5 comments about The Reef Aquarium: A Comprehensive Guide to the Identification and Care of Tropical Marine Invertebrates (Vol 2).

1. This volume of the series covers the soft corals and sea anemones; very important topics indeed for reef aquarium. The two books together are still not complete as  there are many organisms found in a reef aquaria still not covered. In this series. A fine glossary accompanies this book. Much of what I had to gleen by trial and error and by reading arcane publications over the years is covered in this book. Approachable to the beginner yet  a lot of substance for the expert.



2. Just like the vol. 1, that is a must-have book. Please note that the vol. 3 should be released late Nov. 2005.
   
   Emmanuel, Los Angeles CA



3. This book goes indepth about the anatomy and physiology of mushrooms, soft corals and anemones. Not a great reference guide for choosing specimens for your It tends to generalize by family and/or genus vs species. If you are new to saltwater and are looking for a reference to choose items for your tank this would not be my first choice.



4. My husband took a dive into the Saltwater Aquarium world. ALL of Sprung's books are a must have. They have a lot of info and definitely is a great resource. Well worth the price. It has been referenced many times throughout the saltwater aquarium evolution.



5. This series is well worth every penny. You can find a lot of books for less but that is what you are getting. Save yourself some money and get the series that thoroughly do cover every aspect of the hobby in amazing detail. This series is amazing and you will love it. It is a bit scientific but it does not leave anything out.

5 comments about The Inspired Aquarium: Ideas and Instruction for Living with Aquariums.

1. This book contains many high quality pictures of various aquariums fixture designs. It covers all types of aquarium ranging from fresh water, marine, planted to coral tanks. The knowlege this book provided is broad but scattered and simply not comprehensive enough for advanced aquarist. It is equally confusing and incomplete for the beginner aquarist. It describes VERY LITTLE on everything ranging from the fixtures, filtration system, lighting, the livestocks on both marine and fresh water aquariums. To some extent this book is a disappointment and a waste of paper. For example, one clearly can not depend on the 4 pages information provided by this book on choosing marine fish. This book could have some values to interior designers or architects who wish to incorporate an aquarium in his/her design.



2. When I first started to read this book, I thought that it was only for the wealthy, since it deals largely with huge custom-made tanks in built-in cabinetry, or how to work an aquarium into your blueprints. It even refers to a 72-gallon aquarium as "small". But the principles of design and maintenance can apply to the more modest sizes of aquaria too.
   
   If you are new to the hobby, it'll help you decide between freshwater and marine, and then whether you want live plants or live coral. It'll help you choose an aesthetically pleasing location for your aquarium and help you aquascape the interior.
   
   I found the plant section to be especially helpful, even though it was a brief overview. In its description of the major plant groups, it mentioned which ones can get by with less light, or without a CO2 system, or with little pruning. And it didn't put me to sleep like the plant sections of other aquarium books.
   
   The last section, entitled "Case Studies", is really cool. There they take some of the tanks pictured in previous sections and give you all the stats on aquarium size, exactly what filtration was used, lighting, livestock, etc. They also give tips on coordinating the aquarium with the surrounding interior design.
   
   The only negative things I can say about the book are about some misplaced and repeated captions. Also, I would have liked to have seen some aerial-view sketches of aquascaping floor plans, showing plant and rock placement.
   
   P.S. If you are not going to hire an aquarium installation and maintenance service, then you need to complete your fish education with one of the Complete Idiot's Guides by Mike Wickham.



3. I thought this was more of a book about building aquariums.
   It is a book with very nice photos, of very fancy aquariums in expensive places.
   Not much help for the average homeowner.



4. This book is an awesome general overview for those that are researching a big budget build.
   It is not a reference guide for someone researching specific reef, planted,community fish aquaria info.
   There are many other books that serve that purpose.
   You will see many aspects of aquaria installed in some very unique situations by a great team who do this everyday from their facility in Houston.



