5 comments about Book of Coral Propagation, Volume 1, Version 1.0: Reef Gardening for Aquarists.

1. This book has helped me tremendously from everything to tank set up to introducing ideas such as hanging a coral on a fishing line to taking advantage of space and flow. Even after years of experience I can still go to it and learn some more information. I believe Calfo is releasing an updated version of this soon so be on the look out for it.
   
   John M
   http://www.lareefs.com



2. very excellent book. for the pros. maybe too much for casual aquarists



3. Calfo goes into minute detail with humor. As expected he hit the nail on the head with this one, again.



4. Remember all of those mundane questions on the reef forums?
   
   431 Pages packed with the answers and advice that we all seek. From newby grommets to advanced marine aquarists, Anthony Calfo has suceeded in putting his knowledge into the words that are understandable to all of us. And, that's without glossy photographs!
   
   I couldn't put the book down and read it cover to cover.
   
   Get this book and read it ...



5. I know I am not the only person who sees a nice corals and wants it. Either the person selling it tried to assure me 'oh it'll do fine in your tank' OR they try and sell 100s in equiptment I don't need. Before making a coral purchase I consult this book, will it -really- do well in my tank? Sometimes the answer is no, sometimes yes, BUT since consulting this book I've never had a coral witheraway and die. From reading the articles on the various types of corals, I have better possitioned my tank, and ended up with happy corals growing and spreading in my tank. The money for this book has saved me time and and again from throwing away money on the wrong coral or the wrong equiptment It has also saved me time in doing things right the first time.
   
   This book is very readable and not dry at all. Its actually a good read which is rare in a truly useful book. The style and organization of this book make it a book that is never on my book shelf, it's most often on my nightstand becasue it always seems to have another gem of wisdom to impart.

5 comments about Reef Invertebrates: An Essential Guide to Selection, Care and Compatibility.

1. I've been reading information penned by Mr. Calfo and Mr. Fenner online and was hoping this book would reflect the same wealth of knowledge and sense of humor I've come to expect. I wasn't dissapointed. If you're looking for information on selection, compatibility and geographical origin of many invertabrates for the reef aquarium this is the book to buy. As an added bonus there is a chapter dedicated to refugiums.



2. This book is awesome. Covers everything from basic waterflow and setup through animal interactions and suggestions. Lots to be learned from both novice and experienced.



3. I'm on a tight budget, so usually try to get a book through the library rather than buying, if possible. This one was not available, so I took a chance buying it. I'm soooo glad I did. There's an enormous amount of information. I will be referencing this book for years. I'm interested in raising macroalgae and dwarf seahorses, and compatible invertebrates. Everything is geared toward corals nowadays and live rock, neither of which are necessarily safe for 1 inch seahorses. I was thrilled to find a large section on macroalgae in this book. The focus is on using them for refugiums, but I easily adapted the techniques, including a deep sand bed, to my 2.5 gallon dwarf seahorse tanks. Start here for the easiest way to get incredible water quality in your tanks. The live deep sand bed with macroalgae technique in this book, keeps the approx 1.5 gallons of water in my tanks ammonia-free. Amazing. Also, explains which macroalgae go "sexual," so you can avoid purchasing the ones that may foul the tank (and which are often promoted and sold as the best to buy!). Thanks so much to Anthony Calfo & Bob Fenner - and for their website, too ([...]).



4. I have an extensive library of reef aquarium books, including all Sprung & Delbeek series. This book is beyond doubt the very best guide to reef inverts. It does not cover corals, anemones or, of course, fish. There will be future volumes for those topics. The authors provide extremely thorough coverage of the topic in an entertaining writing style. I anxiously await future volumes in this series. Highest recommendation.



5. If you're thinking of starting a marine aquarium or already have one this book is for you. Not only do the authors describe a plethora of invertebrates but there's a chapter on refugiums that is the most informative source on the subject that I've seen up to this point.

5 comments about Dr. Burgess's Mini-Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes.

1. This book is an excellent tool for Specie reference.But iam disapointed with the setup section.This could have been a bit more comprehensive with more quality diagrams and more aquascaping options.



