> 7) Are some species of marine mammal more suited than others to keep in aquaria-if so what species could be used and what should not.


In the hobby we avoid species that grow to large for home aquariums, and species that have specific diet demands that can not be met in an aquarium. Filter feeds would be a good example.



> 8) are there any recommendations you could suggest to make the system more environmentally friendly?


I think the hobby brings awareness to environmental concerns. Without the hobby and public aquariums, very few people would ever have exposure to the diversity of life that exists on a reef.



> 9)do u consider marine aquaria to be useful or do u feel the cost to individual is too much to make aquaria worth while. How much effort is put into education?


There is a huge learning curve when first starting a marine aquarium. Research is the name of the game, but after learning the proper methods of care, most anyone can keep a successful marine aquarium. As for costs, it is all relevant to the size aquarium and types of animals you wise to keep.


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