Aquarium

For a partial list of public aquaria worldwide, see list of aquaria. The ROM images are stored on CompactFlash cards used in the GBA Movie Player. Top public aquaria are often affiliated with important oceanographic research institutions or conduct their own research programs, and usually (though not always) specialize in species and ecosystems that can be found in local waters. Some firmware has been released for the GBA Movie Player to allow ROM images for old Game Boy games to be used on the GBA, as well as the Nintendo DS. A moving walkway now transports visitors through, and groups of school children occasionally hold sleepovers there beneath the swimming sharks and rays. However, it cannot play multiplayer GBA games or link to the Nintendo GameCube, and it is not backward-compatible at all with the original Game Boy or the Game Boy Color due to the lack of a Z80 processor. The 110-meter tunnel was built from one-tonne slabs of German sheet plastic that were shaped locally in an oven. The Nintendo DS is able to play the large library of Game Boy Advance games.

In January 1985 Kelly Tarlton began construction of the first aquarium to include a large transparent acrylic tunnel in Auckland, New Zealand, a task that took 10 months and cost NZ$3 million. Thousands of games are available for the Game Boy, which can be attributed in part to its sales in the amounts of millions, a well-documented design, and a typically short development cycle. In contrast, the recently opened Georgia Aquarium filled its tanks with fresh water from the city water system and salinated its salt water exhibits using the same commercial salt and mineral additives available to home aquarists. 2004 brought about its 15th anniversary and in that time it has seen off many (often technically superior) rivals; most notably the Sega Game Gear and the Atari Lynx. An inland pioneer was Chicago's Shedd Aquarium that received seawater shipped by rail in special tank cars. The Game Boy is unique in its stamina. Most public aquaria are located close to the ocean, for a steady supply of natural seawater. Most game consoles become obsolete as newer systems become available.

Following early examples of Detroit, New York and San Francisco, many major cities now have public aquaria. There are four types of cartridges used on Game Boy systems:. Barnum quickly followed with the first American aquarium, opened on Broadway in New York. Even if this is bypassed, the game will not run, and an image on the screen will inform the user that the game is only meant for Game Boy Color systems; however, the Game Boy Pocket allows for bypassing of the notch. P.T. Cartridges intended only for Game Boy Color (and not for the original Game Boy) use the space intended for the locking mechanism to prevent insertion into the original Game Boy. The first public aquarium opened in London's Regent's Park in 1853. The original Game Boy power switch was designed to prevent the player from being able to remove the cart while powered on.

In recent years, the large aquaria have been attempting to acquire and raise various species of open-ocean fish, and even jellyfish (or sea-jellies, cnidaria), a difficult task since these creatures have never before encountered solid surfaces like the walls of a tank, and do not have the instincts to turn aside from the walls instead of running into them. This applies to almost all video game console using cartridges. Also as with zoos, aquaria usually have specialized research staff who study the habits and biology of their specimens. Pulling a cart out of the Game Boy while the power is on may cause saved data or hardware to be damaged. A few have their own version of a "petting zoo"; for instance, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has a shallow tank filled with common types of rays, and one can reach in to feel their leathery skins as they pass by. This will freeze the game and may cause weird occurrences, such as rows of zeros appearing on the screen and the sound remaining at the same pitch as was emitted the instant the game was pulled out. A good aquarium will have special exhibits to entice repeat visitors, in addition to its permanent collection. If the game cart is pulled out while the power is on, the Game Boy will exhibit undefined behavior.

Operationally, a public aquarium is similar in many ways to a zoo or museum. The game cart is inserted into the console cart slot. Aquatic and semiaquatic animals, including otters and penguins, may also be kept by public aquaria. If the developer wishes, they can include either a small battery or a flash chip within the cartridge, which allows game data to be saved; this allows the game to be continued at a later time. gallons of water and can house large species, including dolphins, sharks or beluga whales. The software contained within provides the data, logic, and rules of the game, accepts input from the console controls or buttons, and outputs the results to the screen display and speaker. The largest tanks hold millions of U.S. Game Boy and GBC cartridges measure 5.8 cm by 6.5 cm.

Most public aquaria feature a number of smaller tanks, as well as one or more large tank greater in size than could be kept by any home aquarist. Each video game is contained in a small plastic cartridge (or "cart"). Public aquaria are facilities open to the public for viewing of aquatic species in aquaria. The e-Reader was considered to be a general failure; although still selling in Japan, it was not released in Europe, and was quickly discontinued in North America. In practice this is a very complicated and difficult task, and so most aquarists use rules of thumb combined with a trial and error approach to reach an appropriate level of biological loading. The content was added or unlocked by purchasing e-Reader cards and swiping them in. To do so, the variables for waste production rate, nitrification efficiency, gas exchange rate at the water surface, and many others would need to be determined. Content includes mini-games, different worlds, or full and complete games.

