| FAAS |
Federation of American Aquarium Societies |
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| Family |
a group of related genera |
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| Fanworm |
any of the segmented worms of Families Sabelidae and Serpulidae
possessing a feeding structure superficially resembling a fan, feather
duster, or parasol, often imported for marine aquariums |
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| Farlowella |
South American loricarid catfish with extreamely elongated bodies |
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| Favia |
a stony coral with individusl corallites arranged like the cells
of a honeycomb |
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| Favites |
a stony coral similar to, and frequently confused with, Favia |
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| Fertilizer |
any material used as a source of nutrients for enhancement of plant
growth |
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| Filamentous |
having a threadlike structure, as with many freshwater and marine
algae that grow in aquarium |
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| Filter |
any device for maintaining the quality of aquarium water by removal
of particulate or chemical substances, the accumulation of which would
be harmful to the organisms exhibited in the tank |
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| Fireworm |
one of several tropical polychaete annelids with venomous bristles
capable of delivering a painful sting if the organism is carelessly
handled |
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| Fishkeeping |
an idiomantic reference to the aquarium hobby |
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| Flagellum |
in common usage, an elongate, whiplike structure employed for locomotion
in several groups of unicellular organisms; cell biologists reserve
this term only for prokaryotic cells |
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| Flashing |
a fish behavior characterized by rapid, glancing contact with a
solid object in an effort to displace an external parasite or other
irritation, so called because the lightcolored underbelly of the fish
is thus exposed to momentary view |
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| Flatworm |
any member of Phylum Platyhelminthes, including the nonparasitic
freshwater form, Planaria, and numerous parasites of marine and freshwater
fish and inverterbrates |
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| Flavins |
yellow plant pigments thought to absorb blue light during photosynthesis |
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| Fluidized-bed Filter |
a device that accomplishes biological filtration through growth
of nitrifying bacteria on a mass of sand or tiny spheres of synthetic
materials suspended in a current of water passing though it; although
similar in principle to other types of biological filtration systems,
this method allows for maximum carrying capacity while minimizing
the size of the filter itself |
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| Fluorescent tube |
a lamp consisting of a long glass cylinder, coated on the inside
with phosphorescent chemicals, sealed, and filled with gas, through
which the passage of an electrical discharge results in light production |
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| Foam fractionation |
a synonym for protein skimming |
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| Foam nest |
an alternative name for the bubble nest constructed by labyrinth
fish |
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| Fontinalis |
willow moss, freshwater mosses often cultivated in cold water aquariums |
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| Foot |
the muscular, fleshy appendage of a mollusk, employed for moving
upon, clinging to, or burrowing within a substrate |
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| Foraminiferans |
members of a group of unicellular marine organisms that are important
components of plankton; their distinctively shaped skeletal structures
are useful to marine geologists investigating sedimentary deposits |
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| Forcipiger |
long-snouted butterflyfish, Family Chaetodontidae, popular as aquarium
subjects |
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| Formalin |
a solution of formaldehyde gas in water, used as a preservative
for taxonomic specimens and as a therapeutic agent in the treatment
of ectoparasite infestations in both marine and freshwater fish |
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| Fossorial |
adapted for digging or burrowing |
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| Freshwater |
water of low salinity, lacking significant amounts of the anions
flouride, chloride, bromide, and iodide |
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| Fromia |
small sea stars popular with minireef enthusiasts because of their
bright coloration and nonpredatory habits |
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| Fry |
recently hatched fish |
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| Fundulus |
studfish Family Fundulidae, native to North and Central America
and often naimtained in temperate aquariums because the males are
colorful |
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| Fungicide |
any agent that kills fungi |
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| Fungus |
plural: fungi; nonphotosynthetic eukaryotes that feed via extracellular
digestion, sometimes pathogenic |
