I keep fish as a hobby, and you learn to not touch the fish if you can avoid it so you don’t introduce things into the water. I know you have to watch salt water chemical levels closely, and salt water creatures seem more delicate. How do the large aquariums make touch pools work? Who knows what are on the kids hands when they touch the sea creatures… Is it constant water changes? Do they switch the sea creatures frequently so the don’t stress out and get sick?

at ours we change the water constantly

I always wondered how people with potted aquariums (and with fish) change their water. My tank gets filthy with poo and I make sure I get that out, but people with soil in their tanks, how do they get the poo out?

This is a serious question…
I don’t mean keeping fish in a pot, I mean keeping plants in an aquarium where there’s soil and gravel. How do you clean a tank where there’s a layer of soil?

Doesn’t matter, they shouldn’t even be keeping fish in bowls or pots for that matter. Tanks are always the best and are necessary. Not even goldfish or bettas can be kept in bowls.

I was just wondering what live plants do for aquariums. I know that they help rid tanks of ammonia and stuff, but do they do anything else? I just bought plants for my aquarium because my tank was looking a little murky and the ammonia levels were high. How long till the ammonia levels go back down?

Plants help to keep the tank cleaner, are a good decorative touch, can provide food to fish (if you have the right plants).

How do they get the animals in aquariums like the Georgia Aquarium or the Adventure Aquarium?

These animals are often not bred in captivity. They are shipped from the wild, where they are caught in brutal ways. They are torn away from their families and shipped to be "trained" as circus clowns. http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/what_are_the_issues/marine_mammals_in_captivity/
They go through mental breakdowns and often try to kill themselves (stop breathing, or ram their heads repeatedly into walls). It is a very violent business keeping Marine Mammals in captivity. The animals welfare isnt taken into consideration. The aquariums make tons of money off of them, and when they die they get a new one.

http://www.wspa-usa.org/pages/1348_the_case_against_marine_mammals_in_captivity.cfm

Do some research online about Marine Mammals in Captivity, you will be horrified by what you find.

I was just wondering. Do they have a huge tank that they transport them in? How do they drive them to the aquariums?
Also, do they use a similar method to transfer the dolphins from aquarium to aquarium?

The capture of marine mammals is a violent procedure. Pods of orcas and dolphins are chased to exhaustion using airplanes, boats, harpoons, and explosives. Once cornered, pods are surrounded with nets and capture teams search through the terrified groups for the animals they want. Those selected are taken ashore and will never see their ocean world or their pod again. Many die from shock or injuries. Remaining family members often become frantic upon seeing their captured companions and try to save them. When Namu, an orca captured off the coast of Canada, was towed to the Seattle Public Aquarium in a steel cage, her family followed for miles.

What kind of study/degree do you need to work at aquariums (swimming with dolphins and etc) or work with studying things underwater (like scuba diving and whatnot) and what are those people called? Marine Biologists?

Marine Biologists, Marine Mammal Trainer, Marine Ecologist, Aquarist, Aquaculture Researcher, Conservation Scientists, etc

There are a few different jobs that fit your description. Try looking through some job listings to see the education requirements.

http://www.aza.org/JobListings/index.cfm?Keywords=aquarium&Filter=Both

You could also try contacting aquariums for info on jobs.

Other links you may find useful:

http://www.imata.org/cms.php?13

http://www.usc.edu/org/seagrant/pdfs/Guide.pdf

http://dolphin1.net/network/dolphinsong/strategies.htm

http://www.seaworld.org/career-resources/info-books/zoo-careers/index.htm

http://disney.go.com/disneycareers/internships/wdw/students/roles/animal_programs/animal_program_roles/ap_roles.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuXz3YoBVObGo_WXZ4nLBWnty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090129111815AADcvKW&show=7#profile-info-qlOx8wK6aa

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjJTD0o98oZ.tHBBMT98fDPty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090208112749AASRsWD&show=7#profile-info-Dty5zrMCaa

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjdRSzZpJJV8XCo7v7ZCGyHty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080815014020AANfD8a&show=7#profile-info-43ZaShY1aa

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjdRSzZpJJV8XCo7v7ZCGyHty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080821103034AAzgdHT&show=7#profile-info-mOayTJDmaa

I’m a total novice when it comes to aquariums and I’m looking at starting from scratch with a budget of about £350. What makes of aquarium are considered to be good (and also the equipment)? I don’t want to buy any old crap and I don’t want to be ripped off.

Larger aquariums will obviously cost more to set up and run in the long term, the cost will also depend on the brand. For about £350 you could get yourself a 2-3ft glass tank with all of the necessary equipment such as a filter, heating and lighting and still have some money left over for extras.

The Juwel and Fluval range are highly regarded in the UK for value for money and the quality of the equipment supplied.

I’ll break everything down into a list for you, this is just an example.

Juwel Rio 125 aquarium and cabinet £214 from http://www.seapets.com
Two buckets £15
Gravel siphon £6-8
Food £5
Dechlorinator £4
Test kit (pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) £20
Spare heater £15
Net £2
Algae scrapers £4
Small bottle of ammonia (to start the cycling process) £3

Total: £287

That leaves you with £63 to decorate the aquarium to your own tastes and stock it with fish. This may seem a bit tight however you won’t be stocking the aquarium with fish immediately after setting up the tank and you have to take things slowly when building up the fish numbers.

Remember that the key to success in fishkeeping is research. There are plenty of good fishkeeping forums around the net. Take a look at the following links:

http://www.theaquariumwiki.com

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

http://www.ocean-wonders.co.uk/messageboard

Alternatively feel free to send me an email.