People have cared for aquatic animals since ancient times. The
Sumerians kept fish in ponds as early as 2500 BCE.
Pliny the Elder wrote of people who kept fish as
oracles, and ancient
Agrigent was believed to have fish ponds. The Roman poet
Rutilus Namatianus wrote of a
Etrurian Jew who kept fish in opaque tanks. By the 10th century,
goldfish were popular pets in China. In 1369,
Emperor Hung Wu established a porcelain factory to produce large tubs for fish. Around 1500, goldfish came to
Sakai, Japan. Two hundred years later,
Sato Sanzaemon, from
Koriyama, became the first Japanese fish breeder, and fish breeding became popular throughout Japan. Around 1611, goldfish came to Europe, probably first in
Portugal. By the 18th century, goldfish were common pets in Europe. During this time,
Richard Bradley, an English
botanist, and
John Dayell, a Scottish
naturalist, experimented with keeping marine life. In particular, scientists tried to determine if marine life could survive in captivity, as they usually died shortly after being removed from their natural environments. For centuries, humans had limited exposure to aquatic life. The sea was often considered mysterious. As written by
Bernd Brunner in
The Ocean at home, "The ocean was considered a source of life but also a place of ill omen, death, and mayhem—a cursed, dark world where terrifying monsters lurked, devouring anything in sight." During this period,
William Alford Lloyd sold aquariums at his shop in London, which also provided aquarium maintenance services to customers. In 1856,
Emil Adolf Rossmässler wrote about setting up freshwater aquariums as a "small botanical garden island" with animals such as snails, pearl mussels, and goldfish in
Die Gartenlaube. These freshwater aquariums were appealing for people who lived farther from the sea. In 1860,
Gustav Jager, a German nature scientist and doctor, built an aquarium in
Vienna, Austria. Early aquariums cared little for
conservation of
endangered species, and they often contributed to marine degradation. However, conservation efforts began in the 20th century, such as the conservation of the
Galápagos tortoises led by
Charles Haskins Townsend. Contemporary aquariums are now often involved in conservation and field research. In 2019,
The Atlantic reported that "the United States is experiencing a new wave of aquarium enthusiasm," but that public aquariums often experience financial difficulty. == Responsibilities ==