5. "Inspired Aquariums" was a joy to read and look at, the photographs of each aquarium was amazing. I found many ideas for aquariums to use for my own aquarium. Instructions were good but was more for the advanced aquarist, which I'm not. All in all it was a good reference book for my
   library.

5 comments about The Nano-Reef Handbook.

1. A "nano-reef" is an aquarium that is less than 15 gallons in total volume and houses reef organisms -- and especially suited for a home, office, or classroom. An aquarium hobbyist for more than 25 years, Christopher Brightwell draws upon his experience and expertise in The Nano-Reef Handbook to provide aspiring aquarium developers with a comprehensive, "user friendly" instructional guide to creating and maintaining their nano-reef aquarium including such factors as filtration, lighting, temperature control, water chemistry, and identifying more than thirty of the most highly recommended fishes and invertebrates for placement into their nano-reef aquarium. Whether a novice or seasoned aquarium enthusiast, The Nano-Reef Handbook will prove to be of exceptional interest, especially with respect to increasing the probability of success through suggested routine maintenance and sensible stock levels, creating a balanced system throughout the entire nano-reef habitat. Anyone considering establishing their own aquarium nano-reef should give Christopher Brightwell's strongly recommended The Nano-Reef Handbook a very careful reading.



2. this book was only helpful to me when selecting which fish I would put in my nano reef aquarium. other than that it was a waste of time. way too much unnecessary information.



3. all the information that yo need to a succesfull start with nano reef's



4. The seller that I bought this book was great..no problem there. However this was not the book I thought it would be. While lacking in some major areas the book seemed to "dumb itself down" for lack of better terms. People that are researching reef aquariums would be much better off if information was dumbed down for them. This causes confusion in general. The book while helpful on some points lacked any real "meat" to say the least. If I was going on a point system 1-5 I'd rate it about a 2.



5. This book is an excellent place for beginners to start learning about keeping a nano-reef. It contains some good basic information about getting started and choosing livestock. Some topics are a little overdone but in my opinion that is better than too little information. If you have already been keeping a nano-reef for some time you will probably find one or two helpful things that you may not have known but for an experiended reefer who is looking to improve their skills I would look elsewhere. But once again if you are new to the hobby I recomend this book as an excellent starting place.

5 comments about Reef Secrets: Starting Right, Selecting Fishes & Invertebrates, Advanced Biotope Techniques.

1. One can appreciated the authors' long experience with marine aquaria who elegantly and with simple language explained larger biological concepts yet provide detailed instructions on how do to what and why. Very inspiring are the suggested biotopes that include among others "seagrass aquarium", "reef gorge aquarium", "pizza anemone aquarium", "rubble zone aquarium" as well as the standard reef tank. These are refreshing ideas that are needed with the current predominance of grocery store shelf-like stocked, overcrowded best-of-the-month SPS tanks. Also contains a comprehensive guide about most creatures possible in a reef tank and essentially makes e.g. Sprung's "Quick" guides unnecessary in one's library.



2. Loved it! Has some of the best reefing information available, without the over-technical mumbo jumbo! The stocking guide is excellent; just lacking on a few species.



3. Very good for beginners. Covers all important topics. Very simple language, without technical jargon which is often overwhelming people who just starting with hobby. Very nice stocking guide and chapter about biotops which is not found often in similar position.
   
   I recommend it to anyone who thinks to start with reefkeeping hobby.



4. As a beginning reef aquarist, I enjoyed reading this book, but I am not sure it is a practical book for the novice.
   
   Some of the advice it gives seems designed for the advanced hobbiest who has little need for the book. For example, it advises no more than about a 10% water change each year. That is probably enough for an established, well-maintained aquarium in service for a couple of years already, but I doubt it is a regime suitable for someone just starting.
   
