People have been keeping fish since at least 2500 BC, when theSumerianskept them in ponds for food (the world's firstaquaculture). Fish were kept as pets in Rome, and the Chinesedomesticatedgoldfish from drab wild carp during the Sung Dynasty (960-1278).

The first aquarium where fish were kept for publicviewingopened in 1853 in Regent's Park, England. In the years that followed, other public aquaria opened in England, and a popular wave of home aquarium keeping resulted. In 1856, the great exhibitor, P. T. Barnum, opened America's first public aquarium in New York City.

Unfortunately, early public and private aquaria suffered from high fishmortality ratesbecause of a lack of properaeration and filtering. It was not until 1871 that public aquaria in Blackpool, England and Frankfurt, Germany were designed to care for the fish, providing temperature controls,bubbles for airand circulation, and filters to keep the water clear.