The true maximum or ideal biological loading of a system is very difficult to calculate, even on a theoretical level. A peripheral released for the Game Boy Advance and SP that unlocks special content for certain games. For goldfish and other high-waste fish, some aquarists recommend doubling the space allowance to one inch of fish per every two gallons. The feature's greatest usefulness is most evident in Pokémon FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald, where up to sixteen Wireless Adapter-connected players could convene in a "Union Room" of sorts. This rule is usually applied to the expected mature size of the fish, in order to not stunt growth by overcrowding, which can be unhealthy for the fish. As of 2005, fewer than twenty games support this feature. gallons (about 7 mm per liter of water). The Wireless Adapter allows players to play wirelessly without a link cable.

gallon" rule, which dictates that the sum in inches of the lengths of all fish kept in an aquarium (excluding tail length) should not exceed the capacity of the tank measured in U.S. It uses the same color palette built into the cart instead of colorizing the games. Perhaps the most popular of these is the "one inch of fish per U.S. It also has a link port so players can use multiplayer and e-Reader functions. In order to prevent biological overloading of the system, aquarists have developed a number of rules of thumb. The successor to the Super Game Boy, the Game Boy Player allows Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games to be played on the Nintendo GameCube. Physically, only a limited size and number of plants and animals can be fit into an aquarium while still providing room for movement. The device plugged into the parallel port of the PC and allowed dumping ROM and SRAM sumee data to PC, as well as rewriting flashcarts to play copies of Game Boy games.

The capacity of nitrifying bacteria is limited by the physical space they have available to colonize. The (unofficial) GBX, produced by Bung Enterprises Ltd, was the best-known backup unit for Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. The surface area of water exposed to air limits dissolved oxygen intake by the tank. Pokémon Stadium 2 was compatible with all the Game Boy and Game Boy Color Pokémon games except for the Crystal Version. In addition, there are several fundamental constraints on biological loading based on the size of an aquarium. The only exception was Pokémon Stadium, which allowed players to play Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow on the television screen. High biological loading in an aquarium represents a more complicated tank ecology, which in turn means that equilibrium is easier to perturb. However, unlike the Super Game Boy, it was only for the transfer of Game Boy Color data to their N64 equivalents.

Biological loading is a measure of the burden placed on the aquarium ecosystem by its living inhabitants. The Transfer Pak was a device that fit onto the Nintendo 64 controller. Appropriate handling of the nitrogen cycle, along with supplying an adequately balanced food supply and considered biological loading, is usually enough to keep these other nutrient cycles in approximate equilibrium. A follow-up, the Super Game Boy 2 (primarily released in Japan, though some sold through QVC's shopping channel in the U.S.), included more colors, frames, and a link port for multiplayer support. Sulfur, iron, and micronutrients also cycle through the system, entering as food and exiting as waste. The black-and-white games could be colorized by mapping colors to each of the four grays. The phosphate cycle is an important, although often overlooked, nutrient cycle. The Super Game Boy is a plug-in cartridge for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System that allowed Game Boy games to be played on a television screen.

Carbon dioxide escapes the system into the air. Recently, the EyeToy accessory for the PlayStation 2 has vastly expanded upon the idea of using the image of the player in the game and as part of the game. Dissolved oxygen enters the system at the surface water-air interface or through the actions of an air pump. A picture of the user's head is inserted into several mini-games. Nitrogen is not the only nutrient that cycles through an aquarium. There are also several mini-games along with the camera. Improperly cycled aquaria can quickly accumulate toxic concentrations of nitrogen waste and kill its inhabitants. The commercial at least indicates that Nintendo was at least referencing and/or parodying adult-geared portable systems.

According to anecdotal reports of aquarists specializing in planted tanks, the plants can consume nitrogenous waste so efficiently that the spikes in ammonia and nitrite levels normally seen in more traditional cycling methods are greatly reduced, if they are detectable at all. However, a commercial advertising the products showed a young kid using the devices, with an adult using a laptop looking over in astonishment. The silent cycle is basically nothing more than densely stocking the aquarium with fast-growing aquatic plants and relying on them to consume the nitrogen products rather than bacteria. It was never Nintendo's intention to transform the GB system into a PDA; any such claims are untrue. During this process, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are tested to monitor progress. The N64 magazine (published by Future) dedicated a monthly section to the device. Instead, small amounts of ammonia are added to the tank to feed the bacteria being cultured. Both items were marketed by Nintendo as light-hearted entertainment devices, in all three major videogame regions of the world: Japan, North America, and Europe.