   The authors' advise seems to defy conventional wisdom in other areas. The suggested Ph paramaters, for example, vary from anything I have seen elsewhere. Perhaps that's why they are called reef "secrets". Or perhaps they are just "typos"
   
   Interestingly, the book presents a photo of what it bills as one of the finest amateur marine aquariums anywhere. I went on-line to learn more about that system and learned that the owner has a maintenance regime and water paramaters at odds with the recommendations in this book!
   
   Still, all in all, an enjoyable and well-informed read. It's just not a suitable "how to" book for most of us. On the other hand, the section at the end on species selection was very useful.



5. What a great cut-to-the-chase reference for the reef hobiest. The selection guide is very helpful, especially if you are concerned about compatability or just want to develop a specific region in your own reef tank.

5 comments about The Complete Illustrated Breeder's Guide to Marine Aquarium Fishes.

1. Everything you ever wanted to know about breeding common and not so common marine ornamentals...



2. This book has some great information, but was disappointed with the lack of fish species.



3. Great breeding book, It's complete, easy to read, with nice pictures and drawings. I love the Genus section who display a specie specific caracteristi for breeding easy al aquarium fish.



4. It's a great book covering the basics of how to set-up larva rearing systems, plankton cultivation, and what species would be the best for a beginner to take on.
   
   This book was written for the hobbyist not the commercial aquaculturist.



5. Complete, full of ideas, easy to read, well structured.
   Great book, specially if you're starting at small or home-scale. It brings you from the general approach to a common and not so common marine species details. It covers jawfish, grammas, bettas, gobies, blennies, cardinals, dottybacks and many more... even pelagic spawners, providing insight into how future acheivements might be reached. The book is very useful as a reference for hobbyists, but also for researchers in the field. This book is a must.

5 comments about Algae: A Problem Solver Guide (Oceanographic Series).

1. This book is a decent guide to various types of algae. If you have an algae bloom this book is very handy. It tells you what types are good and what types are bad. It also tells you how to keep the bad types in check.



2. this is a good primmer for somone starting a new tank, or just as good 'ole reference material. this does not necessarly give any 'new' solutions, but does reinforce the classic, water changes, manual removal, etc.



3. As a professional aquarium maintenance professional, I have found this book an invaluable tool in controlling algea in salt water/reef tanks.



4. This book breaks down algae into groups, tells you the good, the bad and the ugly, and how to deal with it. It caught my eye searching for info on refugium filters and I'm very pleased with it. Even if you don't plan to use an algal filtration system you should own it, because you will have algae in your aquarium almost immediately so why not be prepared. Not all algae is bad and after you read this book you'll be able to identify the ones you want to get rid of. Although, the author does like to use very large words, so get your dictionary out, it is still readable. It's not a very big book and gets straight to the point without "opinions or stories" and it doesn't have a hefty price tag either.



5. For marine aquarium Reef Keepers this is a very useful reference to identify and control nuisance algae blooms!

5 comments about 500 Freshwater Aquarium Fish: A Visual Reference to the Most Popular Species.

1. This book has many diffent fish in it. It also has the sizes and needs of all the fish. Great pictures!!



2. This book is good for a quick referencing look at fishes of your interest. The information is adequate for a quick look but not enough if you wnat to know more.Nice, big,clear, colorful pictures that is easy to look at and quick and easy to read basic information about the fish is also included like water temp. max. length, aggreesiveness. It's a great book for a beginner like me who wants to compare different fishes and know a little bit about them for now.



3. I owm saltwater fish but had gotten rusty on freshwater. I needed to relearn this for my new job so this book helped me get back on track. Information is very clear and pictures are excellent. It gave me a quick primer. I think it also a good beginners book since it is easy to understand.



4. Yes, there's probably every bit of 500 fish in this book, but it still lacks on a few of the more common species. It is also a little too vague on descriptions. There is a 4 page spread on Discus and Oscars, but that's not really necessary when all the other fish are given one page with one sentence descriptions.
   It's still nifty to have at home, but if you want to see how the fish are going to cohabitate with your other tank mates, this is not your book.



