Can anyone recommend a good book?

Morning all,

Can anyone recommend a reputable, comprehensive, complete, all-there-is-to-know, book about tropical aquariums?

 

There are some various books on the market, most are oversea books. Usually they split on plants and fish, never saw one containing both. Cheapest - google or otherwise experts' advice right here on TASA.

 

Unless you're looking for something absolutely specific, I think you should use the forums and google. I also love having books, but all the information in books is not all current. So technically, the forums offer you more current information on equipment and such.

 

Best general book I've seen so far is "Back to nature: Aquarium guide" But don't think it is in print anymore, so I'm not of much help am I?

 

The best general fresh water aquarium book that is a must read in my opinion is "fish health" the interpet manual by chris andrew and co ,you will always use it.just my opinion tho,its my go to book.

 

@Papabear http://backtonature.nu/ this one?

@Sean J I find I pay a far greater attention to books, internet we are so distracted that we skim over for the answer we are looking for and either don't read or forget the (potentially crucial) rest... I am a researcher at heart, I will always be compelled to supplement the one with the other and then there's the book smell, even when all the information has been made redundant by advancing technologies, brewing a pot of coffee, pulling up on your favourite sofa and just smelling the book while reminiscing over its outdated yellowing pages makes any expense pay for it's self a hundred times over

@wsteene guess I'm looking for 2 books then

 

Yes, those books. The aquarium guide is a general book (not HIGH detail, but a good broad spectrum book with plenty of fish and plant profiles).

They then as you can see have books with more detail relating to discus, catfish, etc....

hth

 

I agree. Prof. Dirk put me onto it and I must say, it is definitely worth it. Although Prof think I am just reading the pictures! hehe

Here is a link. I bought mine through Kalahari.net.

Amazon.com: Manual of Fish Health. Chris Andrews, Adrian Exell, Neville Carrington (Interpet Manual) (9781842862339): Chris Andrews: Books

 

@PappaBear it's on my to read list thanks

@firemanmuzz and @TomK thanks, will definitely ask local exclusives to put feelers out for this one!

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

'A Practical Guide to Keeping Freshwater Aquarium Fishes' by John A. Dawes. Very good book if it's available

 

Hi Miccimarie,

I want to reiterate the book called the Manual of Fish Health as mentioned above. This gives you a comprehensive overview of how an aquatic system should work and how your filtration in your tank should work in order to keep your fish healthy. It also gives you a good guide to fish diseases which is the first thing that you will be confronted with, not because you will make mistakes, but because most diseases are distributed by the local fish shops. All of the other things, which fishes to keep and species details can be obtained from forums and the internet, but you need a good basic bible and this is what I would recommend in preference to anything else, I know you like your book Pappabear, but have you seen this manual because it really teaches you about how nature does it, and nature should be our biggest teacher in fishkeeping!

I hope that you will make a success of your fishkeeping efforts as a result.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

I have both books mentions above by andries and dirk. Both exelcellent purchases.

 

I hound this book also very good, Setting UP a Tropical Aquarium Week-By-Week - Stuart Thraves. Gives you the understanding of how to cycle a tank, lighting, plants and the best fish to start of with and what to avoid, maintenance and only a bit on diseases.

 

GOOGLE Everything you need to know when you need to know... And if you want it in book for get an iPad

 

No RFSwanepoel,

Categorically not! There are no checks on what people write on the internet and it contains some good things but it also contains the biggest lot of rubbish, I can assure you, and how can you distinguish between something that is correct or wrong. So I might sound conservative and old, but I still firmly say that you need a good book written by someone with authority and not what someone has just thought about and written on the internet without qualifications or background.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

If you know how it works you always get what you need. Trick is to go through like 20 pages and take what is similar in all of them as your answer
What do you think happens in a book ? Some person writes it just like on google some person writes that 2, only difference is that on Google it's free and it doesn't cost you a book shelf full of dust collectors. and also without that bookshelf you can add another Aquarium to the house as there will be space for it coz your iPad can fit in your bedside pedestal, you also can't watch movies on a book or go on Facebook never mind the fact that a book can't send an Email or visit TASA.
Another really cool thing is that you can in fact put a book on an iPad direct from Amazon in a couple of minutes no need to go to like 50 stores to find it or wait like 3 weeks to receive it. Pros and cons...

 

Yes, but I repeat, if you are in a rush and you only read one of those pieces of advice and it is wrong and then all your fishes die, then what? How do you know if you have gone through the 20 pages what is right and what is wrong? I have seen 20 wrong things one after the other on the internet.

I still maintain that you buy a decent book, you can buy your electronic version, that is fine, but don't blame me if you iPad falls into your aquarium just as your cell phone may fall into the aquarium (how many of you have done this? I know of a few.....).

Only pros in buying a decent book, not cons, I still have excellent aquarium books that are 50 years old and do not contain some of the rubbish that is on the internet.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

lol I'm just kidding man a book has to go through a whole bunch of Approval before it gets published Books are better by far.

But I'm sure you can find that book on google LOL

 

2 books that I can highly recommend are :

Encyclopedia of the Freshwater Aquarium - John Dawes
DK Encyclopedia of Aquarium & Pond Fish - David Alderton

They both cover plants, some ailments, filtration, lighting, species and their requirements and more.....

HTH

 

Google is your absolute LAAAAAST resort.

When I was in school and college, if any of out papers referenced google as our research aid, it was an immediete fail.

Googling for research purposes should be avoided. Googling for specific companies, or black and white answers is ok.