As the name of the former implies, no fish are kept in a tank undergoing a fishless cycle. The printer utilized heat-sensitive paper to "burn" any saved images, making a hard copy. Other cycling methods that have gained popularity in recent years are the fishless cycle and the silent cycle. The camera could take basic black & white, often grainy, digital images using the 4-color palette of the Game Boy system. Aquarists use several different methods to jump start this process, including the use of water additives containing small populations of the bacteria, or "seeding" a new tank with a mature bacterial colony removed from another aquarium (such as can be found on gravel or biological filter media). The Game Boy Camera & Printer are accessories for the Game Boy handheld gaming console and were released in 1998. In a process called cycling, aquarists cultivate these bacteria as fish and other producers of nitrogen waste are gradually added to the tank over the course of several weeks. [2].

New aquaria also do not usually have the required populations of bacteria for the handling of nitrogen waste. It will sell for 16,800 yen ($145), compared with the current model's price of 15,000 yen ($130). This problem is most often addressed through two filtration solutions: Activated carbon filters absorb nitrogen compounds and other toxins from the water, while biological filters provide a medium specially designed for colonization by the desired nitrifying bacteria. It is also lighter, at 218g against 295g. Aquaria kept by hobbyists often do not have the requisite populations of bacteria needed to detoxify nitrogen waste from tank inhabitants. It is smaller than the current DS model—133 × 73.9 × 21.5mm against 148.7 × 84.7 × 27.9. A balanced system, in which the fish eat the plants, is generally difficult to create. On January 26, 2006, Nintendo unveiled the Nintendo DS Lite, a redesigned version of the DS.

This accumulation of nitrates in home aquaria requires the aquarium keeper to remove water that is high in nitrates or remove plants which have grown from the nitrates. It has been technically likened to the Nintendo 64. Although informally called the nitrogen cycle by hobbyists, it is in fact only a portion of a true cycle: nitrogen must be added to the system (usually through food provided to the tank inhabitants), and nitrates accumulate in the water at the end of the process (or contribute to a growth in biomass via plant metabolism). The Nintendo DS can be considered a part of the portable family due to structural similarities to Game Boy and its ability to play Game Boy Advance cartridges (but not Game Boy Color or original Game Boy cartridges). However, this is only temporary, as the plants release nitrogen back into the water when older leaves die off and decompose. Nintendo refers to it as their third pillar; their home consoles, such as the Nintendo GameCube, being the first, and their Game Boy line of portable-gaming devices being the second. When plants metabolize nitrogen compounds, they remove nitrogen from the water by using it to build biomass. In fact, its unusual design and touch-screen control distinguish it from the Game Boy line.

In addition to bacteria, aquatic plants also eliminate nitrogen waste by metabolizing ammonia and nitrate. The Nintendo DS launched on November 20, 2004 in North America and December 4, 2004 in Japan, making it unusual as a Nintendo device to launch in North America before Japan. While biologically they could theoretically fill the same niche as Nitrospira, it has recently been found that Nitrobacter are not present in detectable levels in established aquaria, while Nitrospira are plentiful.) This process is known in the aquarium hobby as the nitrogen cycle. The horitzontal orientation was later used for the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Micro and the clamshell design of other games was used for the Nintendo DS. (Nitrobacter bacteria were previously believed to fill this role, and continue to be found in commercially available products sold as kits to "jump start" the nitrogen cycle in an aquarium. There were 58 different games and also included an alarm clock. Another type of bacteria, genus Nitrospira, converts nitrite into nitrate, a less toxic substance to aquarium inhabitants. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, thse are considered to be the predecessor to the Game Boy.

Nitrite is also highly toxic to fish in high concentrations. There also other Nintendo handheld consoles that do not fit into the Game Boy category, but are similar. Nitrifying bacteria capture ammonia from the water and metabolize it to produce nitrite. The micro's North American launch price of $99.99 was lowered to $89.99 during the 2005 holiday season. The nitrogen waste produced in a tank is metabolized in aquaria by a type of bacteria known as nitrifiers (genus Nitrosomonas). It was released in Europe on November 4, 2005. A well-balanced tank contains organisms that are able to metabolize the waste products of other aquarium residents. It was released on September 19, 2005 in Japan and North America.

Nitrogen waste products become toxic to fish and other aquarium inhabitants at high concentrations. The Game Boy micro is not backward compatible with Game Boy or Game Boy Color games. Ammonia is also produced through the decomposition of plant and animal matter, including fecal matter and other detritus. It is slightly smaller than the SP or GBA screens while maintaining the same resolution (240 × 160 pixels). Fish, invertebrates, fungi, and some bacteria excrete nitrogen waste in the form of ammonia (which may convert to ammonium, depending on water chemistry) which must then pass through the nitrogen cycle. A second Game Boy Advance redesign (third design), the Game Boy micro is four inches wide, two inches tall, and less than an inch deep and weighs 2.8 ounces, by far the smallest Game Boy created. Of primary concern to the aquarist is management of the biological waste produced by an aquarium's inhabitants. As of this writing, the Game Boy SP is the last Game Boy handheld to offer backward compatibility with Game Boy/Game Boy Color games.

