No comments about Baensch Catfish Atlas, Volume 1.

1 comments about Today's Essential Guide to Keeping Goldfish: The Aquamaster Series (Aquamaster).

1. This book didn't have nearly enough information. I still have tons of questions about my goldfish. It is especially lacking in information on goldfish illness.

2 comments about Koi and Garden Pools: A Complete Introduction.

1. Koi keeping is an ancient art and little with raising koi has changed. The historical references are still accurate and the preadators as well. It's a pretty good place to start when learning about koi. But there are newer problems that have arisen health wise and there's only little in the book about koi types. I think that if you can get a different "intro to koi" book, you should.



2. this book has information about,koi as an antient hobby, judging koi, Competitions, Breeding koi, Varieties of koi, koi as pets, The pond flora, And The pond fauna

5 comments about The Guide to Owning Goldfish.

1. this book was very helpful. Easy to find what you need to know, good photos. Extremely practical for goldfish owners or wannabes



2. An overview of goldfish and their needs for beginners, Spencer Glass' slim volume is written in a relaxed and sometimes amusing style, and gives one some of the basics for keeping goldfish healthy and happy. Though not a thorough guidebook, it is better than some other books I've seen, and has enough information to get one going and not make mistakes that could harm or kill your fish. As he states in the introduction, "The purpose of this book is not to turn you into a goldfish expert," but give one a start, and as a primer, it is quite good.
   
   Mr. Glass briefly describes 1: Natural History, and how goldfish became goldfish. 2: Keeping Goldfish, with all the proper and necessary equipment. 3: Water Quality and "new tank syndrome." 4: Feeding, and the dangers of overfeeding. 5: Goldfish Diseases, and the dreaded Ichthyophthirius. 6: Pondkeeping, with 2 photos of huge koi. 7: Varieties of Goldfish, with many nice photos, and 8, a short half page on breeding, which of course, if you intended to do, would take a lot more information.
   
   Like many before me have, I started out foolishly buying a gallon-sized bowl, and placing 4 tiny comet goldfish in it. 3 of them almost immediately went to fish heaven, and the fourth stayed at the bottom of the bowl, hardly moving. With the help of this book and some internet surfing, I have learned a lot in a short time, and that one surviving goldfish is now twice the size, a delight to watch, in a good sized tank with proper water conditions, and with a pretty companion fantail. Goldfish are intelligent creatures, and can be lively, aesthetically pleasing additions to the family and home.



3. Waste of money-I would have rather spent my money on a lotto ticket; at least I would have had a chance in gaining something. Tells you nothing informative, and nothing useful, the pictures are even bad.



4. This book provides excelent information in a very easy to understand and entertaining ways to those who wants to start their hoby with goldfish.



5. Of what this guide to goldfish contains, it does a good job, but it is not thorough enough to be considered comprehensive. Examples of what the book discusses are natural history, equipment, filtration (including the important nitrogen cycle), water quality, feeding, diseases, and varieties of goldfish. There are brief sections on pondkeeping and breeding. The color photographs of the different types of goldfish are interesting. Surprisingly, this guide does not contain any information on the selection of live or artificial plants. Even though the information in this book is helpful, the lack of comprehensiveness is disappointing. Actually, I rate this guide 2.5 stars.

2 comments about Sand Bed Secrets: The Common-Sense Way to Biological Filtration.

1. I really did not find the small booklet helpful at all. You can get more practical information from other sources.



2. Deep Sand Beds are a pretty new concept out there. I've been reading a lot on the net about it, and got the book thinking that I would really get a lot more practical details out of it so as a marine enthusiast I could put it to work.

   Frankly, it has to much details on "infauna" (those critters that live in the sand bed) for the ignorant, but not enough for the really versed. And certainly did not really added a lot to what is already public knowledge.

No comments about Reef Notes: 1991/1992 (Reef Notes).

No comments about All About Tropical Fish.

3 comments about Fishkeepers Guide to African Cichlids.

1. I have had cichlids since my first tank, which was 6 years ago. I have only ever had cichlids since then, and always had much luck with them. After owning this book, I was able to breed my first cichlids without even trying. Apparently, just by maintaining a very good tank (which was helped along by this book) my fish bred themselves. I had two sets of babies, and finally had to remove "mom" from the tank so that I could manage all of these fish.
   
