3 comments about The Super Simple Guide To Breeding Freshwater Fishes (Super Simple Guide To...).

1. I feel tricked, but it's my fault for not doing my research. I was surprised when I got the book today. I was expecting a small coffe-table book but what I got was something just slightly better than a pamphlet! Well, like I said, I know it's my fault. If you're serious about the hobby, stay away from this book.



2. Award-winning journalist Laura Muha presents The Super Simple Guide To Breeding Freshwater Fishes, a practical guide for both commercial and private freshwater fish owners. Chapters discuss the history of breeding fishes in aquaria, how to condition adult fish, raising the fry, disease prevention, notes on hybrids, species-specific guidelines and instructions, and more. The species catalogue includes such popular types of fish as livebearers (guppies, etc.), anabantoids, catfish, characins, cichilids, cyprinids, and rainbowfish. Color photographs on every page beautifully illustrate this handy, plain-terms guide, printed on sturdy, water-resistant paper stock. A "must-have" for anyone interested in successfully breeding freshwater fish.



3. Award-winning journalist Laura Muha presents The Super Simple Guide To Breeding Freshwater Fishes, a practical guide for both commercial and private freshwater fish owners. Chapters discuss the history of breeding fishes in aquaria, how to condition adult fish, raising the fry, disease prevention, notes on hybrids, species-specific guidelines and instructions, and more. The species catalogue includes such popular types of fish as livebearers (guppies, etc.), anabantoids, catfish, characins, cichilids, cyprinids, and rainbowfish. Color photographs on every page beautifully illustrate this handy, plain-terms guide, printed on sturdy, water-resistant paper stock. A "must-have" for anyone interested in successfully breeding freshwater fish.

1 comments about The 101 Best Tropical Fishes: How to Choose & Keep Hardy, Brilliant, Fascinating Species That Will Thrive in Your Home Aquarium (Adventurous Aquarist Guide).

1. This is a nice, easy to read and understand book on livestock selection for the home aquarium. Worth a place on any aquarium keepers book shelve.

5 comments about A-Z of Tropical Fish Diseases and Health Problems.

1. Is an excellent book for a quick reference and for starting a fish keeper hobby.



2. I wish that I had this book to read before I started my freshwater tank. It is amazing how difficult it is to find good and reliable source of information. This book covers just about everything. Detail is great - it is very comprehensive about the diseases and treatments, and what's even more important - Causes. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in keeping their fish healthy and stress-free.



3. This little book is actually a gem. It covers a variety of fish illnesses with an introduction that addresses standard care. Unfortunately, some of the medications that it recommends are difficult to relate to the American market, as it was written in the UK. That, and perhaps the lack of more photographs, are the only two complaints that I have. Overall, I recommend this book for the beginner and the professional!



4. One of the best books I purchased. Although I really hate to use it (means fish are sick) it is very informative. In fact, I had more information than my local pet store.

   Good luck finding some of the cures.... some can be very difficult. Overall great reading!




5. This book should be required reading for anyone setting up an aquarium for the first time because the author carefully explains how to create the type of environment that will keep your fish healthy.

   I needed the book to determine the cause of sickness that was killing my fish. I was able to determine the cause, disease, and solution to my problem in twenty minutes. I learned more about fish and aquariums from this book in one reading than I had picked up from friends and fish store owners in three years.

   I highly recommend this book to anyone with an aquarium problem.

3 comments about Anemone Fishes and Their Host Sea Anemones.

1. If you are at all interested in sea anemones and anemone fishes (clownfishes) then this book is THE definitive book on anemone and clownfish identification. Dr. Fautin and Dr. Allen make a point in saying that this book is NOT primarily about the captive care of anemones or anemone fishes (though there is a small section about their basic care needs; however, they say to look elsewhere for more detailed aquarium care) but rather, it is about the identification, distribution, biology of the sea anemones, the life history of anemone fishes, and the interactions between fish and sea anemones. There is no other book that has as much field research on sea anemones and anemone fishes than this book.