For this reason, hobbyists often favor larger tanks when possible, as they are more stable systems requiring less intensive attention to the maintenance of equilibrium. In mid September 2005, Nintendo released a new model that featured a new and improved backlit screen. gallon (400 L) tank with many other fish in it represents only a minor change in the balance of the tank. The SP stands for Special [1]. gallon tank (11 L) causes dramatic changes in the system, while the death of that same fish in a 100 U.S. It features a new smaller clamshell design with a flip-up screen (protecting the screen, an issue with the original), an internal frontlight, and a rechargeable battery, but was otherwise unchanged. For example, the death of the only fish in a three U.S. Launched in March 2003, the Game Boy Advance SP resolved several problems with the original model.

Any event that perturbs the system pushes an aquarium away from equilibrium; the more water that is contained in a tank, the easier such a systemic shock is to absorb, as the effects of that event are diluted. It has also been accompanied alongside new titles such as Mario Kart Super Circuit and F-Zero: Maximum Velocity. Approximate equilibrium is facilitated by large volumes of water. It was technically likened to the SNES and showed its power with successful ports of Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island. Typically an aquarium keeper must take steps to maintain equilibrium in the small ecosystem contained in his aquarium. It included a Z80 processor for backward-compatibility support. As an example, a balanced predator-prey relationship is nearly impossible to maintain in even the largest of aquaria. The Game Boy Advance (also referred to as GBA) featured a 32 bit 16.8 MHz ARM.

In practice it is virtually impossible to maintain a perfect balance. In June 2001, Nintendo released a significant upgrade to the Game Boy line. Ideal aquarium ecology reproduces the equilibrium found in nature in the closed system of an aquarium. Technologically, it was likened to the NES from the 1980s. Aquaculture can help in lessening the impacts on wild stocks, either by using raised cultivated organisms directly for sale or by releasing them to replenish wild stock (Tlusty 203), although such a practice is associated with several environmental risks. This became a major feature of the Game Boy line, since it allowed each new launch to begin with a significantly larger library than any of its competitors. Supporters of aquaculture programs for supply to the aquarium trade claim that well-planned programs can bring benefits to the environment as well as the society around it. A major draw of the Game Boy Color was its backward compatibility (that is, a Game Boy Color is able to read older Game Boy cartridges and even play them in selectable color).

Aquaculture is the cultivation of aquatic organisms in a controlled environment. It also has double the processor speed, twice as much memory, and an infrared communications port. Breeding programs for freshwater species are comparatively more advanced than for saltwater species. Released in November 1998, the Game Boy Color (also referred to as GBC) added a color screen to a form factor slightly larger than the Game Boy Pocket. Captive breeding programs of marine organisms for the aquarium trade have been urgently in development since the mid-1990s. Due to its rarity, it often sells for many times more than the other models. Captive breeding for the aquarium trade is now concentrated in South Florida, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok, with smaller industries in Hawaii and Sri Lanka. The Game Boy Light is the rarest Game Boy variant outside of Japan.

Since the 'fighting fish' Betta splendens was first successfully bred in France in 1893, captive spawning techniques have been slowly discovered. It uses 2 AA batteries which give it approximately 20 hours with the light off and 12 with it on. Among American keepers of marine aquaria surveyed in 1997, two thirds said that they prefer to purchase farm raised coral instead of wild-collected coral, and over 80% think that only sustainably caught or captive bred fish should be allowed for trade. Only available in Japan, the Game Boy Light was about the same size as the Pocket and had a backlit screen for improved visibility. Therefore, there has been a concerted movement by many concerned aquarists to reduce the trade's dependence on wild-collected specimens through captive breeding programs and certification programs for wild-caught fish. The first version did not have a LED to show battery levels, but was soon added due to public demand. Additionally, the destructive fishing techniques used have become a growing concern to environmentalists and hobbyists alike. The screen was changed to a true black-and-white display, rather than the "pea soup" monochromatic display of the original Game Boy.

These include the poisoning of coral reefs and non-target species, the depletion of rare species from their natural habitat, and the degradation of ecosystems from large scale removal of key species. The port's design was used on all subsequent Game Boy models, up until the Game Boy micro. More recently, the potentially detrimental environmental impact of fish and plant collecting has come to the attention of aquarists worldwide. The Game Boy Pocket has a smaller link port, requiring an adapter for linkage with the older Game Boy. Fish can also be injured during the collection process itself, most notably during the process of using cyanide to stun reef fish to make them easier to collect. It had space for 2 AAA batteries, which would provide roughly 10 hours of game play. Many others are weakened by stress and become diseased upon arrival. In 1996, Nintendo released the Game Boy Pocket, a smaller, lighter unit that required fewer batteries.