2. The strength of this book is the number of color photographs identifying an amazing number of fishes. The shots are clear and well taken. It is a strong, thick, well illustrated reference book. However, I believe this book is difficult to use for someone who just starts saltwater tank. First, all the fishes are listed in their scientific names (not the names given in the store). Therefore, you first have to look at an index table of "store names" which translates into scientific names, then look into the scientfic names' index table to find the page. It can take lots of time at first. Not very convenient. Second, there is absolutely no text about any fish - only symbols that give you information about food, environment... I guess that's why this work is called the "mini-atlas". The problem of using only symbols is that the information can be subjective and lack context. For example, the book does not recommend any trigger for a novice. If you have only fishes and no corals in the tank, why not? They are the least likely to die and will live long as long as you get other fishes they can get along with. In summary, this is a good reference book but do not expect to find much specific information in it.



3. This is one of my favorite books. It provides information and more importantly photos on nearly 2000 fish. The information gives you the basics about each fish, how big they get, what they eat, are they agressive, etc. But the best aspect is the photos. With over 1900 photos it is the first book I go to when I want to look up a fish. Or when I'm thinking of what to put in that empty tank I'll often browse through this book looking for neat fish.

   This book gives you the most for your money!




4. This is one of my favorite books. It provides information and more importantly photos on nearly 2000 fish. The information gives you the basics about each fish, how big they get, what they eat, are they agressive, etc.

   But the best aspect is the photos. With over 1900 photos it is the first book I go to when I want to look up a fish. Or when I'm thinking of what to put in that empty tank I'll often browse through this book looking for neat fish.

   This book gives you the most for your money!




5. This reference allowed me to find compatible species for my reef tank. Many aquarium stores have staff that aren't as informed as they should be. This reference saved me from a potential disaster in choosing the wrong species of fish.

5 comments about Fish Face.

1. awesome pics beleive it there int he sea we know less about the sea then mars we need to wake up and get our food from the sea 3/4 earth is water soem can be turned to drinking water we nneed to conserve this book will hopefully make you think twice before throing anything into our precious waters peace and conserve a littel bit goes a long way



2. This book has wonderful pictures but I think it could have been presented in a better way. The pages are small so the pictures are too small in some cases. Some pictures you can't see well because they are spread over two facing pages & get lost in the center. But I love the expressions of many of the fish, you can almost sense their personality. And I love seeing the incredible variety of fish.



3. Lot's of interesting and colorful photos. I gave it to my sister, for christmas, and our whole family sat around looking at the fish for hours.



4. Once again, David Doubilet shows his ingenious photography work. I really enjoyed Water Light Time, and Fish Face is proving to be a close second. Each image is carefully shot. It is wonderful to see close-up images of deep sea marine life and other creatures that one would not normally find on a casual snorkel excursion. There is a sense of humor to some of these photos, too, which makes looking at them even more entertaining. This is a perfect companion to Water Light Time!



5. we bought this book first at the monterey aquarium and have recently purchased it on amazon again for our montessori library. parents and children alike love looking at the pictures and marvelling at the wonders of the coral seas and barrier reef. buy this book. it's great!

5 comments about Aquarium Fish of the World: The Comprehensive Guide to 650 Species.

1. As mentioned in the other customer reviews, this book is good in the large amount of big photos and is not for thorough information for each kind of fish included.
   
   The number of species mentioned in the book, which is therefore critical for its value, is wrongly quoted both in the heading of this webpage and in the editor review as 800 species instead of the true 650 species as printed clearly on the book cover.
   
   I think it should be corrected and not to mislead other to buy this valuable book disappointedly.



2. This book isn't bad but it is really only useful for identifying species. If you need more information on the care and compatibility with other species look somewhere else.



3. This is my favorite book for browsing about species from not only the fish that I keep (ie African Cichlids), but also consider all the others. While the information isn't very deep, it certainly piques your interest because of the beautiful pictures. You can see many rare and exotic species captured here.



4. This is a really well produced book that is full of beautiful photographs. The double page layout of similar species really helps when comparing closely related species. The text is informative but concise which is probably the book's only weak point. It only takes you a few seconds to read through the text for a species leaving you wanting to know more information.



5. This book was a major motivating factor in my even becoming an Aquarist! Great, up to date information- Nice photos- Super-accurate descriptions of fish! Really nicely done!

1 comments about Aquarium Keeping & Rescue: The Essential Saltwater Handbook & Log.

1. This book is a practical guide on how to perform the maintenance on your salt water aquarium. Even though other books cover the subject, most of them do no centralize the subject or present a step-by-step guide, which makes this book unique. Each subject is explained in a very straight-forward way using layman's term. Most books takes a lot of time and goes very deeply explaining each water parameter, for example, what doesn't happen with this book: the author tries to summarize everything at the maximum, but without being shallow.
   