5. An accessible and well laid out guide. Easier to read than the Baensch books for example. But I misjudged the number 500. This really means it will not be very usefull for an experienced hobbyist: the book covers to few species! As I opened the newly arrived volume, I was surprised not to find reference to my recently acquired specimens of Acarichtys heckelii for an example. I was also surprised to find 5 (if not more) blank pages (88-89, 92-93, 96), wiping out P. scalare and 3 other references, in a second volume I had unwittingly ordered ([...] ). Thrity days past before I opened the repeated volume and noticed the fault, just before considering passing it on to a friend. So now I am stuck with it !!!!
   
   Yes, an important point. Any reasonable guide, and principally visual references, should give priority to illustrations of native species over varieties that come and go with the season. This was not the case of the angelfish P. scalare. Of the 6 illustrations none are reminiscent of the native form. And the species presentation text, placed under a photograph of a dubiously attractive "Bright Veitail" , reads "This is by the far most known of the angel species. It is also......."

5 comments about Nature Aquarium World Volume 2.

1. One buys this book for the pictures. They deserve five stars. I am using this book for inspiration as to what can be achieved with nano and micro tanks.
   
   The shortcomings of this book are only to blame this book for being what it is not and what it does not claim to be. It does not claim to be a 'how to' book, though I believe many readers (me included) wish it WAS a 'how to' book. As such, one can continue moaning about how inaccurate the scientific names of plants are; how little information there is on planting, propagating and maintaining the plants; what the mineral contents of the substrate and fertilizers are; what the light spectrum and intensity is; etcetera...
   
   So, although I love the book. I'm going to minus one star for the lousy reason that it isn't what I want it to be.



2. This book has gorgeous photographs of amazing aquariums. It`s not as intructional as I`d hoped but it`s an excellent book.



3. To quote someone else's review... this book makes a good paperweight and has nice pictures. Also a waste of money.



4. If it were not for the goldfish bowl, this book would receive 5 stars from me because, in every other way, the book serves its purpose very well. The validity of the goldfish bowl is a dangerous notion to perpetuate and I was disappointed that an expert, who serves as a role model and who must love nature so much, would not have more respect for it than to perpetuate such a known erroneous practice.
   
   Goldfish should never be kept in bowls. The smallest goldfish reach softball size when kept in healthy conditions and need twice the tank size for a similar biomass of smaller fish. In such a bowl, the fish would be dead in a matter of hours from suffocation due to lack of oxygen. In slightly larger (but still small tanks), their growth would be stunted, their immune systems compromised, and their lifespan greatly reduced due to the inability of the system to carry the large load of ammonia excreted by these fish. Although survival in small tanks is possible, with frequent, large water changes, the quality of life would be dismal for these beautiful cratures and completely inhumane. I hope Takashi Amano takes responsibility, changes his ways and stops perpetuating bad practices that so many other responsible aquarists have been working hard for so long to change.
   
   Aside from the goldfish bowl, I think the book is fabulous. I have been an advanced aquarist since 1994 (have worked in fish stores, owned a fish maintenance and design business and have a degree in marine biology) and have read (and own) most of the plant books on the market. This book, as well as his others, are not meant for beginners (or even intermediate users) in search of a solid how-to manual. Better sources for that would be The Dynamic Aquarium: Building Living Ecosystems (by Adey and Loveland) or Peter Hiscock's 2 books, Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants and Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature or The Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Diana Walstad.
   
   But, if you are a beginner looking for inspiration or scope of what is possible, this is a good beginner book. I suspect that majority of aquarists who actually get a lot of practical use from these books are those who can readily take the data from each photo and put it to good use. Amano's books, if used as such, assume the aquarist has an advanced understanding of lighting, water chemistry, nutrient balances, biological filtration, fish behavior, etc. For advanced aquarists, these books are invaluable in that they supply tested permutations that can be immediately applied. This saves the hobbyist much experimentation when it comes to combinations of plant placement, relative to CO2 levels and lighting and nutrient regimes.
   
