Exam 2 Vocab

Question 1

Crepuscular

Answer 1

A creature that is most active naturally at dawn or dusk.

Question 2

Cayanobacteria

Answer 2

A primitive life form, having some characteristics of algae and bacteria but regarded as different from both. Often called slime algae or blue-green algae.

Question 3

Deionizer

Answer 3

A mains water filter that uses several purifying ion-exchange resins. It removes impurities from ordinary house-hold water.

Question 4

Demersal

Answer 4

Meaning “close to the sea floor”. Demersal eggs are heavier than water and are laid in prepared spawning sites on the seabed. The fertilized eggs are then guarded by one or both adults until hatching occurs.

Question 5

Denitrification

Answer 5

The process in which nitrate is changed by anaerobic bacteria into nitrous oxide and then into free nitrogen gas.

Question 6

Detritus

Answer 6

Unwanted evident waste matter that may build up on the substrate.

Question 7

Diffuser

Answer 7

Another name for an airstone.

Question 8

Diurnal

Answer 8

A creature that is naturally active during the hours of daylight.

Question 9

Dorsal fin

Answer 9

A single vertical fin on a fish’s back; some fish have two dorsal fins, one behind the other. Many marine species have venomous rays in the dorsal fin

Question 10

Feeding stick

Answer 10

A device that enables pieces of food to be held in the aquarium for individual fish, encouraging them to take pieces. Useful for potentially dangerous species

Question 11

Filter feeder

Answer 11

An animal (fish or invertebrate) that sifts water for microscopic food, e.g. pipefish, tubeworms.

Question 12

Filter medium

Answer 12

Used in filtration systems to remove dissolved or suspended organic substances from water.

Question 13

Fluidized bed

Answer 13

A biological filtration method. Unclean water is pumped through a cylinder containing millions of tiny “beads” on which nitrifying bacteria have become established.

Question 14

Foam fractionation

Answer 14

A Method of separating proteinous substances substances from water by foaming action. Also called protein skimming.

Question 15

Fry

Answer 15

Very young fish (see also larvae)

Question 16

Gill flukes

Answer 16

Trematode parasites, such as Dactylogyrus.

Question 17

Gills

Answer 17

Membranes through which fish absorb dissolved oxygen from the water during respiration.

Question 18

Grass shrimps

Answer 18

Small crustaceans used as livefood for some saltwater fish.

Question 19

Gravel tidy

Answer 19

Plastic mesh fitted between layers of gravel to protect biological filtration system from being exposed (and thus rendered ineffective) by borrowing fish.

Question 20

Greenstuff

Answer 20

Plant matter provided as food. May refer two vegetables such as peas or lettuce.

Question 21

Heaterstat

Answer 21

A combined unit for regulating water temperature in the aquarium, consisting of a heater and thermostat, sealed within a glass tube.

Question 22

Hydrometer

Answer 22

A device for measuring the specific gravity (SG) of water, especially vital when making up synthetic saltwater mixes. May be either free-floating or swing-needle type.

Question 23

Hydrophilic

Answer 23

Attracted to water.

Question 24

Hydrophobic

Answer 24

Water-hating.

Question 25

Ick/Ich

Answer 25

A Relatively common parasitic problem seen in marine fish, also known as “white spot” because of the tiny white spots that develop over the body and fins

Question 26

Impeller

Answer 26

An electrically driven propeller that produces water flow through filters.

Question 27

Invertebrate

Answer 27

A creature without a vertebral column, which forms the backbone.

Question 28

Invertebrate-only setup

Answer 28

And aquarium that houses invertebrates, but no fish.

Question 29

Juvenile

Answer 29

A young individual that often may display markedly different coloration than adult fish of the same species.

Question 30

KH

Answer 30

A means of measuring the hardness of water, in degrees on the KH scale.

Question 31

Krill

Answer 31

Marine crustaceans with the shrimp like appearance.

Question 32

Larvae

Answer 32

(1) The first stage of fish development after hatching; underdeveloped fish fry. (2) the first reproductive stage of many invertebrates.

Question 33

Lateral line

Answer 33

A line of perforated scales along the flanks of fish, connected to a pressure-sensitive nervous system, used to detect vibrations in the water.

Question 34

Livefoods

Answer 34

Invertebrates used specifically as fish food, although they may not be of marine origin, and might have been preserved, E.G. frozen.

Question 35

Macroalgae

Answer 35

Seaweedlike algae, which are clearly visible to the naked eye.

Question 36

Marine fungus

Answer 36

An organism that causes cottonwool-like growths on the body. May be linked with a bacterial infection or a Traumatic injury.

Question 37

Meaty foods

Answer 37

General term for food that is of animal rather than plant origins. It rarely describes meat as such in the case of marine fish diets.

Question 38

Melanesia

Answer 38

A group of islands that are in the Oceania group, lying to the south of Micronesia. Includes new guinea the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji as well as New Caledonia.

Question 39

Microalgae

Answer 39

Microscopic algae that lack the obvious form of macroalgae to the naked eye.