   The chapters present in this book are:
   
   1. What is The Well-Kept Marine Aquarium
   2. Water Testing
   3. Daily Maintenance
   4. Weekly Maintenance
   5. Work Sessions
   6. Afflictions
   7. Mainenance Animals
   8. Resurrection
   
   Plus a very useful troubleshooting guide.
   
   This book is also supposed to be a log, and that is why it is published using spiral-bond. It is hardcover, though, plus top-notch paper quality.
   
   I personally didn't like the spiral-bond approach, but this is my personal opinion. More complicated was the use of the "Comic Sans" font throughout the book, which makes it very hard to read. Anyone with the minimum degree of taste knows that this was a really bad choice.
   
   The pictures and illustrations are very good, even though on some pictures you can clearly see that the resolution under which the picture was taken was a low one, not appropriate for hard-printing. But this is a also a picky detail from someone with background in technology.
   
   I gave this book four stars only because of the presentation. If the font inside the book was Times or any Serif-based font I'd give it 5 stars for sure.

1 comments about The Interpet Encyclopedia of Koi: A Comprehensive Introduction to Keeping and Displaying These Magnificent Ornamental Fish, from Choosing Healthy Stock to Installing a Fully Equipped.

1. Good conprehensive book on koi. Very good photos and description of the various types of koi with their proper Japanese names.
   As with most koi books, too much detail on pond building and not enough on maintenance.
   Photography is very good with lots of examples of finished ponds.

5 comments about Reef Life: Natural History & Behaviors of Marine Fishes & Invertebrates.

1. What a delightful and informative book! As I've been able to do more diving and snorkling in SE Asia the past couple of years, identifying the underwater life has become a hobby as much as my love of birding. But I wanted to know more than just identification. This book is very readable and informative, suitable for adults and older children. The photographs are gorgeous and very clear. I'm reading it cover to cover. Many thanks to the Tacketts!



2. I have the complete set of books now and I really enjoy having the infromation so when I go diving in Cozumel each year it really helps me identify the different species. This really helps when you are one of the few that does not know it all.



3. This is a beautiful book with incredible pictures. Additionally it has very informative text. It is a great book for anyone with a serious interest in reefs & reef life.



4. I have been waiting for this book! Burt Jones got me focused on the 'one metre' dive a few years back and I've been enjoying macro critters and muck diving ever since. In this awsome new book, the Tacketts bring you their personal experiences with the macro world and incorportate a great deal of useful information which can help all of us better understand the interrelationships amongst all the critters. That understanding is one of the keys to making better images of the critters.

   If you are a diver and you really want to get acquainted with the underwater world, stop swimming and start looking. And this book gives you step by step pointers on how to go about looking and helps you understand what you are seeing.




5. The Tacketts have achieved something remarkable with this book. Not only is the quality of the photographs consistently high, but the detailed information within the text is logical and accessible to any diver whether they be experts in marine biology or simply curious fish watchers.
   This American husband and wife team seem to have lived many divers dream existence. Travelling the Indo Pacific for 13 years, they would camp on a beach with their own compressor and make three dives a day collecting sponge specimens for medical research.
   The scientific information is clear and broken down into digestible chunks, enlivened by well annotated pictures - everything from mantis shrimps eating coral shrimps, to frogfish camouflaged against cup corals. Predation, reproduction, camouflage, feeding and mimicry are all wonderfully explained. And, in keeping with the mood of the times there is a final section on reefs in danger - overfishing, cyanide, pollution etc, complete with appropriate photos including a poignant shot of an octopus trying to cover itself with a piece of broken plastic audio-cassette.
   A substantial glossary at the end of the book covers everything from allelopathy to zooxanthellae.
   The strength and value of this book is that it is not just a collection of good underwater images, I suspect it will become an invaluable primer for any diver who wants to look at reefs in an intelligent way.

3 comments about The Cult of the Koi.

1. Great book! Equally helpful for the novice and experienced Koi lover alike! Great pictures and detailed descriptions.I highly recommend this book.



2. I don't think this is the best book on Koi. Although it covers all the standard topics (Koi identification, pond building, filtration system, diseasees, etc.), it does not give enough details in each topic. The "Tretra Encyclopedia Book of Koi" is by far the best . I know, it is not available for sale any more, but try to find it in a library. It is well worth the effort and you can save money as well.