   In my opinion, this book is not required for beginners, although they can certainly learn from and enjoy it. But, it is required for any advanced plant-loving aquarist. I would highly recommend it for anyone who loves aquariums or appreciates the natural world.



5. The Nature Aquarium World set is excellent. I bought book 3 first and it was for large to gigantic planted aquariums. Book 2 starts with miniature tanks and goes up to medium size tanks. It provides a good variety of planting ideas with a list of plants, fish and accessories needed to recreate each design. The pictures are stunning.

5 comments about Culturing Live Foods: A Step-By-Step Guide to Producing Food for Your Home Aquarium.

1. Culturing Live Foods
   By
   Michael R. Hellweg
   
   Since Mike Hellweg is an old and valued friend/colleague in the tropical fish hobby, my opinions about his new book "Culturing Live Foods" may be a little biased - although they really need not be. "Culturing Live Foods" is a much-needed, and excellently written book, and it is an important contribution to the aquarium hobby. Mike is well known throughout the hobby as not only an accomplished writer, but also a master breeder, and he shares with us the fact that much of his success in breeding fishes comes from giving live foods to both the breeders, and the offspring.
   "Culturing Live Foods" starts with a very interesting discussion of the history of fish foods, and the reasons for feeding live foods today, even though we have a wide variety of excellent frozen and dry foods available to us. The book then discusses the tools and containers needed, and getting starter cultures, for live foods. The foods themselves start with the smallest ones that are used - phytoplankton, or "Green water". Protozoans, or "infusoria" are then discussed, and then somewhat larger foods such as copepods, rotifers and vinegar eels. Much space is devoted to brine shrimp, which is fitting as they are probably the most common live food in the hobby. Mike discusses hatching, enriching and growing live brine shrimps to adults, as well as decapsulating the cysts (eggs).
   As the book progresses we move up in size for the live foods, from worms (whiteworms, tubifex, blackworms and earthworms) to snails and crustaceans such as daphnia, moina and mysis shrimps. Other shrimps such as glass or grass shrimps and various species of Neocaridina are covered. Insects are the next category, and they include flour beetles, fruit flies, mealworms and mosquito larvae - including the constant battle between hobbyists and spouses about whether the standing water that has been left out was left there on purpose or by mistake, the net effect being a nice population of mosquito larvae that the hobbyist finds terrific for feeding fish, and the spouse sees only as a source of biting insects. The final group of live foods are fish, and here Mike mentions the problems with buying feeder fish from the local fish store (or bait store), and he strongly suggests that hobbyists raise their own feeder fish if at all possible.
   Mike's book is packed with a wealth of detailed information, and yet it is much more than a simple "How To" book. It is an interesting, well written and very informative book, and covers all aspects of live foods, from starting cultures to collecting foods from the wild. There is an excellent group of resources at the end of the book in terms of related books, magazines, Internet sites and suppliers of live foods and cultures. "Culturing Live Foods" should be in the library of any fish hobbyist who wants to keep, and breed, fish successfully.



2. I'm really happy to see this book. It's been a long time since we have had updated comprehensive information. This is presented beautifully and very well written. Any serious Aquarist should plan on this book for their collection. You won't be disappointed.



3. This is a terrific, up-to-date resource by Mike Hellweg, a master fish breeder whose success with fish is built on his success in feeding his fish appropriate live foods.
   
   I've been discussing the culture of various live foods with Mike for several years now, and studying a lot of what has been easily available on the internet, and even put together my own web page reviewing the techniques I've used with my own cultures. But this book has already given me new tips and tricks on creatures I thought I knew all about, and given me confidence to try some that I've failed with in the past. The details are just right to enable success with each organism, and there are good sources for more information if you want or need it.
   
   This book is also an excellent primer on spawning fish, because several species are discussed as easily bred feeders for larger fish. Those are tips you can use to propagate those and related species for your own enjoyment even if you don't keep predatory fish.
   
