2 comments about Choosing Fish for Your Aquarium: A Complete Guide to Tropical Freshwater, Brackish and Marine Fishes.

1. Wonderful book filled with photos of over 400 individual species and good information on how to choose the right individual fish combinations for your tank.
   
   This is the perfect sourcebook for everyone - from the beginner or the experienced enthusiast to the professional breeder and fishkeeper. The author gives practical help on successful breeding with the most popular species.



2. Don't by this book for saltwater fish. The pictures on the cover are saltwater but only one chapter is dedicated to them. It may be a good book for tropical freshwater fish but I'm not interested in freshwater fish.

1 comments about Freshwater Aquarium: Your Happy Healthy Pet.

1. I checked this book (and many others) out of the library before purchasing. Being new to the hobby I found this to be one of the better books for routine maintenance schedules, feeding, fish health, etc.

No comments about Koi.

No comments about Marine Angelfishes.

1 comments about Koi Appreciation: The First Step.

1. Koi Appreciation: The First Step by Kate McGill is a great book. Her introduction is superb. Defining "Appreciation" by expanding upon the words appearing in the dictionary and thesaurus is simply excellent. From the personal appreciation of Koi attachment, Ms McGill expands upon the "structured" approach in the appreciation of Koi. She covers body conformation, skin quality, qualities of color, patterns, pattern edges and balance, variety characteristics, and deportment.
   Then each following chapter covers the specific quality requirements relating to each specific variety of Koi. Varieties discussed are Kohaku, Taisho Sanke, Showa Sanshoku, Utsurimono, Bekko, Tancho, Asagi/Shusui, Koromo, Kin-Gin-Rin, Kawarigoi, Hikarimuji, Hikarimoyo and Hikari Utsuri.
   The colored Photographs are top draw. I really appreciated the photos depicting the negative qualities seen in Koi. A great learning tool.
   The final chapter; Beyond The First Step, covers why one Koi impacts us so. Dominating, impressing and compelling us to place it on a pedestal- to be inspired by a living art form.
   A great book in learning how to appreciate the qualities of Koi through the eyes of a judge.

4 comments about South American Dwarf Cichlids (Aqualog Book, Vol. 1).

1. All of the Aqualog books are excellent value, although they are not particularly cheap. They are full to the brim with first class colour photographs and to reproduce these in book form is an expensive process. Whether they are about Dwarf Cichlids or some other species of fish they are the most comprehensive identification books you can buy. They never become dated because as new fish become available to the aquarist trade the books are updated. Either the book itself is updated or there are additional supplements that can be added.
   
   The books are primarily for the specialist hobbyist rather than one who has a community tank in his or her living room. There is certainly nothing wrong with that scenario, but the Aqualog books are geared towards the hobbyist with a fish house who specialises in a particular species of fish. Having said all that I am sure anyone interested in tropical fish would love town and look at the Aqualog books and if they can afford them why not?



2. To be considered an updated version of Linke & Staeck. This book coves all Apistogramma species covered in the former book plus many more, but Linke & Staeck cover a wider range of genus' (Crenicichla, Laetacara, Nannacara, etc). This book has an excellent introduction on keeping, history, physiology, reproduction, etc. Many species include a very useful chemical analysis of the natural water. The english translation is almost painful at times.



3. I have enjoyed breeding various dwarf cichlids for last ten years (from Dicrossus filamentosus to Apistogramma iniridae) and this is by far the best reference guide on South American dwarf cichlids since Link and Staek's "American Cichlids I." The number and quality of photographs are excellent. I appreciated having several pictures of a single species to refer to for identification since most books only offer one picture of a male and female representative of the species. It is a very comprehensive work and I would call it a "MUST" for anyone who is interested in the proper identification of South American dwarf cichlids.



4. It's not only a good book but also a necessory book for all dwarf cichlids' breeders. Important information in this book can be found and it's useful for you keeping and breeding your dwarf cichlids.

5 comments about Aquarium Owner's Guide: The Complete Illustrated Guide To The Home Aquarium.

1. This book has a nice layout, nice pictures and good summary on fishes it carries. Unfortunately, tries to cover both fresh and salt water and has very entries of either. The tank equipment and setup guides do not go into any real detail and major things such as live rock are left out entirely for marine setups. This might be good to start interest, but don't try to setup a tank with this alone, or you may leave the hobby for good after frustrating problems and losses occur.



2. I thought that this book would have more about different types of fish and who they really get along best with. Its an ok book for newbies but I would go to the library first and check it out before buying.



3. This book has a lot of good details for all stages of aquarium life. It covers various subjects well. it's only "downfall" is that some of the sections could elabroate more. But of the 3 books we have, I use this one 9 out of 10 times.



4. For those just getting started with keeping fish, this is an excellent guide. The design plans for different aquariums is especially nice, and the list of fish that would be good for a starting fishkeeper is an excellent guide to go by. The pictures in this book are gorgeous and the guide to diseases has excellent examples, which is extremely useful when diagnosing your own fish. All in all, a good starter reference, but for more in-depth coverage, an atlas by Dr. Axelrod would be a good addition to your library.



5. I bought this book when I was first setting up my aquarium. I looked at the aquarium guides offered on Amazon.com, and bought three at once: this book, along with "Dr. Axelrod's Mini-Atlas of Freshwater Aquarium Fishes" and "The Complete Aquarium" by Peter W. Scott.

