1 comments about Freshwater Aquarium Problem Solver (Animal Planet Pet Care Library).

1. Every aquarium will have a problem at some point, so any aquarium owner and many a library catering to them needs Freshwater Aquarium Problem Solver. It provides detailed information on everything from balancing water chemistry and understanding equipment problems to fish health and diseases. Chapters pair color photos with sidebars of at-a-glance information and plenty of easy tips.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

3 comments about Manual of Koi Health.

1. This little book is the best reference I've found for the amateur koi keeper. Specifically, it not only talks about Koi health, the diseases they get, and the medications that may help; but it provides you with excellent photos of these little critters that can decimate your pond. With this book and a beginer's microscope I have been able to diagnose many problems and save my fish. I just bought four more copies to have ready for newcomers to our Koi Club this spring when we will once again start receiving calls from distraught pond keepers.



2. The book was well thought out as far as content. The author spoke to the reader taking into account that the reader might be a novice koi keeper



3. This is a fantastic book for anyone needing tips on keeping the environment their koi live in heathy and free of disease. This book is very easy to understand and has many photos to help you better understand what you are reading. Everything is well photographed with excellent instruction on identifying, prevention and the treatment of diseases. When the photography was not good enough, then wonderful and highly detailed illustrations were used.
   The text is straight forward with little jargon so that it is easy to understand for even a non-fish person like me. This is a great book for anyone interested in going to the next level with their pond.

2 comments about McClane's Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of North America.

1. If you want to see pictures and names of the fish in your area, buy this book.



2. This book is very useful in every facet of fresh water fishing, from fish physiology and habits to tackle selection. A must for every fresh water fisherman.
   
   This book is equally as good as "McClane's Field Guide to Saltwater Fishes of North America."

1 comments about African Cichlids II: Cichlids from Eastern Africa : A Handbook for Their Identification, Care and Breeding.

1. This Book is great for the novice to intermediate hobbyist. Very good info on all the Cichlids, good pics, and pretty good all around general Aquarium info (i.e. Tank set-up, etc...). Good Buy, and great addition to any Cichlid or Tropical Fish Library!

4 comments about A Dolphin in Front of You.

1. This book helped me a lot, but the information it provided was kind of already know. Otherwise this is a pretty good short and sweet read.



2. Pete Davey has once again writen a great little book. However, don't let the tiny size fool you, it's loaded with tons of information that will help aspiring marine mammal trainers break into the field. From his own beginnings to sound advise on writing a great resume and interviewing tips, Davey's book is for anyone looking to have a dolphin in front of them!



3. I purchased this book after having difficulties transferring the advice from various "mainstream" resume books to my search for a job in the animal care field. I had heard that there was a section specifically on resumes, and thought it might be helpful.
   
   When the book arrived, I was a bit surprised. The book itself is very small in size, about the size of a 4"x6" photograph. I was able to read it all in about a half hour. Overall,I feel it would be a really useful book for high school age kids who are unsure about where to start on their path to a career in dolphin training, but not for someone with experience in the field. The resume section was very vague, as was the interview section.
   
   Overall, the book was OK, but not the resource I expected it to be. Unfortunately, there are very few books on the market dealing with the unique challenges faced in this career field.



4. this book is great for people who want to persue the carrer of bcoming a marine mammal trainer. i myslef have always dreamed of becomeing a trainer and this book gave me great pointers of how to become one. I thoughrougly enjoyed reading this book.

3 comments about Creating a Natural Aquarium (Onterpet Handbooks).

1. This is a good book for aquarium biotopes beginners, worhthy the price, have lots of images, good ideas that may help you at the time you mount a tank. On the other hand, this book has many errors on the right location of some plants, for example anubias in an "Amazon Acis Pool"?, i don?t think so, so if mistakes like this don?t bother you then this book is a good low price choice. Conversely to the plants mistakes, i found several ideas about "fishing bitopes", a very accurate research on fishes on differents areas. Good book for the price.



2. I'm going to start off by saying that this book is basically an older version of "Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature", by the same author. This being said I'm going to compare the two in this review.
   
   Both books are for anyone who has wanted to turn their aquarium from a mix and match display to a strict biotope aquarium. They are divided in two parts, the first is a "practical section" that covers the water cycle, substrates and decoration, plants, water conditions and planning. Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature (ADIBN) goes into some detail on the subjects but doesn't go as far as a textbook and make it boooooring. It is good information for aquarists of all levels. In the book, "Creating a Natural Aquarium" (CANA), the same information is covered in Part 1, but to a lesser degree and CANA omits some small sections. Part 1 of both books is really very similar and I wouldn't choose one based on the small differences. The important factor, in my opinion, the differences in part 2.
   
