Pierre Carbonnier

Lore & Background

Pierre Carbonnier was born in Bergerac on 7 August 1828, the third of twelve children. He married Zélie Joséphine Flusin in Paris on 10 November 1857. In 1850 he founded a public aquarium in Paris, one of the oldest in the city. In 1869 he became the first in Europe to breed the paradise fish (macropod), after a shipment of 100 macropods arrived from China via a naval officer named Gérault, requested by French Consul Eugène Simon. Of these, 22 arrived alive on 8 July 1869, and Carbonnier received 17 specimens (12 males and 5 females); within two years he had raised 200 specimens.

His fish breeding center was destroyed during the siege of Paris in 1870–1871 in the Franco-Prussian War, but he recovered and in 1872 introduced the Fantail variety of goldfish. In 1874 he imported the first Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) and dwarf gourami (Colisa lalia). In 1878 he was the first to breed the peppered corydoras catfish (Corydoras paleatus), native to the Paraná River basin in Brazil. That same year he was appointed director of the Trocadéro Aquarium at the French Exhibition of 1878 in Jardins du Trocadéro.

Reader's Guide

Carbonnier's significance lies in his pioneering role as a fish breeder and introducer of exotic species to Europe. He was the first in Europe to breed the paradise fish in 1869, a milestone documented in his brochures 'Rapport et Observations sur l'accouplement d'une espèce de poisson de Chine' (1869) and 'Nouvelle Note sur un poisson de Chine appartenant au genre macropode' (1870). He also published works on crustacean breeding and several other fish-related topics. His introduction of the Fantail goldfish in 1872, and the first imports of Siamese fighting fish and dwarf gourami in 1874, expanded the diversity of aquarium fish available in Europe. In 1875 he received the Gold Medal of the French Imperial Society of Acclimatization at the International Exhibition of sea and river industries in Paris for his research and breeding of freshwater exotic fish. His 1878 breeding of the peppered corydoras catfish further demonstrated his skill. Despite the destruction of his breeding center during the Franco-Prussian War, he continued his work and became director of the Trocadéro Aquarium in 1878. His legacy is that of a dedicated scientist and breeder who advanced the aquarium hobby and fish culture in France.