   My favorite thing about this book is that the author provides quite a bit of useful information for the fishes covered in the book. For example, I didn't expect my dwarf gouramies to start breeding right away, but they did, and this book warned me that the male gets overprotective of the bubblenest and that the female needs a place to hide out and recover from spawning.

   My one complaint: because the book covers freshwater, brackish, and marine fish, there are lots of omissions. I wish the book covered clown loaches...I am sure that marine aquarists would find similar oversights, but for a general reference it is quite useful.

   This is a great place to start, and if I had to limit myself to just one book, this is the one that I would recommend.

No comments about Setup and Care of Saltwater Aquariums (Animal Planet Pet Care Library).

4 comments about The Most Complete Colored Lexicon of Cichlids: Every Known Cichlid Illustrated in Color.

1. I got the Lexicon with the idea that it would prove to be a useful identification tool for the various species and strains of cichlids I keep. In that sense, the book is fairly successful - there is a plethora of beautiful photos of many, many species.
   There are some serious problems with this book though. The most glaring problem is that Axelrod, in at least two instances, has printed two copies of the same photo and called the specimen two different species !!! He uses the same photo, just reversed, for Aulonucara jacobfreirgei as he does for another Aulonocara sp. Same thing with two species of Apistogramma.
   Another dissapointing feature about this book is the information content of the text - there isn't any. Axelrod's favourite topic in the text is himself. Axelrod is more interested in telling us about how important he is and about how much influence he has had on the aquarium hobby than he is in providing useful biological information. Oftentimes the text more resembles the ramblings of a senile old man than a scientific discussion of the species in question. Additionally, the length of the text could have been considerably shortened by replacing the often lengthy sentance about who described the species and when with the taxonomic standard of putting the name of the species' author(s) and the year of description behind the species name.
   My final beef with this book is the poor taste of the author is his discussions of the classification of cichlids(actually, rants is probably a better description). Axelrod repeatedly poo-poo's the works of cladists (Axelrod calls them splitters)- challenging cladistic theory is all well and good, but in most instances the criticism is in the form of a snide comment about the other author or their classification. Never is any evidence provided to support Axelrod's claims/criticisms - one is left with the impression that the reason Axelrod opposes a new classification is simply that it is new and different than his ideas. Some of Axelrod's comments border on slander - this should never have been allowed to go to print.
   The Lexicon had great potential, but overall it is a bloated, arrogant work. With proper editing it would have been much more useful. If you want a book with nice pictures, than this book is OK - just dont read anything in it :-)



2. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed when I got this book. It wasn't that the book wasn't good, but it simply wasn't incredible, which is what I expected.

   The book does a good job of describing the major families of cichlids. Detail is provided about where they come from, what the environment there is like, and general information about the temperment of that family of fish.

   Unfortunately there isn't always details about each individual fish.

   The book provides a color picture of most fish, although the quaility is sometimes lacking. Unfortunately many fish are featured with only a color drawing, which in my opinion simply doesn't do the fish justice.

   This is definetely a great gift for the cichlidiot!




3. I purchased the first edition of this book as soon as it was available. It contains photos and drawings of as many cichlid species as possible. It attempts better than any other book to include every known cichlid. If you have purchased a cichlid species and want to identify it or confirm the name you purchased it under, this book is useful. There is a wealth of information on the hobby history of species and husbandry information on some. General information from introductory books about cichlids is seldom repeated here. There are species covered that have not been bred, or even never imported as aquarium subjects. Information will of course be sparse. Well known information about common species is omitted, but little-known information is here . If you will have only one cichlid book in your library, and want basic information, this is not that book. If you want several cichlid books, this should be one of them. And of course if you want the one book with the most cichlid pictures and the most cichlid listings, THIS IS IT. I enjoy Dr. Axelrod's observations and opinions. I've read a number of books and magazine articles by him, and you may have to reread and read other works of his to appreciate them fully. Dr. Axelrod has been very influential in the development and directions the aquarium hobby has taken since the fifties. I would give this book another star, but the first edition which I have is already missing some newly imported species and there are some cichlid photos I'd like to see replaced . That's probably not fair of me since there will always (I hope) be new species introduced to the hobby and better photos taken. If you want a good introductory book, I suggest THE CICHLID AQUARIUM by Dr. Paul Loiselle. I prefer the organization and index of the first edition of Dr. Loiselle's book, but either one is a find for the new cichlid enthusiast.



4. If you want a book that shows you a picture or a drawing of every cichlid that there is then this book is for you. BUT if you want to learn about the fish you see then this book is not for you. It mentions very little in the way of behaviour, eating habits etc. If you want to keep cichlids in an aquarium, rather than go out and catch them, then this book isn't for you. I was very disappointed after I bought the book. It shows lots of very beautiful pictures but tells you little more.

1 comments about Chinese Goldfish.

1. I've had this book for many years in a German translation and even though the translation isn't always correct, the photographs and discussions alone opened my eyes to another world of goldfish! This book illustrates well that it is the Chinese who have created the original colours and forms of all known fancy goldfish on the market, barring perhaps the Tosakin, and illustrates very well the differences in taste in breeding between the Chinese and the rest of the world. Curled Gills, Dragon Pushing a Ball, Goose-Head Redcaps, etc., etc., this book (in my translation) aslo presents these Chinese fish with their original names; a wonderful book if you love goldfish!