   The book starts out describing what lakes the different cichlids come from, then gets into the water composition in each of the different lake regions. It also gets into how to handle water pH, ammonia and other toxins, etc. Then, what the different filters are, proper tank lighting, and then what specific plants go well with cichlids of each type described in the book. It also has a great section (which is what prompted me to purchase this book) on specific symptoms of disease in cichlids and how to treat them. This is just in the first half of the book.
   
   There is a short section on breeding, and then the last half of the book is more specifics on various types of cichlids (with pictures).
   
   This book is short but very concise. My first 6 years of amateur tanking was done without any direction besides other people's advice. This is the first and last book I ever purchased on cichlids. Unless you plan on starting a fish farm or running a fish store, this book is more than enough, and short enough to enjoy reading.



2. This book was very samll (116 pages) and was not what I had hoped for. I am a new cichlid owner and this is not the first book I bought. I already had my tank and my starter fish. I wanted some information that was not in your average "dummies book" which I had already read. What I got was some new information, but for the most part, it was just a review book.
   Also, I wanted an idea for some more fish to buy. This book has profiles of 40 cichlids, which sounds like a lot. However, when you take into account the size you want (in my case 4 or 5 inches) and the disposition of the fish (a lot of reviewed fish would not do well in a community species tank), you end up with just a small number of fish you would even want.
   In conclusion, it was an informative introductory book, but I wish I would have spent a few more dollars and gotten a more complete species guide.



3. This was good book for someone buying their first Cichlid (Like me). However I very quickly wanted to know more! The book is great for setting up the tank and gives nice reviews of some species. I think it is a good first book, I found it very helpful, but it is not for experienced cichlid breeders.

5 comments about Tropical Marine Fish Survival Manual, The.

1. I bought this book in 1996 when I was thinking of going from freshwater to saltwater. I found the information extremely helpful in making general decisions regarding stocking the tank. The rating system of 1-10 for each fish's ease of care has proven true over and over again. The fish the authors chose to describe are very common in the aquarium trade. If nothing else, it prevented me from making disastrous choices regarding tank mates. This is a beginner's book, an introduction to the world of saltwater. If I had read "Natural Reef Aquariums" by Tullock first, I probably would never have set up a tank. I would have thought that marine fishkeeping was too expensive and complicated for me, when in fact it has been very rewarding and worth the effort and the price! Maybe this should be classified with one of those "For Dummies" books because it provides an easy to read, enjoyable introduction, but you would never consider it to be your only reference. This book was lost while I was visiting my mother in the hospital and I missed it so much, I bought another. I'm glad I still have it in my library along with the other, more detailed, books. I rate it 4 stars because it's an excellent starting point.



2. This book is basicly a fish guide, and that's fine because that's what I expected from it. The problem is it only gives maybe a paragraph or 2 per group of fish, and then only a paragraph on about 4-8 of the particular species. The info about the fish is fine for the most part, I just expected a more fish info and less pictures and large fonts.

   The bottom line is, I wouldn't buy this book again and I'll keep it if for no other reason then the pictures are very nice.