The shipping process is very hazardous for the fish involved; mortality rates are high. This new unit is the same as the first version, except for the availabity of various colors. Collecting expeditions can be lengthy and costly, and are not always successful. In 1995, Nintendo released several colored Game Boy models, advertising them in the Play it Loud! campaign. The practice of collection in the wild for eventual display in aquaria has several disadvantages. However, this feature was only supported in Faceball 2000. It remains an important source for many species that have not been successfully bred in captivity, and continues to introduce new species to enthusiastic aquarists. In fact, it has been shown that the system could support 16 simultaneous players at once.

In many places of the world, impoverished local villagers collect specimens for the aquarium trade as their prime means of income. The original Game Boy was the first cartridge-based system that supported more than four players at one time (via the link port). Collection of fish, plants, and invertebrates from the wild for supply to the aquarium trade continues today at locations around the world. The game that really pushed it into the upper reaches of success was Tetris. During the early twentieth century many species of small colorful tropical fish were caught and exported from Manaus Brazil, Bangkok Thailand, Siam, Jakarta Indonesia, the Dutch West Indies, Calcutta India, and other tropical ports. It played games from ROM-based media contained in small plastic detachable units called cartridges (sometimes abbreviated as carts). Fish and plants for the first modern aquaria were gathered from the wild and transported (usually by ship) to European and American ports. Based around a Z80 processor, it had a black and green reflective LCD screen, an eight-way directional pad, and two action buttons.

Reef aquaria are widely considered the most difficult and demanding of the common hobbyist aquarium types, requiring the most expertise in addition to the most specialized equipment (and corresponding high cost). The original Game Boy was released on April 21, 1989 in Japan and in August 1989 in the United States. Techniques of maintaining sea anemones, some corals, live rock, mollusks, and crustacea, developed since the 1980s, have made the recreations of a reef ecosystem possible. The Game Boy console went through several design iterations, without significant changes to its computing power, since its release in 1989. These aquaria focus on the rich diversity of invertebrate life in these environments, and typically include only a limited number of small fish. To celebrate, Nintendo released the Classic NES Series and a NES-themed color scheme for the Game Boy Advance SP. These aquaria attempt to simulate the complex reef ecosystems found in warm, tropical oceans around the world. Game Boy celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2004, which nearly coincided with the 20-year anniversary to the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

In addition to the types above, a special category of saltwater aquaria is the reef aquarium. Game Boy continues its success to this day and many at Nintendo have dedicated the handheld in Yokoi's memory. This approach best simulates the experience of observing an aquarium's inhabitants in the wild, and also usually serves as the healthiest possible artificial environment for the tank's occupants. By following this simple mantra, the Game Boy line managed to gain a vast following despite technically superior alternatives. These ecotype aquaria might be considered the most sophisticated hobby aquaria; indeed, reputable public aquaria all use this approach in their exhibits whenever possible. When Gunpei designed the original Game Boy, he knew that, to be successful, the system needed to be small, light, inexpensive, and durable, as well as have a varied, recognizable library of games upon its release. Ecotype or ecotope aquaria attempt to simulate a specific ecosystem found in the natural world, bringing together fish, invertebrate species, and plants found in that ecosystem in a tank with water conditions and decorations designed to simulate their natural environment. Some consider these early LCD-display handhelds to be a prototype of the Game Boy.

Such tanks are common in fishrooms, where people keep many tanks at home. Yokoi was also responsible for the Game & Watch series of handhelds when Nintendo made the move from toys to video games. Some tanks of this sort are used simply to house adults for breeding. The gaming device was the brainchild of long-time Nintendo employee Gunpei Yokoi, who was the person behind the Ultra Hand, an expanding arm toy created and produced by Nintendo in 1970, long before Nintendo would enter the video game market. They can be simple as bare bottom with a few necessities or a complex planted aquarium. Nintendo's Game Boy handheld was first released in 1989. These tanks are often used for killifish, livebearers, cichlids etc. .