   Part 2 of ADIBN covers more biotopes than CANA, which I will list below. The biotopes that are in both books are virtually the same. I this list I will list the biotope sections and then which book it is in.
   
   Mountain Stream (CANA) split up in ADIBN
   *Chinese Mountain Stream (ADIBN)
   Central American Stream (BOTH)
   Central American River (BOTH)
   Australian River (BOTH)
   European River (BOTH)
   *European Lake (ADIBN)
   Flooded Forest (CANA) Same as Below
   Flooded Amazon Forest (ADIBN)
   Amazon Acid Pool (Both)
   *Downriver Amazon (ADIBN)
   *Congo Whitewater River (ADIBN)
   *West African Streambed (ADIBN)
   Lake Malawi (BOTH)
   Darkened Cave (BOTH)
   *Southeast Asian Stream (ADIBN)
   Southeast Asian Swamp (BOTH)
   *Indian River (ADIBN)
   Brackish Estuary (BOTH)
   Mangrove Swamp (BOTH)
   
   Personally I prefer Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature because it includes a few extra biotypes and goes into a little more depth about each biotype. Aquarium Designs... is also a larger book so there are more pictures and they are larger. Aquarium Designs... uses the pictures from Creating a Natural Aquarium and adds a few. I like pictures, so this personal preference.
   
   CONCLUSION:
   If you want a little more detail and a few extra biotopes then go with AQUARIUM DESIGNS INSPIRED BY NATURE. If cost is a factor CREATING A NATURAL AQUARIUM is usually cheaper, or if you don't really care about the extra details left out CANA is equally as good as ADIBN. Both books are helpful in pointing you in the right direction and showing natural habitats. No matter which you pick you will be happy. (I Hope) These are the best books I have found (so far) that describe natural environments for the home aquarium. GOOD LUCK!



3. This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in Biotope tanks, or just a healthy habitat for your fish. It give in detail instructions and ideas, for biotopes from every part of the world, along with list of fish and plants for the tanks as well, its had many pictures to help you. and even goes into detail about kinda of substrates, filtration and other things. all the tanks in the book are built in 55gallon tanks, but can be made smaller. It even explains the different biotopes. if you having trouble finding info on any type of biotope this book is well worth the small investment, even with just one use it will pay for itself in the time you save. I very highly recommend this book to everyone, beginner or expert.

4 comments about Aquarium Care of Bettas (Animal Planet Pet Care Library).

1. I bought this book for my Mom, she has a new male Betta. We learned so much and the pictures are colorful. We were also happy it arrived so quickly.....thank you!!!!



2. I bought this book and have read it cover to cover. I thought I knew how to maintain a tank and feeding for a betta until I read this book. It uncovers all the myths that surround betta care even in the pet shops!!!
   Excellent for anyone thinking of buying a Betta! They need more than just a bowl to survive. Bettas also need a mini heater, mini filter, and at least a 1 gallon tank per Betta!!!



3. Ok, this was a kind of nice little book. But not really. The information inside of this book was VERY basic. It never went into details about betta housing (just kept on referring to betta bowls, tiny little bowls in which a betta WOULD NOT be happy in). So thats what took away some starts, was the lack of useful information.
   
   This book had a lot of pictures. Pictures are all well and good, but not in this book. Most of the pictures were of older, boring 'veil tail' finned bettas. Those are bettas of the past. Now we have half moons, and crowntails, so much better. But there was one image of a half moon, and one or two of delta tailed bettas. So the betta community was not represented in the least by this book. Just old veil tails.
   
   Overall, not a good book.



4. This book is extremely helpful; with honest advice and clear, concise explanations.

5 comments about Dr. Axelrod's Atlas of Freshwater Aquarium Fishes.

1. The book serves to identifying any fish provided if one knows the scientific names. If the target audience are technically competent it will serve its intended purpose. But for the general hobbyists/fish keepers or even fish dealers the scientific names are impossible to remember. Even to pronounce them correctly seems impossible. By far the common names are more acceptable and meaningful to them. Even speaking to technical people the common names are more often used. I am not suggesting that the scientific names be dropped but be mention as an additional information to those who needs it. What I meant was that; the far the majority of hobbyists/fish keepers; young and old, technically minded or not would appreciate the common names as a reference.
   Personally, I do find it difficult to locate a fish. It must be somewhere in the book! Maybe it helps if you know the region of the world it comes from as that will narrow down your search.
   On the whole I know lots of work and effort has gone into the making of the book and credit must be given to all responsible.