   The biggest point that Fautin and Allen make about anemones is that they should not be harvested for the average aquarist. Even the most expert aquarist out there has trouble keeping anemones for more than 5 years (there are exceptions of course and hopefully, these exceptions will spread). But anemone fishes can be kept extremely well without anemones. They will even breed without them.

   The best aquarium care book about clownfishes and anemones is Joyce Wilkerson's book called Clownfishes. I also highly recommend this book as it is thorough in it's descriptions on the care and husbandry of clownfishes.




2. While this book provides good reference material for identifying anemone fish & sea anemones it provides *no* useful material about how to keep clownfish or anemones alive and healthy in a reef tank.

   If your looking for a ref. book for identification of the creatures this book is fine. I was looking for a good reference on how to keep anemones, and this book was of no help whatever in that regard.




3. Daphne Fautin and Gerald Allen have created the definitive reference for clowfishes and host anemones, at least from the standpoint of the marine aquarist.

   Although the text of the first edition of this book is online, it lacks many of the pictures and the identification charts. The physical book is well worth the money.

   The aquarist interested in keeping clownfishes and anemones should also have Joyce Wilkerson's book, Clownfishes, and John Tullock's book, The Natural Reef Aquarium. Do *NOT* attempt to keep anemones if you are a beginning aquarist.

3 comments about The Betta Handbook (Barron's Pet Handbooks).

1. This is one of the best betta books you can find out there. I always loved bettas, To me they are one of the most beautyful fishes out there. I got this book to learn more about them because i was so interested in them. This book taught me alot about them that i didnt know. So if your into these little guys defenatly get this book.



2. This book has tons of information in it if you are writing a detailed report on the background, history and subtypes of bettas. It has a great deal about wild bettas and types of bettas. It wasn't until over half-way through the book that it actually told me information on keeping the betta splenden as a pet, and then it went back to the history lesson again.
   The information that he provided about food types for Bettas was the most helpful part in the whole book.



3. If you can only get 1 book about Bettas this should be it. Dr. Goldstein is an expert and although I do disagree with some of his thoughts on the need to keep Betta variety names to a strict scientific form, I realise his intentions are good as well as valid. His overview of the Betta world is most complete and the many less known "wild" betta species receive excellent coverage in his effort. I do wish it had more photos of the more recent varieties that have been developed such as the Crowntail and Halfmoon but the descriptions are very good and a web directory guides readers to sites which will fill in the gaps. Any of Dr. Goldsteins books are an excellent addition to the Betta or other tropical fish fanciers library. I've been keeping Bettas for more than 40 years now and Dr. Goldstein's books were there every step of the way. This book will most definitely enhance your pleasure in keeping these fascinating little fish!

5 comments about The Complete Book of the Marine Aquarium.

1. This is a terrific book about saltwater aquariums. Being a beginner hobbist, I found it very useful. But for building my first fish tank I needed to use other books, as this book isn't intended to be a step by step guide. What is great about this book is that the author gives a score from 1 to 5 to each fish and invertebrate depending on how hard it is to keep each animal on the fish tank. Being a beginner, this was simply super. Other great feature from the book are the fact it is hardcover, top-notch paper quality and outstanding pictures -- one for each animal being discussed.
   
   On the down side, it could cover more invertebrates -- event thought the information provided is enough for a beginner like myself --, the author is from UK so many stuff that he talks about is clearly based on the UK market (like recommending a Specific Gravity meter manufactured in Germany that can't be found in the US). The author also emphasizes on cientific names and technical terms, sometimes making it hard to follow for a layman like me.
   
   All in all, it is a great book to have, but not a real complete one for a beginner.



2. This is a very good book for those who are starting out fresh in the marine hobby. Lots of pictures and references to help you out.



3. Well, I must admit, this book has great photos regarding fishes but little on corals. They have talked little regarding the equipments set ups. They aren't many species included in this book but the common ones are there. If you are looking for a book with great pics on fishes, then this would be the one for you. If you are looking for a reef aquarium manual then this is not for you.