Species or specimen tanks usually only house one fish species, along with plants, perhaps found in the fishes' natural environment and decorations simulating a true ecosystem. The original Game Boy's design set the standard for handheld gaming consoles. In addition to the fish, invertebrates, plants, and decorations or "aquarium furniture" (all of which may or may not be natural neighbors of any of the fish) are typically added to these tank types. It is one of the best-selling game system lines selling over 120 million units world wide to date, and has spawned many successful spin-offs. In both of these tank types, the aquarium cohabitants may or may not originate from the same geographic region, but generally tolerate similar water conditions. The Game Boy line (also: Gameboy, Game-boy; Japanese: ゲームボーイ Gēmu Bōi) is a line of battery-powered handheld game consoles sold by Nintendo. Aggressive tanks, in contrast, house a limited number of species that can be aggressive toward other fish, or are able to withstand aggression well. Notably: 6955, Bit Shifter, Bubblyfish, Covox, Cow'P, dot.matrix, FirestARTer, Gameboy Music Club, Gameboyzz Orchestra, Glomag, Lo-bat, Bud Melvin, Nullsleep, OMAC, Saitone, etc.

This is the most common type of hobby aquarium kept today. Numerous musical acts have appropriated the Game Boy as a musical instrument. Community tanks house several species that are not aggressive toward each other. Thomas Ian Nicholas' character plays "Tetris" for Game Boy in the 1993 film Rookie of the Year. Perhaps the most popular of these is the division of aquaria into either a community or aggressive tank type. However, many saw these commercials as petulant admissions that the Game Boy was thrashing the Game Gear in sales (as indeed it was). Several theories on species selection circulate within the community of hobby aquarists. Television commercials in the early 1990s for the Sega Game Gear often mocked the Game Boy, at one point alleging it had a "creamed spinach color" in contrast to its own full-color graphics.

The size of public aquaria are usually limited by cost considerations. The short-lived 1980s cartoon series Captain N: The Game Master featured a life-sized Game Boy character, who communicated via faces on its screen. Its main tank, which holds 7,500 cubic meters of water, features the world's largest acrylic panel measuring 8.2 meters by 22.5 meters with a thickness of 60 centimeters. However, the DS cannot use the multiplayer modes of some Game Boy Advance titles due to its lack of a link-cable port. The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is the world's second largest aquarium and part of the Ocean Expo Park located in Motobu, Okinawa. Advance cartridges are half the size of all earlier cartridges and can only be played on Game Boy Advance and beyond and on the Nintendo DS. At 56 feet long by 17 feet high (17 by 5 m), it used to be the largest window in the world and is over 13 inches (330 mm) thick. Roughly three quarters of Game Boy Color releases were clear cart games.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has an acrylic viewing window into their largest tank. They do not physically fit in the Game Boy micro or DS due to their design. gallons (1,500 m³). Clear cartridges can only be played on Game Boy Color and beyond. gallons (7,500 m³), as well as two others of 400,000 U.S. A small number of these games also had Super Game Boy enhancements. The Shedd Aquarium features an individual aquarium of two million U.S. Roughly one quarter of Game Boy Color releases was black cart games.

Public aquaria designed for exhibition of large species or environments can be dramatically larger than any home aquarium. Games such as Wario Land II DX, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, and Tetris DX were re-releases of gray cartridge games with additional content and in full color. gallons (several cubic meters), at great effort and expense. Pokémon Gold and Silver and Dragon Warrior I&II). However, some dedicated aquarists have been known to construct custom aquaria of up to several thousand U.S. Black cartridges are compatible with the Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, and Game Boy Light systems, and are in full color on Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and SP (e.g. gallons). Many games produced from 1994 through 1998 also had Super Game Boy enhancements.

gallon (1 kg/L)) and internal water pressure (requiring thick, strong glass siding) of a large aquarium, keep most home aquaria to a maximum of around 1 m³ (300 U.S. These games were programmed in black and white; when used on the Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance, the color of the graphics can be chosen at the start-up screen. Practical limitations, most notably the weight (water weighs about 8.3 pounds per U.S. Sometimes these cartridges came in other colors, such as red and blue for Pokémon Red and Blue or yellow for Donkey Kong Land and Pokémon Yellow. This size is widely considered the smallest practical system with filtration and other basic systems; indeed, the local government of Rome has recently taken the step of banning traditional goldfish bowls as inhumane. All original Game Boy and Game Boy Pocket titles are of this type. gallons (11 L). Gray cartridges can be used with all Game Boy systems except the Game Boy micro and the DS.

Aquaria kept in homes by hobbyists can be as small as 3 U.S. The player's head becomes attached to a cartoon body, and he or she races against a mole and a bird for the finish line. In general, larger aquarium systems are typically recommended to hobbyists due to their resistance to rapid fluctuations of temperature and pH, allowing for greater system stability. Run! Run! Run! is the bonus game, which is obtained by reaching a score of 2,000 or more in Space Fever II. An aquarium can range from a small, unadorned glass bowl containing less than a liter of water – although generally unsuited for most fish (except, perhaps, air breathing fish such as Betta splendens or the Paradise Fish) – to massive tanks built in public aquaria which are limited only by engineering constraints and can house entire ecosystems as large as kelp forests or species of large sharks. The player's head becomes the boss of each level. Water temperature can be regulated with a combined thermometer/heater unit (or, more rarely, with a cooling unit), while water movement can be controlled through the use of powerheads and careful design of internal water flow (such as location of filtration system points of inflow and outflow). In the game, the player controls a spaceship which fires missiles at other ships.