3. The book is an excellent reference for beginners and experts as well. It gives a great overview of the history of Japanese, Domestic and German Koi. It gives an excellent review of the different types of Koi that have help me a great deal in identification.

   My local Dianichi and Sankaye Koi dealer also says that their consensus is that Cult of the Koi is by far the best they have ever seen.

5 comments about Tropical Fishlopaedia: A Complete Guide to Fish Care.

1. I really have enjoyed this book. It goes into detail on several points concerning aquarium fish that other books typically leave out. I learned something new every few paragraphs. It does lack a significant amount of pictures, but makes up for it with the amount of information that it includes. It has a what if...? section, on fish health, which is helpful. If you don't enjoy a lot of reading, this book isn't for you, however you may find it helpful, in that it gives you a heads up when information appears later on in the book, so you can skip ahead.



2. I disagree that this book is shallow. I've checked out dozens of books about fish... and bought several. This one had more information on actually taking care of fish than any other book in my public library. All the other books I have found on the subject have only a few first chapters on maintaining your aquaria. The whole rest of them are devoted to what is sometimes called "fish profiles" there is one or at best three pages devoted to a singular species. That may help a little if you haven't bought your fish yet, but you cannot buy every fish profiled. And those few pages will give only a very limited knowlege about whatever fish you decide on. There are entire books devoted to fish profiles called fish atlases which cover many more species of fish, they weigh a ton and are much better for selecting your tank inhabitants than a book that is half-manual, and half-atlas. Tropial Fishlopedia does not presume to be a fish atlas of individual species... In the books introduction pg.#8 at the begining of the second paragraph the authors say "This book deals with just one aspect of fishkeeping - the maintenace of freshwater tropical fish." and between the end of the second and begining of the third paragraphs, Chapter 3 pg.22 "A list of additional reading matter will be found in Appendix A.
   We cannot stress too highly, or too often the need to research each species before deciding whether to keep it." It is unfair to complain that this book does not sufficently cover fish species when the authors make it so clear that this is not the aim of the book. It IS the most in-depth book on the MATINENCE of tropical freshwater aquariums that I have ever encountered. It delves into the facinating subject of your fishes behavior and motivation, how to observe your fish's actions and body language and interpret whether it is stressed by illness, tankmates, or simply preparing for mating. It covers water chemistry beyond just the 'nitrogen cycle'. It has taught me more about fishkeeping than all the other aquarium books I've ever read in my life and I'm not even halfway through this book! No, it isn't a stiring novel or an exciting cliff-hanging adventure. But it is a good book. The longer words seem carfully choosen so that the meaning is clearest to it's reader. If you care about your fish and think that the pleasure they give you is worth the effort of learning to keep them healthy... if you find aquariums facinate you and trigger your curiosity... if you just feel that your fishkeeping thumbs are brown instead of green and that you must be content with looking at a friends tank because you are not gifted or lucky enough to keep alive fish of your own... if any of these situations describe you, you may find Tropical Fishlopaedia thoroughly satisfying.



3. This book is too generic and lacks the most important thing which is practical advice. One can find some useful information how to start a tank but lots of other books and websites can tell you the same things. The authors did not address in deapth the most important aspects the fishes and their diseases. They tried to encompass a wide spectrum of questions but did it in a shallow way. The book does not tell you anything interesting about individual fishes and does not provide practical assistance in identifying and treating diseseas.



4. This book contains some useful information but the majority of it is far too shallow and fague. The writing within this book is a grammatical disaster. The author's writing style is convoluted, unneccessarily wordy and repetative. While this author may know a great deal about fish she is not a great (or even satisfactory writer). Anyone who has a slight sense of correct English or the fluidity of writing will get a headache from reading this.



5. This book is a good reference resource for general problems that may arise for the beginner to intermediate fishkeeper. Ms. Bailey sets up several chapters such as what behaviors are "normal" for certain species. There's another chapter dedicated to fish diseases. She describes what they are. Another portion of the book is dedicated to environmental causes of problems, such as temperature, osmotic stress, etc. Treatment plans are always offered. What is most helpful with this book is that it is set up in a question/answer format with the questions in bold font. The most important, albeit brief chapter, is how to euthanize a very sick fish. Many books ignore this. Ms. Bailey outlines when it is time to do this and how to do it quickly. She also outlines which methods are actually cruel and should be avoided.
   
   This book isn't really for those who want to learn about individual fish or plants. But, don't let that deter you from purchasing this book. It would be a valuable companion to any fish hobbyist's library!