Marine Fish Books

[The R/C Man]

Ok everyone, I am trying to get another resource page going. This time we are looking for books that you are aquainted with that have to do with marine fish. If you own the book please let us know why you like it.

I'll start.

One book that I always grab while I am at Kevin's shop is Marine Fishes by Scott W. Michael. This book is a reference guide to many different aquarium species and the part I like the most is it will list other species that are or not compatable with the fish you are looking up. This is a big help when making a decision about adding another friend to your ecosystem.

[Samper]

Just a basic beginners resource would be Robert Fenners The Consciencious Marine Aquarist. The books covers species more than individual specimens but it gives you an idea of what you're dealing with.

[charlie]

I'll second the Scott Michael book. From what I have found, his descriptions about reef compatibilty are pretty true. I also keep the marine atlas around for those people that never use the common name

[The R/C Man]

That is all I ever use.. The common name that is...

[The R/C Man]

Hi Everyone!



We need some good fish books to add to the list, so if you have read some please let us know. Also don't be shy to tell us about some that you thought weren't that great....



Ok, although not a book http://www.coralmagazine.com/ has some great articles about fish. They cover everything from biology to compatibility... Good Stuff!! Definitely a subscription worth having..

[almostdiva]

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner

Book of Coral Propagation by Anthony Calfo

Reef Inverribrates by Fenner/Calfo


Natural Reef Aquariums by John Tullock

But you have all of those listed on the books page already (along w Eric B's coral book..

Here are some you don't have though
Corals for the Mini Reef Aquarium by H. Axelrod
(Despite the title, it doesn't just cover mini-reef corals. It pretty much runs the entire gamut. A qood "quick reference" for beginners, it divides corals into families, and then lists them by light requirement and care level, so someone just starting out can see that the goniopora they covet isn't gonna make it in their tank, or that the acorpora they saw at the LFS might need more than their PC lighting)

The New Marine Aquarium Book by Mike Paletta

Any of Rudie Kuiter's books -- wrasses, tangs, seahorses

[The R/C Man]

Anyone else that may have read some books that they could give a mini review on? Don't be shy....

[Callous1]

One of my favorite books is "The Marine Aquarium Reference" by Martin A. Moe Jr.. It is a pretty in depth book about water chemistry, lighting, filtration and much more. May not be the best book for a noob?

Another of my favorites that was already mentioned is "Natural Reef Aquariums" by John Tullock. This book talks about the different reef zones (shallow inshore, deep water, etc.) and does a great job of showing how to setup a reef tank to reflect either Indo-pacific, Gulf of Mexico or Florida-Carribean Sea describing what corals, fish and inverts would be found in them.

[Green Marine]

Well since im on my first aquarium i started off with a beginers book called Salwater Aquariums for dummies by Gregory Skemel or something like that....and for me it was good because first off im not a huge reader so it stayed alot away from the big words which i appreciated lol.. and second because not only did it have great info about all sorts of pumps and lighting and what so ever, but it was also very forward by saying this pump isnt good for beginner or this fish is to high maintanence...along with costs and things like that.

[jasutton]

how about books/resources that are free on the web??? or elsewhere?
us poor students need to same when we can

[Ninong]

how about books/resources that are free on the web??? or elsewhere?
us poor students need to same when we can

This site is free and it has hundreds of articles and thousands of pictures.

Fishbase is an excellent resource for fish identification and information.

Anemone Fishes and Their Host Sea Anemones is an entire book on clownfish and their host anemones that is free online. Unfortunately the site goes up and down frequently. It was up last night but it's down right now. Just check back from time to time. I may just download the entire book the next time it's up because I'm tired of it going down so much.



P.S. -- There are literally hundreds of sites available now that provide excellent photography and information on marine topics. Just use your search engine.

[ANGRY JOHN]

i have and use the marine aquarium refrence by moe. dont know that all the infomation is all current but explains a lot of stuff that is not easily found elsewhere. i also have albert theil's reef aquarium which is also another older book with little or no pictures but also does agood job trying to explain it all. natural marie aquariums is a nice book which has good pics but is more a book putting out ideas on species tanks and area tanks, which i like but does not give a lot of background on what species come from an area. i bought it whith the idea that i could use it as kind of a map to developing an area tank but gives no spefic recomendations. mike platta's book ultimate reef aquariums is a wonderful picture book and alows a comparison of peramiters etc and does a good job of showing that there are many ways to sucess, as well as giving good examples of aquascaping. i dont know if i would buy it again but is great to borrow for a look threw. i just got finnished reading daniel knops giant clams book and i loved it. mabe because i love clams, but also i thought it flowed well was put together nicely and had lots of information which i found usefull. i got it on a good deal on ebay so i would definately buy that again. finaly i finished the new book sharks and rays, dont rember the author but it did a good job convincing me that i did not want sharks. not that i dont think there neet or anything i just admited to myself that i did not have the resorces to properly care for them.

[wozza]

one of the best sites i have found for marine fish IDing is http://www.edge-of-reef.com/inggris/laben.htm

[dobz55]

Okay friends I am an absolute novice to marine aquariums and am currently setting up well trying to any way a FOWLR tank do any of you know a good easy to read beginners book that cavers all of the basic set up,eg lights, filters,
test kits, quarantine set up etc, I really need a great deal of help but alas I be no huge reader so it really does need to be for dummies

Dobz

[leebca]

The above posts list some choices. Most are of a personal preference. I don't know what publications are available to you where you live, but I think you should be able to obtain most of the following books I've listed. I think what is best (if you have the opportunity) is to take a look at the book before you buy it. If you can understand it and you find it easy for you to read, then that is your book! Even though we can make and have made recommendations, only you will know for sure what you're comfortable with.

Some Reefland.com sponsors have an extensive offering of books. Some may ship overseas.

If I were you, I would start off with the post right here in Reefland.com. I tried to outline some of the things for a beginner to do or at least things for the beginner to think about on a step-by-step basis. That post is here:
Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

Then there are such books as:
Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies by Gregory Skomal
The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta
The Question & Answer Manual of the Marine Aquarium by Nick Dakin


Of the above:
Dummies is pretty rudimentary with some diagrams
New M Aq has a lot more diagrams and ideas for systems, including landscaping
Q & A covers the variety of pieces of equipment pretty well

Referring you to the above books doesn't mean I can or do agree with all that the author writes. I find if you look hard enough at every line, every author says something that is 'wrong' or 'unsupported' by most of the experienced aquarist community. Still, reading a book is about the best way to learn the most in the shortest amount of time. Posting question by question is not going to get the richness and diversity that a book can offer. Then, after reading and searching for key words on Reefland, you have enough knowledge and information to intelligently ask a question. Still, don't hesitate to ask any question!

Hope this helps. If you find a book you think is useful, post your 'review' here!