| Taeniacra |
the black-striped dwarf cichlid of Brazil, T. candidae,
a beautiful species maintained by cichlid enthusiast |
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| Tank |
the container, usually of glass or acrylic, that holds an aquarium |
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| Tankmate |
any organism that shares an aquarium with another |
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| Taste buds |
structures in the oral cavity of fish and other vertebrates in which
nerve receptors sensitive to chemical conditions are located |
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| Taxon |
any group into which species are arranged as part of a classification |
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| Taxonimic |
hierarchy a logical series of successively larger groups into which
a species may be placed according to its supposed evolutionary relationships
with other species |
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| Taxonomist |
a biologist primarily concerned with the identification of species
and the elucidation of evolutionary relationships between them |
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| Taxonomy |
the science ofclassification of species according to their evolutionary
history |
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| Tealia |
small sea anemones, often red in color, distributed circumtropically |
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| Teeth |
the bony elements located in the jaws of vertebrates, or any analoous
structures in invertebrate animals, used for piercing, cutting, or
tearing food |
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| Teleost |
a bony fish |
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| Telmatactis |
a tiny sea anemone often carried by the boxing crab, Lybia |
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| Telmatochromis |
a genus of cichlids endemic to Lake Tanganyika, Africa, including
T. temporalis |
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| Telson |
the tail flap, or terminal appendage, of the abdomen of a crustacean |
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| Tentacles |
the appendages of certain animals, especially cnidarians and cephalopod
mollusks, generally elongated, cylindrical, and with a sensory or
food capture function or both |
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| Terpenes |
chemical compounds released by certain soft corals and thought to
be inimical to competing species in the viciinity of the releasor |
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| Test |
a protective integument comprised of calcified plates fused together |
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| Tetra |
any of the characins, but sepecially the smaller species kept in
freshwater community tanks |
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| Tetraodon |
type genus of Fmaily Tetraodontidae, or puffers; the name refers
to the presence of four incisor teeth |
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| Thalassia |
turtle grass, atropical marine flowering plant that forms large
stands in shallow water |
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| Thalassoma |
wrasses, Family Labridae, including many aquarium species |
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| Thallus |
the undifferentiated, leafless, and stemless body of anonflowering
plant, such as a seaweed or liverwort |
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| Thayeria |
South American characins including the penguin tetra, T. obliqua,
with a distinctive black stripe and a characteristic head-up swimming
posture |
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| Thermostat |
a device used to regulate the output of a heating unit. |
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| Thoracic |
of the thorax or middle body area of a crustacean, or of the area
enclosed by the rib cage of a vertebrate |
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| Threatened species |
one of an offically recognized list of organisms in significant
danger of extinction; but not to such a degree that a single catastrophic
event could have this result |
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| Tilapia |
cichlids, native to central Africa, widely cultivated in aquariums
and as food fish |
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| Titrant |
a reagent used to neutralize an acid or base with the goal of determining
the equivalency of the latter |
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| Toadfish |
any of the marine fish in the genus Opsanus; easily maintained in
aquariums because of their hardy nature and nonselective feeding habits |
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| Topping off |
adding water to an aquarium to compensate for evaporation |
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| Total hardness |
the combined mass of carbonates of calcium and magnesium per unit
volume of wate |
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| Total length |
the distance form the anterior extremity of the head to the posterior
extremity of either lobe of the caudal fin |
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| Toxin |
any substance produced by one species that is harmful to other species
that come into contact with it; a poison |
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| Toxotes |
archerfish, fresh- or brackish water species that obtain insects
by knocking them from plants overhanging the water by means of a jet
of water expelled forcefully form the fish's mouth |
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| Trace elements |
a mineral present in water at extremely low levels. These include
cobalt, copper,iodine, iron, and selenium. |
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| Trachyphyllia |
open brain coral, a large-polyped stony coral adapted for living
in bottom sediments; easily maintained ni minireef aquariums |
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| Transparent |
allowing the free passage of light |
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| Transverse fission |
splitting of a parent cell or organism along the short axis of the
body into two daughter cells or organisms |
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| Trichogaster |
anabantids, such as the pearl gourami, in which the pectoral fins
ar emodified into whiskerlike sensory appendges, and that reach an
adult size greater than 3 inches (7.6 cm) |
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| Trichopsis |
the three-striped croaking gourami, and related fish from Thailand
noted for the ability to produce audible sounds |
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| Trickle filter |
an aquarium water purification device in which tank water flows
slowly, or trickles, over media not submerged but held in a tray or
chamber, with the intent of facilitating attachment and growth of
nitrifying bacteria |
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| Tridachia |
a sea slug of the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean that is capable
of removing the chloroplasts from the seaweeds upon which it feeds
and transferring them to its own body where they continue to photosynthsize,
thus providing the slug with food |
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| Tridacna |
giant clams cultivated primarily for food but also, because of their
bright colors and ease of maintenance in minireef tanks, for the aquarium
market |
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| Triacnid |
any of themollusk Family Tridacnidae, or giant clams that feed by
harboring photosynthetic unicellular algae within their mantle tissues |
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| Triggerfish |
any marine species of Family Balistidae, characterized by dorsal
and anal fin spines bearing a locking mechanism that allows the fish
to wedge itself inextricably into a crevis or other space as a mode
of defense |
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| Trilobite |
an extinct marine arthropod characterized by a sebmented exoskeleton
divided into three parts |
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| Tropheus |
colorful, agressive cichlids endemic to Lake Tanganyika, Africa;
widely maintained by specialized aquarists |
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| Trophic level |
the position in a food web that a particular type of organism occupies |
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| Tropical fish |
those from any waters lying between the Tropic of Cancer and the
Tropic of Capricorn, especially freshwater species imported for ornamental
aquariums |
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| Trunk |
that protion of the body of a fish between the head and the caudal
region and containing the abdominal cavity |
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| Tubastrea |
a nonphotosynthetic stony coral sought after by enthusiasts because
of its bright orange coloration |
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| Tubercle |
a bump or point arising from the body surface of an organism, especially
such a structure on the head of a breeding male of certain fish species |
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| Tubeworm |
any aquatic annelid that dwells within an elongate, hollow burrow
or refuge it constructs or secretes and into which, typically, it
is capable of withdrawing to escape danger |
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| Tube feet |
external appendages of echinoderms, part of the water vascular system;
they act like suction cups to allow the animal to grip the substrate
or to capture prey |
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| Tubifex |
freshwater annelids widely collected for fish food, but now considered
unsafe to feed because of their preferance for organically polluted
waters; also sold in freeze-dried form |
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| Tubipora |
the organ pipe "coral," a colonial hydrozoan that produces
a calcified skeleton, deep maroon in color, superficially resembling
that of a scleractinian |
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| Tunicate |
a urochordate, or sea squirt, the body of which is enclosed in a
fleshy shroud, or "tunic," with two openings through which
water is taken in and expelled |
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| Turbinaria |
cup coral, a stony coral with a skeleton resembling a wineglass,
the inside of which is strdded with corallites |
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| Turbo |
marine snails, Family Turbinidae, in which the shell resembles a
tuban; several species are used in marine aquariums for the control
of filamentous and encrusting algae |
