Glossary

69 terms beginning with F · showing 41–69

1. flashing

   Term used to describe a fish that is seen to be flicking or brushing its body against solid surfaces. Usually a sign of irritation and sometimes, but not always, a parasitic infestation or disease.

2. floating meadow

   Floating tangle of plants comprising one or more species. Important habitat for many freshwater fishes in certain biotopes.

   Used in 3 profiles

3. flood plain

   Low plain bordering a river channel, subject to periodic flooding. Often composed of sediment deposited during previous flooding events.

   Used in 10 profiles

4. Flubendazole

   Antihelmintic chemical used as treatment against internal, parasitic worms.

   Used in 1 profile

5. fluidised bed filter

   Type of biological filter comprising a vertical column within which sand or other fine-grained filter medium is held in suspension, i.e., a fluidised state, by a continual upward flow of water. The many fine grains of filter media provide a huge surface area for bacterial colonisation.

6. fluke

   Any parasitic flatworm which attachs itself to the organs of a fish.

7. fluvial

   Of, relating to, or inhabiting a river or river system.

   Used in 19 profiles

8. foam fractionation

   Chemical process whereby hydrophobic molecules are removed from a liquid via rising columns of foam, e.g., the process of organic-waste removal taking place within a protein skimmer.

9. fontanelle

   Non-ossified, usually membranous gap between cranial bones.

   Used in 66 profiles

10. forage

    To search for food.

    Used in 49 profiles

11. foramen

    A hole, opening or orifice, especially in a bone.

    Used in 24 profiles

12. fork length

    Length of a fish specimen measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the medial caudal fin rays, i.e., the deepest point of the 'fork' formed by the fin. Tends not to be used in systematics.

13. forked

    Divided or separated into two branches; shaped like a fork. Used to describe the shape of the caudal fin in some fishes.

    Used in 106 profiles

14. formaldehyde

    Colourless, organic gas used as a preservative when dissolved in water, in which form it is often known as formalin.

    Used in 1 profile

15. formalin

    Aqueous solution of formaldehyde used as a preservative for biological specimens.

16. formanifera

    Phylum of amoeboid microorganisms and a common constituent of marine plankton.

17. fossa

    A shallow groove or depression, especially in bone.

18. fractional spawner

    A fish species in which females release eggs at intervals over a given period.

    Used in 21 profiles

19. freeze-dried food

    Fish food preserved by rapid freezing and drying in a vacuum.

20. frenum

    A connecting or restraining membrane, such as that connecting the tongue to the base of the mouth.

    Used in 17 profiles

21. freshwater

    Water that is not salty.

    Used in 375 profiles

22. frontal

    Either of the two dermal bone on top of the skull, above the eyes. May be paired or fused.

    Used in 42 profiles

23. frontoparietal

    Relating to or characteristic of the frontal and parietal bones.

24. fry

    Young fish, especially a newly-hatched individual.

    Used in 793 profiles

25. fungi

    Kingdom of eukaryotic microorganisms lacking chlorophyll and vascular tissue and possessing chitinous cell walls. Highly variable in form and includes all yeasts, molds, and mushrooms.

    Used in 1 profile

26. fungus

    Any member of the kingdom Fungi.

    Used in 76 profiles

27. Furan-2

    Branded, broad spectrum antibiotic used to treat both gram-negative and gram-postive bacterial infections in aquarium fishes. Contains the active ingredients Nitrofurazone and Furazolidone.

28. furcate

    Forked.

    Used in 1 profile

29. fusiform

    Spindle-shaped; tapering at each end.