Jump to content

The Evolutionary History of Aquarium Fish Groups


Recommended Posts

Anyone got a good source for reading up on how (and when!) different groups of freshwater aquarium fish evolved?

I first got interested in the topic when I read about the Madagascar Rainbowfish, and about the debate regarding how it came to Madagascar - by dispersal across the ocean, or because Rainbowfish were already there in the Mesozoic when these landmasses broke apart in the first place (and it seems that the latter explanation is now favored, which is so cool!).

Are there any good resources to learn about other groups and their evolutionary history? For example, I assume the different freshwater pufferfish groups are unrelated and represent different instances of saltwater fish colonizing a freshwater habitat?

Incidentally, I think I read that after the KT extinction that took out the dinosaurs, marine ecosystems crashed hard (because they relied so heavily on photosynthetic plankton, which was absolutely decimated by the ash clouds thrown up by the asteroid) while freshwater ecosystems did OK (because they could use decaying matter swept into rivers and streams as the base of their food chain until the sun returned). I'll link a study on that topic.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jgrg.20086

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I looked more specifically for the history of home aquariums and didn't find much on the topic.  I was curious as to how long ago it started, what kind of fish were kept, what they fed, etc. I did find that the first aquariums were salt water which surprised me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...