1 comments about An Atlas of Freshwater and Marine Catfishes: A Preliminary Survey of the Siluriformes.

1. This book contains an incredible wealth of information on catfish keeping, breeding, taxonomy etc., plus a wealth of photos. Unlike too many TFH books, which are just rehashes of old photographs, this book contains real, useful, in depth info, that makes it worth the rather high price.

1 comments about Lizards in the Terrarium: Buying, Feeding, Care, Sicknesses, With a Special Chapter on Setting Up Rain-Forest, Desert, and Water Terrariums (Complete Pet Owner's Manual).

1. This book show its age. It was written over 10 yeares ago, when it was thougth that iguanas were carnivore(they are folivores). The only parts that are really good are the list of plants and a few of the tips on setting up tanks. It has soome really nice photos too. I would not really reccomend it. It was proabably very cutting edge when it came out, but a lot (not most) of the info is out of date. I reccomend buying a newer book.

No comments about Arachnomania: General Care and Maintenance of Tarantulas and Scorpions (Herpetocultural Library).

3 comments about The Guide to Owning Guppies.

1. This book does lean heavily toward being a brochure for "Gan Aquarium Fish Farm" in Singapore who provided the majority of the guppy photos. It is still a worthwhile book if you are starting out with setting up an aquarium and wish to pursue raising guppies. The author covers all the basics such as the tank setup, water quality, heating, feeding and even breeding. Note the book is only 64 pages and is a quick and easy read for beginners and does cover all the necessary aspects of caring for guppies.



2. I found this book to be most helpful in setting up an aquarium and maintaining water quality. It also gives great tips and insight into what look for in keeping your guppy healthy and with breeding. The color photographs were a great tool. The book was not too advanced and never got too technical like others I've read.



3. Only buy this book if you want to see pictures of Guppies raised by the Gan Fish Farm in Singapore. Of 55 pictures of Guppies in this book, 35 are Gan Fish and 17 are from some guy named Tanaka. That leaves only 3 pictures of other guppies. This book should have been a sales brochure for Gan and Tanaka. None of the Guppy pictures are of more recent and nicer looking strains that you see out there, at least in my opinion. In addition, the information in the book is better covered in some of the guppy web pages. Good thing I only paid [$] for a used book.

2 comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians.

1. The author doesn't even know the difference between reptiles and amphibians. She states that herps that live in water are amphibians, which would make a turtle an amphibian. (Amphibians do usually live in water, but this characteristic is not what defines the difference between a reptile and emphibian.) Even though turtles are reptiles, and therefore you would think that they would be included in this book, they are not. For turtle info, she directs you to her turtle book. Most of the rest of the information in adequate, but there are much better books out there. Don't waste your money on this one.



2. If you're considering purchasing a reptile or amphibian pet, get this book first, and read it. The author instructs both on reptile and amphibian husbandry basics, as well as provides a LOT of good information which will help you decide if a herp pet is right for you. The species specific sections are more of an overview and mostly useful for helping the reader decide what kind of reptile/amphibian pet is right for them; a book specific to the chosen species (such as the VMS Herpetological Libray Series) should be chosen to complement this, as the care information is too brief to be an exclusive source.

No comments about Reptile Keeper's Handbook.

3 comments about Proper Care of Guppies (Tw-133).

1. Quite simply this is the most important book any guppy fancier can get. Stan imparts his extensive knowledge of guppy breeding andshowing in a clear conciseand informative manner. No pseudoscientific claptrap here - just the accumulated wisdom aquired as the top in his class. Read it



2. This is an excellent book for both beginning and advanced aquarists alike. Stan's book is a very comprehensive guide to breeding, raising, and the proper care of show quality Guppies. He covers the various techniques used by himself and other top Guppy breeders to develop and maintain different strains of Guppies. The information contained in this book is very thorough and the pictures of his Guppies and those of other breeders, are outstanding. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in breeding quality fish.



3. The author, Stan Shubel, uses the 30 years worth of guppy raising experience to bring to the reader a very down to earth, commonsense approuch to raising, caring for and showing this marvelous and intriguing tropical fish, the Guppy. Stans ability to take the everyday care of the guppy and put it in a sensable and fun light make the book easy reading. In particular, the breeding and genetic subjects are laid out for the common hobbyist. No Genetic degree is required for understanding. A very special part of the book is dedicated to the care and raising of Show Fish. It appears that Stan is now ready to share his inside secrets of raising and breeding quality Show Guppies. This is a must read by any serious guppy breeder and a delightfully easy read for the casual and curious hobbyist. Jim Gourlie,(moneyman@ncweb.com)Geneva,Ohio

2 comments about Corydoras Catfishes (Complete Authoritative Guide).

1. This book is not particularly well suited to the aquarium hobbyist. Its tone tends toward the academic side, with emphasis on classification of different corydoras species. Perhaps even more disappointing from the hobbyist perspective, though, was the organization. The chapters are organized around specific families of corydoras, rather than being topically organized (history, care and feeding, breeding, etc.). That means if you want to find, for example, information on general care and feeding, you can't just flip right to that chapter. Instead, you'll have to search through each page of the book and gather various bits of information as you go.
   
   There's some good basic information in there that can be useful for the aquarist interested in raising corydoras. But it's not any more detailed than what you'll find on the web, and a whole lot harder to locate within the book. There is no index, so if you want to look up a particular species, it's going to take some tedious searching. You may do better searching for obscure species, but I was surprised, for example, to find almost no mention of corydoras julii, which is one of the more common species in stores. I would have expected some discussion of the frequent confusion between trilineatus and julii, for instance. All in all, it doesn't seem like a very practical guide to me, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you're really focused on taxonomy.



2. This book has some good basic information for the beginner in the corydora hobby. It was one of my first catfish books and helped me to learn some basic information in caring for my fish.

2 comments about Kingsnakes: Care & Breeding in Captivity.

1. Many, many photos of lots of different species and color varieties.
   Chapters:
   Natural History & Taxonomy
   Species, Subspecies, and the "Oddballs"
   Considerations Before Purchase
   Management & Housing
   Feeding
   Breeding
   
   A very helpful and interesting guide to kingsnakes.



2. I just got me and my son a eastern kingsnake the other day and this book let me understand more about what i was getting into. Both me and my son are having a great time with my kingsnake.

1 comments about Cichlids from Central America.

1. This book has a lot of information on Central American Cichlids with a great deal of good pictures. But these are a lot of the same pictures that are in most TFH books, some of which they are low quality. A better book for pictures is Conkel's book, the first hardbound edition. Some of his theories are questionable. For the Central American Cichlid fishkeeper, this book should be one of the top on their buy list.