   I can't recommend this highly enough for the aquarist who wants to keep and spawn happy, healthy fish.



4. The information contained in this book will prove invaluable to anyone interested in maintaining or breeding just about any species of tropical fish,and it is written in a down to earth style that is very easy to understand.
   You can't go wrong with this book.



5. If you've ever seen your aquarium fish look hungry for more, then Michael R. Hellweg's Culturing Live Foods: A Step-by-Step Guide for Culturing One's Own Food for the Home Aquarium is for you. It tells how to make happier fish by cultivating live foods they like - plants, multi-celled organisms, crustaceans, mollusks and worms - over 80 such foods in all. Culture methods, materials needed, color sidebars of reference information and more make for discussions of species, care, and what kinds of aquarium fish they can feed. Libraries specializing in aquarium owner's guides will find this offers something different for the avid aquarium owner.

5 comments about Manual of Fish Health: Everything You Need to Know About Aquarium Fish, Their Environment and Disease Prevention.

1. This book is amazing! I absolutly recomend it to everyone I've talked to. Not only does it use casual scientific terms but it does also explain them for anyone that doesn't have a BSc. Great information not only on fish disease, but on maintaining a properly balanced aquarium & preventing diseases from occuring in the first place.

   Personally I think it should be a manditory buy with ever first-fish purchase.




2. I have Aquarium books coming out of my ears. In my quest for knowledge on how to care and treat my freshwater fish, I have purchased books, but most left a lot of my questions unanswered, or were vague on discriptions of fish diseases and/or how to treat. This is by far the best all around book for the Aquarium Hobby enthusiast. It has everything you need to know about aquarium fish, their environment, disease and prevention. The pictures of diseased fish help you pin point the proper ailment, bacteria, and cure. I give this book 5+ stars and highly recommend it to anyone who has aquarium fish.



3. I bought this book based on the great reviews here, and have not been disappointed. That said, there are a few deficiencies that drove me back to the web for more information and hence this review.
   
   There is very little information about contemporary brands and their products that can be used to treat fish diseases. Using the book, one can easily diagnose pop-eye (which I was combating in my prize altum angels). But the suggestions are not terribly helpful in finding the right product to treat this affliction. For example, there are 3 or more different drugs under the Mardel brand that all claim to treat pop-eye. Some target gram-positive bacteria, some target gram-negative bacteria, and some are broad-spectrum antibiotics. At the same time, some can be simultaneouly administered with other treatments, some cannot. And so on. It would have been helpful if the book had helped me sort these details out (which I eventually did) and if it had suggested possible courses of action. Even something that lists all common antibiotics and adds a classification chart to go with them will address this concern.
   
   And as one reviewer pointed out, some of the suggestions are beyond the scope of the hobbyist. But let this not detract you from purchasing a guide that will save you time and help you narrow your diagnosis.



4. The book is pretty good for most aquarists as all should have something to help with the diagnostics and treatment of their pets. There's some pretty good photography of various diseases that simplifies the text, and in each section there is a little box of explanation of a point in the text, be it a bacteria type or similar. Where the book falls slightly short in my opinion is in the treatment section. I would not advocate the use of all the chemicals in this chapter and some may well be impossible to obtain for most people. In this case, I would recommend using the book then visiting a professional fish keeper, specialist shop or vet with your diagnosis after consulting the treatment section to see if there is an alternative.
   
   All said and done anything that can help easy diagnosis and lead to the correct treatment of fish disease is a good thing.



5. I like that this book is more focused at experienced aquarist who want to further their understanding rather than people who are completely new to the hobby. I also like that it is a heavy read relative to other aquarium books, In some places I felt like I was reading a microbiology textbook. Its all around aquarium health info but it has a big section on fish health. It has a lot of detailed pictures for identifying fish sicknesses, and is actually kind of gross, but I have never seen a book with so much info on the topic and I think that is its strongest point. The weakest point is there isn't much on plants which to me is just as important as the fish, I guess that's a different book.