Tropical fish

Short description: Those fish found in aquatic tropical environments

Many tropical fish are coral reef fish

Tropical fish are generally those fish found in aquatic tropical environments around the world. Fishkeepers often keep tropical fish in freshwater and saltwater aquariums. The term "tropical fish" is not a taxonomic group, but rather is a general term for fish found in such environments, particularly those kept in aquariums.

## Contents

* 1 Aquarium fish
* 2 Freshwater tropical fish
* 3 Saltwater tropical fish
* 4 Coral reef tropical fish
* 5 References

## Aquarium fish

Tropical fish is a term commonly used to refer to fish that are kept in heated aquariums. Freshwater tropical fish are more commonly kept than saltwater tropical fish due to the common availability of fresh water sources, such as tap water, whereas salt water is not commonly available and has to be recreated by using fresh water with sea salt additions. Salt water has to be monitored to maintain the correct salinity because of the effects of evaporation. Freshwater tropical aquariums can be maintained by simply topping up with fresh water. Tropical fish are popular choices for aquariums due to their often bright coloration, which typically derives from both pigmented cells and iridescent cells.[1] Tropical fish may include wild-caught specimens, individuals born in captivity including lines selectively bred for special physical features, such as long fins, or particular colorations, such as albino. Some fish may be hybrids of more than one species.

## Freshwater tropical fish

Most fish that are sold as tropical fish are freshwater species. Most species available are generally bred from fish farms in the far east[2] and Florida[3] where tropical temperatures make the commercial production more viable. Mass production of tropical fish from farms has led to many inexpensive fish available to aquarists. Tropical freshwater fish are the most popular group of fish because of the low price and ease of keeping in aquaria. Some species are difficult to breed in captivity and so are still sourced from the wild. These species are generally more expensive. Among the bred-in-captivity species, the most expensive freshwater species include arowanas and flowerhorn cichlids. Some male flowerhorns are sterile due to many cross breedings.[4]

## Saltwater tropical fish

Marine fish that are sold as tropical fish are generally sourced from the wild, usually from the coral reefs around the world. This is because only a few species of marine fish have been successfully bred in captivity with any regularity. The price of marine fish coupled with the difficulty in keeping them alive in aquaria makes them less of a popular choice for aquarists to keep. However, because of the more vivid colours, patterns and behaviour of marine fish compared to freshwater fish, they are still reasonably popular. The advances in filtration technology and increase in available knowledge on how to maintain marine fish as well as the increasing number of aquarium-bred species is seeing a gradual rise in their popularity.

## Coral reef tropical fish

Many marine tropical fish, particularly those of interest to fishkeepers, are those that live among or in close relation to coral reefs. Coral reefs form complex ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity. Among ocean inhabitants, tropical fish stand out as particularly colorful. Hundreds of species can exist in a small area of a healthy reef, many of them hidden or well camouflaged. Reef fish have developed many ingenious specialisations adapted to survival on the reefs.

Some recreational scuba divers keep lists of fish species they have observed while diving, especially in tropical marine environments.

Coral reefs occupy less than 1% of the surface area of the world oceans,[5] yet they provide a home for 25% of all marine fish species. Reef habitats are a sharp contrast to the open water habitats that make up the other 99% of the world's oceans.

However, loss and degradation of coral reef habitat, increasing pollution, and overfishing including the use of destructive fishing practices, are threatening the survival of the coral reefs and the associated reef fish.

## References

1. ↑ "Fish coloration - The Fish Doctor & Fish Breeder" (in en-US). http://thefishdoctor.co.uk/genetics/colouration-in-fish/.
2. ↑ "Ornamental fish farms: Aquaculture’s next big trend?". http://business.inquirer.net/193193/ornamental-fish-farms-aquacultures-next-big-trend.
3. ↑ "Florida Tropical Fish Farms Association". http://www.ftffa.com/.
4. ↑ "More flowerhorn guides on caring, breeding, determining sex". http://www.thaifh.com/flowerhorn-guides.html.
5. ↑ Corals and Coral Reefs - Smithsonian Institution

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Fish

About fish|

* Diversity
* Ethnoichthyology
* Evolution
* Diseases and parasites
* Fisheries
* Fishing
* Fish as food
* Fear of fish
* FishBase
* Fish kill
* Hypoxia in fish
* Ichthyology

Anatomy and
physiology|

* Fish anatomy
* Fish physiology
* Age determination
* Anguilliformity
* Bone
* dermal
* intramembranous ossification
* Cleithrum
* Chromatophore
* Fins
* dorsal fin
* Gill
* branchial arch
* gill raker
* gill slit
* pharyngeal arch
* pharyngeal slit
* pseudobranch
* Glossohyal
* Jaw
* hyomandibula
* pharyngeal jaw
* Leydig's organ
* Mauthner cell
* Meristics
* Operculum
* papillare
* Papilla
* Photophore
* Root effect
* Shark cartilage
* Scales
* ganoine
* Spiral valve
* Suckermouth
* Swim bladder
* physoclisti
* physostome
* Teeth
* pharyngeal teeth
* shark teeth
* Teleost leptins
* Digital Library