3. Every book has its strength and weaknesses. To criticize this book for lack of reef information is unfair because this book was targeted towards the audience who either have not owned a fishtank before or who has freshwater experience but getting into salt water setup with fish only tank. I read the book cover to cover in a very short time and I feel that I've learned so much in just two hours which I would not have if I read a "more detailed" book. I got an excellent overall view of the marine fish keeping, the physiological differences between salt and fresh water fish, the evolution between the two, etc. The colorful brilliant photos printed on high quality paper for popular marine fishes is worth keeping the book for its price as a quick reference to show friends. My personal favorite and if not the only reason to keep this book is the picture of the "Picasso Triggerfish". Literally, that fish looks like an artist random dabs and stroke colorful paint all over the fish's body and it has the personality of a true pet who sleeps like a hog and rearrange and personalize its own shelter. Doesn't that make you want to go out and collect such an adorable fish? That is a mark of a good book to inspire a beginner to study more and to learn more so that one day you can keep one of those. If Clown Triggerfish cost over a hundred, that Picasso (Rhinecanthus Aculeatus) must cost much more! Reason for not being a 5 star is that this book could have gone into more detail into the poison of the Mandarin fish and how it may or may not be harmful to its surrounding ecology and fish. I really don't understand why the author would put such information to make a reader curious yet not satisfy their curiousity? Points OFF. Also, I think the tank setup is a bit outdated and I would recommend visiting a local marine fish store or the internet for updated filters/skimmers currently available. Can't really blame the author because the book was written about 8 years ago and wet/dry filtration would be too expensive for most beginners back then. Reason for not being a 3 is that each photo selected for this text is meticulously hand picked to represent the most beautiful of breed, not just some randomly obscure photo as in most pocket hand books for fish identification. Solid, easy to flip quality photo book to show friends.

   Excellent overview book to guide a beginner for introducing the types of marine fishes available to help them decide what kind of fish they would like to keep in their collection. Unless you already own a more comprehensive photo handbook, this book is a good place to start.




4. It gives good identification of commonly available marine fish with a lot of great photos in high quality prints. It is specially useful as an aid to choosing fish. Pretty basic on setup and disease. Overall, it is a good beginner book for stocking a fish only aquarium system.



5. The author (or his 'consultant') have several mistakes in this book - amongst the species descriptions for example, they say the Catalina Goby "will thrive in a tropical invertebrate aquarium" though "Not a true tropical animal..." WRONG. This fish will perish quickly in a tropical environ. There is a photo of Engineer/Convict Gobies identified as catfish! And the author highly recommends a Cleaner Wrasse in every system - foolish, these are obligate cleaners and should be left on the reef. They'll harass your other fish like crazy, and usually refuse regular food. The coverage of system setup, maintenance and disease are very, very lightweight, and rather outdated. If you're looking to get started in Marine Aquariums, buy a book from John Tullock or Robert Fenner. They're more expensive, but worth every penny. This one belongs on the shelves of elementary schools' libraries - well, even that's not fair to elementary students!

5 comments about The Tetra Encyclopedia of Koi.

1. This is one of the best books that I have found on Koi. Beautiful color
   photographs abound in this informative book. If you have to have only one book on Koi-this is the one. Lot of good advice on building a pond, what to do if there are problems such as illness, identifying fish pathogens and their treatment, different kinds of koi. I especially like the pictures of other people's ponds and landscaping-full of good ideas.



2. I lost half of my Koi in the space of 6 hours, because I was counting on this book, and it does not even mention the catastrophic disaster known as PH Crash. Unless you find out about that, and take preventative measures, this WILL happen to you!!

   This book fails to describe water chemistry in sufficient detail, and these days it's pretty outdated. However, it does have a fantastic photo catalogue of koi varieties, and a decent overview of health problems, pond construction, and seasonal care. If you have fish, make sure to get multiple books in case one is missing important information.




3. I have kept koi and bred them for around 5 years now. And when I pick up a koi book this always seems to be the first one I go to. As far as I'm concerned, if I had only one koi book this would be the one. If you're about to get into koi don't do it without the Tetra Encyclopedia of Koi.



4. Amazing. The only problem I had with this book is getting it out of my wife's hands. It covers EVERYTHING. Sections on Filtration, Pond design, Feeding (listing alternative foods that Koi enjoy), Anatomy (first rate), Selecting & showing your koi, a detail listing on the different patterns and scale formation and probably the best ( in my opinion) Parasites and Diseases, what they are, were they come from and how to destroy them.

   This could be and should be renamed to "The koi instruction manual". If you are a koi breeders, I highly recommend this book, after reading it, I would wager that it would be THE book to recommend to your customers. The reason being that they would have less problems and get better enjoyment out of their hobby. It truly would be hard to go wrong with this book.




5. This book is as easy to read as any grade school book and as indepth as books which I have read that cost 5 times as much. I have enjoyed reading it so much that the day after I was done reading it, I started reading it again. I own a nursery for watergardening plants, fish and supplies, and I highly recommend it.