Aquarists may prefer anything from still water up to swift simulated currents in an aquarium, depending on the conditions best suited for the aquarium's inhabitants. Space Fever II is an exact port of its arcade version. Water movement can also be important in accurately simulating a natural ecosystem. The player's head is the DJ. Cold water aquaria are those with temperatures below what would be considered tropical; a variety of fish are better suited to this cooler environment. DJ, probably the most popular game on the Game Boy Camera, the player can mix and create his or her own music. Most fish and plant species tolerate only a limited range of water temperatures: Tropical or warm water aquaria, with an average temperature of about 25 °C (78 °F), are much more common and house most popular aquarium fish. The head is the person juggling.

cold water. Ball is a juggling game, in which the player moves his or hand around to catch and throw balls. The temperature of the water forms the basis of one of the two most basic aquarium classifications: tropical vs. Secondary water characteristics are also important to the success of an aquarium. In contrast, public aquaria with large water needs often locate themselves near a natural water source (such as a river, lake, or ocean) in order to have easy access to large volumes of water that does not require much further treatment.

More sophisticated aquarists may make other modifications to their base water source to modify the water's alkalinity, hardness, or dissolved content of organics and gases, before adding it to their aquaria. Brackish or saltwater aquaria require the addition of a mixture of salts and other minerals, which are commercially available for this purpose. For freshwater aquaria, additives formulated to remove chlorine or chloramine (used to disinfect drinking water supplies for human consumption) are often all that is needed to make the water ready for aquarium use. Home aquarists typically use modified tap water supplied through their local municipal water system to fill their tanks.

Dissolved organic content and dissolved gases content are also important factors. Hardness measures overall dissolved mineral content; soft or hard water may be preferred. The pH of the water is a measure of alkalinity or acidity. Several other water characteristics result from dissolved contents of the water, and are important to the proper simulation of natural environments.

An aquarium may have fresh water (a salt level of < 0.5%), simulating a lake or river environment; salt water (a salt level of 5%–18%), simulating an ocean or sea environment; or brackish water (a salt level of 0.5%–5%), simulating environments lying between fresh and salt, such as estuaries. Salt content, or salinity, is the most basic classification of water conditions. The dissolved content of water is perhaps the most important aspect of water conditions, as dissolved salts and other constituents can dramatically impact basic water chemistry, and therefore how organisms are able to interact with their environment. The size of an aquarium also limits the aquarist in what types of ecosystems he can reproduce, species selection, and biological loading.

The conditions and characteristics of the water contained in an aquarium are the most important classification criteria, as most aquatic life will not survive even limited exposure to unsuitable water conditions. Aquaria can be classified by several variables that determine the type of aquatic life that can be suitably housed. The combined function of these elements is to maintain appropriate water quality and characteristics suitable for the aquarium's residents. Size, lighting conditions, density of floating and rooted plants, placement of bogwood, creation of caves or overhangs, type of substrate, and other factors (including an aquarium's positioning within a room) can all affect the behavior and survivability of tank inhabitants.

An aquarium's physical characteristics form another aspect of aquarium design. Coolers are also available for use in cold water aquaria or in parts of the world where the ambient room temperature is above the desired tank temperature. Aquarium heaters are designed to act as thermostats to regulate water temperature at a level designated by the aquarist when the prevailing temperature of air surrounding the aquarium is below the desired water temperature. These devices, once universal, are now somewhat less commonly used as some newer filtration systems create enough surface agitation to supply adequate gas exchange at the surface.

Air pumps are employed to adequately oxygenate (or in the case of a heavily planted aquarium, provide carbon dioxide to) the water. Protein skimmers, filtration devices that remove proteins and other waste from the water, are usually found only in salt water aquaria. Most systems use pumps to remove a small portion of the tank's water to an external pathway where filtration occurs; the filtered water is then returned to the aquarium. Filtration systems are the most complexly engineered component of most home aquaria, and various designs are used.

Combined biological and mechanical filtration systems are now common; these are designed to remove potentially dangerous build up of nitrogenous wastes and phosphates dissolved in the water, as well as particulate matter. In addition, some freshwater tanks (and most saltwater tanks) use powerheads to increase water circulation. The common freshwater aquarium maintained by a home aquarist typically includes a filtration system, an artificial lighting system, air pumps, and a heater. Freshwater aquaria remain the most popular due to their lower cost and easier maintenance, but marine (saltwater) aquaria have gained cachet as dedicated enthusiasts prove it is possible to preserve these challenging environments.