Sensory
systems|

* Sensory systems in fish
* Ampullae of Lorenzini
* Barbel
* Hydrodynamic reception
* Electrocommunication
* Electroreception
* Jamming avoidance response
* Lateral line
* Otolith
* Passive electrolocation
* Capacity for pain
* Schreckstoff
* Surface wave detection
* Vision
* Weberian apparatus

Reproduction|

* Fish reproduction
* Bubble nest
* Clasper
* Egg case
* Fish development
* Ichthyoplankton
* Juvenile fish
* Life history theory
* Milt
* Mouthbrooder
* Polyandry in fish
* Pregnancy
* Roe
* Sequential hermaphroditism
* Spawning
* triggers

Locomotion|

* Fish locomotion
* Fin and flipper locomotion
* Amphibious fish
* Walking fish
* Flying fish
* Undulatory locomotion
* Tradeoffs for locomotion in air and water
* RoboTuna

Other
behaviour|

* Aquatic predation
* Aquatic respiration
* Bait ball
* Bottom feeders
* Cleaner fish
* Corallivory
* Diel vertical migration
* Electric fish
* Filter feeders
* Forage fish
* Migrating fish
* Paedophagy
* Predatory fish
* Salmon run
* Sardine run
* Scale eaters
* Schooling fish
* Sleep in fish
* Venomous fish
* Fish intelligence

By habitat|

* Cave
* Coastal
* Coldwater
* Coral reef
* Deep sea
* Demersal
* Euryhaline
* Freshwater
* Groundfish
* Pelagic
* Tropical

Other types|

* Bait
* Coarse
* Diversity
* Game
* Genetically modified
* Hallucinogenic
* Oily
* Poisonous
* Rough
* Whitefish

Commercial|

| Fish farming|

* Carp
* Catfish
* Salmonids
* Tilapia

|

Wild fisheries|

* Predatory fish
* billfish
* mackerel
* salmon
* tuna
* Forage fish
* anchovy
* herring
* sardine
* sprats
* Demersal fish
* cod
* flatfish
* pollock

Major groups|

* Jawless fish
* hagfish
* lampreys
* Cartilaginous fish
* chimaeras
* sharks
* rays
* Bony fish
* spiny-finned
* fleshy-finned

Lists|

* Aquarium life
* Blind fish
* Fish common names
* Fish families
* Glossary of ichthyology
* Large fish
* Threatened
* rays
* sharks
* Prehistoric fish
* more lists...

* Category
* WikiProject

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Aquariums and fishkeeping

Aquarium types|

* Freshwater
* Marine
* Reef
* Brackish-water
* Community
* Biotope

Aquarium décor
and equipment|

* Airstone
* Algae scrubber
* Berlin Method
* Bog-wood / Driftwood
* Calcium reactor
* Deep sand bed
* Filter
* Fishcam
* Fish feeder
* Heater
* Lighting
* Live rock / Live sand
* Powerhead
* Protein skimmer
* Refugium
* Substrate
* Sump

Fish terms / types|

* Algae eater
* Bottom feeder
* Coldwater
* Dither
* Hardy
* Painted
* Tropical

Fish food|

* Brine shrimp
* Daphnia
* Feeder fish
* Feeder shrimp
* Infusoria
* Shrimp mix
* Tubifex tubifex

Other concepts|

* Aquarium fishery
* Aquascaping
* Artificial seawater
* Bath treatment
* Clean-up crew
* Disease in ornamental fish
* Macquarium
* Project Piaba
* Reef safe
* Spawning trigger
* Water conditioner

People|

* Takashi Amano
* Herbert R. Axelrod
* Leonhard Baldner
* Pierre Carbonnier
* Edward Edwards
* Philip Henry Gosse
* Sven O. Kullander
* William Alford Lloyd
* Paul Matte
* Julian Sprung
* Anna Thynne
* Charles Haskins Townsend
* Jeanne Villepreux-Power
* Robert Warington

Magazines|

* Aquarium Fish International
* Koi
* Practical Fishkeeping
* Tropical Fish Hobbyist

Companies|

* Dennerle
* Drs. Foster & Smith
* Eheim
* Hikari
* Hagen
* Sera
* Tetra
* Wardley

Lists|

* Aquarium diseases
* Aquarium fish by scientific name
* Freshwater aquarium fish / amphibians / invertebrates / plants
* Marine aquarium fish / invertebrates / plants
* Brackish aquarium fish / invertebrates / plants

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