4. I have been in the aquariast hobby for quite a few years. Though I haven't had a tank set-up for almost 10 years since retiring from the US Navy and moving from Va. to Ga. I decided for the sake of the fish in my 150 gal tank it was best left behind in the care of my neighbor and best friend JD. I am now in the research and planning stages of setting up a 250 gal. reef tank. Since so much has happened in the last 10 years I felt it was wise to get some reading material for varied opinions and fact gathering. I now have 5 reference volumes to refer to. This book by Vince is not only a beautiful book with outstanding pictures but is my favorite. Crammed with every possible aspect of this hobby. From beginner to advanced the info is superb. In fact a Newbie could take this book as a stand alone reference from your very first Marine Fish only tank to an explosively beautiful Reef with Fish, Inverts, and Corals. It gives info on all the types of filtration from the Jaubert System,(My Favorite), to the extreme hi-tech route..Plan on spending major bucks if you go the hi-tech route. in my opinion the Jaubert System is as close to natural as you can get and the results I have seen from those using it match if not excel over much more expensive set-ups, but hey, back to the book. Every possible life form is fully described in easy to understand detail, inhabitant compatibility, location of origin, feeding, disease care, all of it. The way it is organized makes it superior for that "gotta have info right now" scenario when one of your prized specimens needs immediate attention. Though the diseases coverage is brief it is concise and easy to follow. This book is now among 2 that sit out on my coffee table. It gets read or at least browsed through alot by my visiting friends. Kids love the pictures. I highly recommend it for anyone from beginner to advanced. You can find higher priced books but non better. It's great buy at twice the price.



5. I have positively oodles of books on fish behavior, diversity and ecology. When I brought this book home the wife asked "why do you need another fish book?" I will tell you like I told her.

   This is the best book I have seen on the fishes commonly found in the aquarium industry. The fishes are arranged according to systematic (evolutionary) relationships, so it is in a format that is familiar to me, and more useful to people that are not already familiar with fish groups. Organization, however, is a minor part of a book. But the information in this book is also top notch. There is important information on hundreds of species referencing, feeding, care, availability and compatibility that is important when considering an addition to your salt water aquarium. There are also excellent sections on general aquarium keeping and reef inverts. This makes this a must have for any hobbyist. Lastly this is also a VERY attractive book, it now gets to be in the living room (near the aquarium where it should be) instead of in my library.

   I didn't use those exact words with the wife, but you get the picture. If you're looking for a book on salt water aquarium fishes this is a great choice. Hopefully amazon will begin carrying it soon.

4 comments about Discus for the Perfectionist.

1. Jack Wattley's conversation with experts on the Discus was a breath of fresh air after reading several other books which deal with the setting up and mainainance of an aquarium in some detail and then adding a few comments on the paricular needs of the discus fish. Also, it differs from other books which contain only the author's views on discus keeping and breeding - Wattley presents us with the opinions of no less than fourteen experts from different countries on a multitude of points covering a number of topics. The discussion of diet was especially interesting.



2. This book has many nice pictures of Discus. It is a collection of thoughts from breeders based on several basic questions. Similar content is readily available on the Internet.

   Jack comments only briefly so it is more of a collection of other people's expertise. I have trouble recommending this book unless you just want so more nice pictures of beautiful Discus or you need more snapshots of Jack from around the world.




3. This is an excellant book for presenting diverse views on the art and science of Discus keeping. The author, considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the discus fish, presents the various topics as questions which are then answered by a panel of discus experts from around the globe. Topics include water quality, feeding, breeding,health,quality fish and environment.

   This book is a great value and should be in every discus keeper's library.

   If you only purchase one discus book this should be the one based on the variety of successful techniques it offers both the beginner and the expert discus keeper.




4. This book has excellent large photos of discus and is well presented. The author has compiled a complete set of questions regarding discus and lists the responses from commercial breeders all over the world.

5 comments about The Cichlid Aquarium.

1. definitely one of the better cichlid books on the market. lot's of information on a wide variety of cichlids from mating behavior to habitat. ...