The most successful aquaria, as judged by the long-term survivability of its inhabitants, carefully emulate the natural environments that their residents would occupy in the wild. Aquaria can vary in size from a small bowl large enough for a single small fish, to the huge public aquaria that can simulate entire marine ecosystems. From the outdoor ponds and glass jars of antiquity, modern aquaria have evolved into a wide range of specialized systems. In the United States, a large minority (40%) of aquarists maintain two or more tanks at any one time.

The hobby has the strongest following in Europe, Asia, and North America. There are currently estimated to be about 60 million aquarium hobbyists worldwide, and many more aquaria kept by them. Popularization was also assisted by the availability of air freight, which allowed a much wider variety of fish to be successfully imported from distant regions of origin that consequently attracted new hobbyists. With electricity great improvements were made in aquarium technology, allowing artificial lighting as well as the aeration, filtration, and heating of the water.

Aquaria became more widely popular as houses became almost universally electrified after World War I. (One feature of some 19th-century aquaria that would prove curious to hobbyists today was the use of a metal base panel so that the aquarium water could be heated by flame.) Germans rivaled the British in their interest, and by the turn of the century Hamburg became the European port of entry for many newly seen species. The framed-glass aquarium was a specialized version of the glazed Wardian case developed for British horticulturists in the 1830s to protect exotic plants on long sea voyages. The keeping of fish in an aquarium first became a popular hobby in Britain only after ornate aquaria in cast-iron frames were featured at the Great Exhibition of 1851.

The concept of keeping aquatic life in glass containers, then, dates to at latest this period. In the 18th century, the biologist Abraham Trembley kept hydra found in the garden canals of the Bentinck residence 'Sorgvliet' in the Netherlands, in large cylindrical glass vessels for study. In 1665 the diarist Samuel Pepys recorded seeing in London "a fine rarity, of fishes kept in a glass of water, that will live so forever, and finely marked they are, being foreign." The fish observed by Pepys were likely to have been the paradise fish, Macropodus opercularis, a familiar garden fish in Canton, China, where the East India Company was then trading. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact date of this development.

The concept of an aquarium, designed for the observation of fish in an enclosed, transparent tank to be kept indoors, emerged more recently. The Chinese brought goldfish indoors during the Song dynasty to enjoy them in large ceramic vessels. Many other cultures also have a history of keeping fish for both functional and decorative purposes. Depictions of the sacred fish of Oxyrhynchus kept in captivity in rectangular temple pools have been found in ancient Egyptian art.

In China, selective breeding of carp into today's popular koi and goldfish is believed to have begun over 2,000 years ago. Ancient Sumerians were known to keep wild-caught fish in ponds, before preparing them for meals. The keeping of fish in confined or artificial environments is a practice with deep roots in history. The word aquarium itself is taken directly from the latin aqua, meaning water, with the suffix -rium, meaning "place" or "building".

. Other components in maintaining a suitable aquarium environment include appropriate species selection, management of biological loading, and good physical design. The nitrogen cycle describes the flow of nitrogen from input via food, through toxic nitrogenous waste produced by tank inhabitants, to metabolism to less toxic compounds by beneficial bacteria populations. Controlling water quality includes managing the inflow and outflow of nutrients, most notably the management of waste produced by tank inhabitants.

The careful aquarist dedicates considerable effort to maintaining a tank ecology that mimics its inhabitants' natural habitat. Inhabitants for aquaria are often collected from the wild, although there is a growing list of organisms that are bred in captivity for supply to the aquarium trade. These characteristics, and others, determine the type of fish and other inhabitants that can survive and thrive in the aquarium. Aquaria are usually classified as containing fresh or salt water, at tropical or cold water temperatures.

A wide variety of aquaria are now kept by hobbyists, ranging from a simple bowl housing a single fish to complex simulated ecosystems with carefully engineered support systems. gallons) and a collection of about 580 species of aquatic life. Public aquaria reproduce the home aquarist's hobby on a grand scale — the Osaka Aquarium, for example, boasts a tank of 5,400 m³ (1.4 million U.S. From the 1850s, when the predecessor of the modern aquarium was first developed as a novel curiosity, the ranks of aquarists have swelled as more sophisticated systems including lighting and filtration systems were developed to keep aquarium fish healthy.

Aquarium keeping is a popular hobby around the world, with about 60 million enthusiasts worldwide. An aquarium (plural aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium, usually contained in a clear-sided container (typically constructed of glass or high-strength plastic) in which water-dwelling plants and animals (usually fish, and sometimes invertebrates, as well as amphibians, marine mammals, and reptiles) are kept in captivity, often for public display; or it is an establishment featuring such displays.