2. I bought this book when I started getting really into the hobby and I absolutely am impressed with the quality of the photos, how the fish are separated by continent and other useful information. I frequently check back with the names of the fish and where these fish come from. I guess the only not serious complaint is that it does not contain the common name for the fish, only the latin. Although, I could see how hard it could be to list the several common names of each fish, since it's already so huge!



3. The book delivered by Amazon was in Excellent Condition.
   This Book displays pictures and details of fishes not available in other Atlas I have bought, so it is worth every dime.
   Large, clear pictures of all freshwater fishes, great for reference.



4. I bought this book to help me identify fish. Have it worked so far? No.
   
   First, it only names the fish in latin (scientific) name, which is a little frustrating to me. Sometimes, I need to cross info from other sources to reach the specimen I'm looking for.
   Second, you need to know the continent where it comes from.
   
   I've also found some errors in the information. The freshwater stingray, for example, is catalogued as an egglayer, while it's a livebearer fish.
   
   This books is huge, and looks great in your library or stacked in your desk.



5. This book has changed a lot since the first edition. Mostly, it has removed information and added pictures. LOTS of pictures. It is more of a coffee-table book than any kind of aquarium guide. But even the pictures are of uneven quality. I was shocked that the only picture included for a couple of fairly common fish were of dead, poorly-preserved specimens. Yikes!
   
   The authors' stated purpose for this book is "This book was created with the express purpose of making the identification of fishes easier for hobbyists, aquarists, and scientists alike."
   
   Well, if that was the goal, it fails miserably. The book is organized based on geographic area where the fish originates. Think about it. If you saw a fish and wanted to know what it was, would you somehow instinctively know which continent it came from? Of course not. You might want to identify it based on its colors or shape or whatever. The book does not function as an identification guide.
   
   Although most info has been removed, there is some very terse info below each picture as small text and icons. The text lists info such as pH, ideal water temperature (in Centigrade), maximum adult length (in cm), and minimum tank size (in litres). Although it does not tell you what these mean, any intermediate or higher fishhkeeper should be able to figure it out.
   
   The icons are not particularly clear unless you already know the fish. For example, the icon for egg-scatterer versus livebearer is only obvious if you know what the fish is to begin with. More importantly, I can find nowhere in the book where it actually tells what the icons mean. This is very sloppy.
   
   The index is also horrendous, failing to include a number of entries, and including numerous false entries. For example, the first page entry listed for Scleropages jardini sends you to a page that does not contain pictures of jardini, and in fact is a section for a different continent.
   
   Even the quality of the pictures is uneven. For some fish, the coverage is extensive, with a lot of pictures showing different color strains, breeding colors, and so on. Yet for other fish, the coverage is incomplete. For example, there are three pictures of Silver Arrowana, and all three show just-hatched arrowanas. Why not show an adult? The fish changes as it gets older. Also, there are only four pictures of Astronatus (Oscars), showing only 4 color patterns. It's absolutely shocking to me that the abino and tiger albino forms are not shown. They've been in the trade for well over a decade before this edition was published.
   
   My last complaint is that they have been adding pages by adding them as decimal additions. For example, they added 16 pages of pictures of Swordtails (16 pages!) after page 432, and numbered them as pages 432.01, 432.02, etc. The reason for this, of course, is that it means less work adjusting the index, etc., and 16 pages in one place from a publishing standpoint is easier, because it means not changing the rest of the plates. But from a reader's standpoint, it is sloppy and unforgivable, considering the price of the book.
   
   To summarize, this book contains an incredible array of pictures. On the plus side, it has pictures of many fish you'll find nowhere else. It is massive and impressive. The pages are slick and glossy and the physical production standards are high. On the down side, it is badly in need of extensive, high-quality, detailed editing to correct the numerous glaring errors and omissions.
   
   Frankly, this is overall a hugely disappointing effort and I simply can't recommend plunking down such a high price for this edition.

No comments about Encyclopedia of Aquarium & Pond Fish.

3 comments about Freshwater Stingray: An In-Depth Survey of These Magnificent Fishes (Aquaguide).

1. It helps any beginners to start for keeping Rays at home.
   Getting more knowledges about how to breed and avoid the spine.



2. A good book to have in any Freshwater Stingray Hobbyist Library!



3. Here is the skinny, if you want to keep freshwater stingrays, you need this book!
   
   Clear, and updated with great pictures and real advice for those of us who want to provide the best for our fish.
   
   Buy this book!