2. This book was a little bit of an disappointment for me. It has good guidlines on how your cichlid aquarium should be and how to maintain it. But it doesn't tell you alot about the fish and lacks information about them such as habits, size, diet etc.
   I would not recomend this to a hobbyist who wants to learn more about the fish themselves.



3. Very interesting book. Gives a lot of information byt if you want specific information on your fish it does not give. It doesnt have an index making things very hard when you want to find specific info.



4. Excellent book. Great photos. No index? Huh? C'mon PaulV. and Dr. Loiselle. Did you guys both make the Homer Simpson "DOAH" sound after you published this and realized you forgot an index. Very frustrating. I still grab this book from time to time for reference and habitually look to the INDEX, but alas, there is none. Can you say REVISED EDITION?



5. This book is definetely not for the beginner cichlid keeper. Although it provides some basic information on tank setup etc, it is geared toward the advanced aquarist.

   As is typical from Loiselle the information is concise and in depth.

   Only the lack of a decent index mars this otherwise excellent book.

4 comments about The Guide to Owning Oscars.

1. I really expected more. I have more knowledge from just having a couple Oscars in a tank.



2. I have owned Oscars for three years, and bought this book for my brother who just bought his first Oscar. It provides a basic overview of fishkeeping and of the personality and problems specifically associated with Oscars. It fails to provide good information on identifying and treating common fish diseases and what fish make good tankmates for Oscars, however.



3. This book is not an excellent source of scientific information on Oscars, but I found it a rather nice and very easy to read. There are a large number of good quality photos and some nice and accurate discussion on Oscars. As a whole this book is a compact infopacket on Oscars with beautiful pictures.



4. There is a lot of information about wild Oscars, which is very cool, but the best part of the book is about keeping Oscars in an aquarium. The pictures are beautiful and plentiful. I especially enjoyed the section on Oscar Toys.

5 comments about African Cichlids of Lakes, Malawi, and Tanganyika.

1. What an amazing book!!! Amazing content with very useful information and beautiful pictures to boot. I dare you to find a better book out there on African Cichlids.



2. First of all the book is 448 pages long (you would think there would be an abundent amount of usefull information) well THINK AGAIN ! The book is full of pictures with outdated scientific names, the only information about breeding any type of cichlid (being malawi or tang) is that you throw in a male with two or three female keep the water clean and BAM, you will have fry everywhere! It takes him about 20 pages to say this, in which he keeps repeating about just putting the fish in together and keeping the water clean. This book is trash and I am highly dissapointed, I wouldnt sell it for the simple fact that I would feel as though I am cheating someone out of money. If you are, on the other hand, looking for a book because your 2 year old seems to be fascinated by fish and fish pictures, then this would be ok for you. Out of the 448 pages 300 are pictures with no information about keeping the fish in an aquaria whatsoever, no explanations & poor "guessing at the correct names"; as he refers to over and over again "this is probably a ___ sp " Very jumbled and poorly organized ; even with the photos ~ this book doesnt even deserve 1 star!



3. I thought that this book will have all the info i'll need for my African cichlids aquariums, but this book is a total flop ,
   surprising with the names that were responsible for its release.
   It has little info on the life of the African cichlid of lake Malawi & Tanganyka and nothing else , it is mainly a picture book (more then 90%) WITHOUT any data on the fish in the pics.
   It seems i'm stuck with it but you can find much much better books to spend your money on.



4. I bought this book in order to gain practical information on cichled species and their identification but I am highly dissapointed. It is full of pictures with a lot of missing information (such as sexsing, behaviour or breeding) and it is full of technical descriptions which are not helpful for an amateur aquarist. Photos of the lake Malawi and Tanganyika fishes are all mixed up; pages are not organised at all.



5. One expects when buying a book by such a respected author to acquire a truly great book. This is not the case with this book. First of all, most photography are of very poor quality. Second, not all pages are numbered! This make the job of identifying fishes a lot harder. I'm very disapointed.