ANATOMY
Every hobbyist should try to acquaint themselves with the external
anatomy of the fish they keep. The names of various fins and parts
of the body are constantly occurring in the description of the species.
Here you will find help with the identification and definition of
the various fish parts. ![]()
AQUATIC
A very extensive aquatic terminology data base from A-Z. This
data base will help you to understand terms used in aquaria and how
they relate with other factors of the aquarium hobby. TBA would like
to thank Patrick of "Badman's
Tropical Fish" for his contribution in supplying us with
much of the terminology listed in this section. ![]()
GENETICS
Genetics means the study of inherited variation also known
as polymorphism.(1)The study of genes through their variation. (2)
The study of inheritance. Polymorphism is the occurrence, together
in the same population, of more than one allele or genetic marker
at the same locus with the least frequent allele or marker occurring
more frequently than can be accounted for by mutation alone. Genes
are the fundamental physical and functional unit of heredity,
which carries information from one generation to the next.
It
is important to remember that an Angelfish's color, growth rate and
adult size are a product of not only it's genetic material but also
environmental factors. These factors include, but are not limited
to, tank size, temperature, frequency of feeding, nutrition, water
quality, and the length of day called the "photo period." Dr.
Joanne Norton has spent over 20 years studying the genetics
of Angelfish. Her articles will help you to understand how the genetics
and environmental influences work together to produce many of our
angelfish varieties. The genetics terminology will allow you to have
a better understanding of the term itself and how it works. ![]()
TAXONOMY
One of the most interesting fields of interest in the study of Biology
is taxonomy. Although there are other fields out there such as ecology
and embryology, taxonomy is easy to comprehend, restricted to a small
set of structural information, and is good to know as reference. Taxonomy,
also called
systematics, is the study of the classification of
all living organisms.