I First Things First<br > A Short History of Aquarium Keeping<br > Those who cannot remember the past are<br > These words of wisdom are to be condemned to repeat it/<br > found emblazoned on the wall of the<br > Aeronautical Museum， Terminal Building， at the John F. Kennedy<br > International Airport， New York. It is a reply to those people who<br > might ask why a book such as this should contain a history of fish and<br > the story of the men who kept and observed them.<br > Keeping fish in captivity is an ancient art， though how ancient， we<br > shall probably never know. However， records show that in early<br > China -- long before the birth of Christ -- the keeping and breeding<br > of Carp was a flourishing business. In fact "The Book of Vermillion<br > Fish" is credited to Chang Chi en-te， a Chinese author who lived<br > more than one thousand years before our present western calendar<br > began.<br > The Greeks seem to have had a word for everything， so it is no<br > surprise that Aristotle (384-322 BC)， called "The Father of All<br > Learning" set down and described many species of fish brought to<br > him. Lacking the benefits of Carl Linnaeus principles for defining<br > genera and species， he used common names -- common， that is， to<br > the fishermen of the Aegean Sea. Perhaps it was a good thing that<br > their numbers were limited to just Over one hundred species!<br > Then for hundreds of years， men gave the subiect little thought.<br > They merely parroted the Ar stotelian teachings addin<br > know ed-e A.^t. AA， " ， o g little to our<br > ~i~a "cu~~gtsts nave uncovered evidence that the Romans<br > kept fish containers. However， I suspect that the Romans were<br > more interested in enhancing the pleasures of their cuisine than in<br > contributing to science.<br > A modern book about life under the Egyptian kings* quotes the<br > following:<br > In the gardens at the Palace of Tutmosis the<br > Third， were to be found huge ornamental<br > tanks containing fish; they served the dual<br > purpose of decoration and as a means of<br > keeping down the mosquitos.<br >Across the Ocean in the New World， the Spanish invaders under<br >*COttrell Lem ard "Lite Under the Pharaohs."<br > 1<br > I~)<br >