would this book be a good purchase since i am a beginner

[kirtis]

would this be a good book


Dr. Burgess's Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes

 

[kipreefer]

It isnt to bad i would recomend the "Natural Reef aquariums" by John H. Tullock and Marine Fish by Scott W. Michael..

Good you rlooking for books. Honestly i cant defend you forever as i did a few nights ago, just absorb as much as you can and be patient just trust the people here.

 

[kirtis]

ok i will look into boht , does both have picture, i am wanting something that is nice to look at to , and not only show pics of fish , like does burgess book have pics of starfihs, and eels, and etc......

 

[esmithiii]

I, too, would reccomend "Natural Reef aquariums" by John H. Tullock. It has pictures but you will actually want to read it too.

E

 

[kirtis]

ok thanks where can i find natural reef aquariums

 

[Anonymous]

There have got to be better books out there than the Atlas. I don't think there is enough info given.

Finally a guy that admits he wants it for the pics!

 

[kirtis]

is natural reef aquariums just about reefs, cause i dont' have a reef tank ,just a fish tank , do you still recommend it more than the burgess

 

[kirtis]

well i am looking for into to tangirl, i just have to have pics along the way to keep me reading

 

[kirtis]

my bad, i am looking for info , with pictures of fish though , I DONT" HAVE A REEF

 

[kipreefer]

I would ask at lfs, if they cant get try a online fish store like marinedepot or soemthing. The marine fishes has alot of basic care for the more popular fish. The reef aquariums tells you tons about taking care of reef aquariums. Also you cant learn much from pictures all pictures are good for is to identify other then that they suck. They both have good pics though. Its just the AMrine fish one you are refering to is expensive fo the info in it.

 

[Daniel Licari]

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist : A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists
by Robert Fenner
is a good book

 

[Anonymous]

I would second The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner. Has a lot more in it about fish than the Tullock book since you have a fish only. Also I like the Marine Aquarium Problem Solver by Nick Dakin for beginners as well. Really good set up and fish information.

Glenn

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I have that burgess book and it just lots and lots of pictures of fish you may or may not find. No text to speak of. For fish the best is anything by scott michaels- he has a small pocket guide with all the families and the first volume of a big set that is really nice- Reef Fishes I think. The Fenner book is good for fishes too.

I buy my books mostly from Premium Aquatics.

 

[Katspaw]

I will second or third that.Robert fenner's book is a great beginners book, it will explain the different types of filtration and it has pictures of fishes including eels. It has a nice snowflake eel in there as well. It will tell you the water quality, there habitats, the reproduction, feeding and the diseases that the fish are prone to. Anytime I am going to get a new fish for my tank, I read whay Fenner has to say about it Before I buy the fish.

Tracey

 

[Dargason]

I have Marine Fishes a pocket guide by Scott Michael. It may be what you are looking for. I know there is a larger version too, that is probably similar with more fish.

The book has a picture of each type of fish (more than 500 species) how big they get, minimum tank size, what they eat, how hard they are to keep, whether they are reef compatible, and some notes about behavior (aggressive, schooling, etc). It's a great reference!

It does have eels and sharks in it, but no stars, shrimps, snails, etc.

 

[tazdevil]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

Also I like the Marine Aquarium Problem Solver by Nick Dakin for beginners as well.

I have one problem with his book (so far). He rcommends using a screwdriver to grind aiptasia anenomes to dust, and in a previous thread about dealing w/aiptasia, I was flamed hard about suggesting to do this. After I was finished getting flamed, the reasons behind those disagreeing with me did make sense.

 

[pupeluv]

I found The Conscientious Marine Aquarist to be an excellent beginner's book. This coming from someone who is a mid-to-upper level beginner.

It is a pleasure to read and gives great explanations on necessary chemistry. It's got an overview of species, but not anything you would use to actually choose an animal. It does have nice pictures. It's mostly for explaining the general requirements of a marine tank and how to get started. I enjoyed it immensely and found it to be well worth the money.

 

[butt.doc]

I picked up "Natural Reef aquariums" at Borders for about $30. It is obviously geared toward reefs, but there is a great deal of information which would be helpful in setting up a fish-only, or FOWLR tank. There are some great pictures too, but it does not go into much detail about individual fish species. A separate atlas for this purpose might be a worthwhile investment down the road.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Rover:
<strong>....Also I like the Marine Aquarium Problem Solver by Nick Dakin for beginners as well. Really good set up and fish information......

Glenn</strong><hr></blockquote>
I got to disagree with you here. Dakin's book start with a picture of 6 emaciated yellow tangs on the cover. One or two with fin dammaged, which is what happen if you put them together. It just goes down hill from there. He gives ridiculous advises and wrong information on fish size ect... I did not buy the book after I scan though it so I can't be very specific here. On thing that stick to my mind is the advice he gave regarding Pacific Blue tang. He also stated that they only get to about 6 inches. There were other bad and wrong information in that book also. Maybe someone who has the book can correct me here.
For fish information, Reef Fishes volume 1 and Marine Fishes a pocket guide by Scott Michael are the very best. I am waiting to buy Volume 2 as soon as it comes out.

 

[Anonymous]

I realize that there is a little "bad" information in it. However, I do like the format of the book. It doesn't go into to much overwhelming detail like the Fenner and Tullock books do. The information is in smaller chunks and is more easily digetsible I think. Obviously it wouldn't do as the only book, but I think it's good to whet the appetite a little and get newbies accustomed to reading about the hobby. Fenner can be a little condescending at times and the Tullock book is almost too specific. Of all the true beginner's books I like Dakin's book. FWIW... The Scott Michaels Reef Fishes book isn't really a good choice for a beginner either. It is part of a set and Vol 1 covers most of the more primitive fish. And, unfortunately not many that a beginner would be into. The Pocket Book is nothing but pictures so not a lot of how to set up information there either. I've never read the Paletta book so I'm not sure what the scope of that one is.

This is a unique hobby in that there is so much neccessary reading to do. Not many other hobby are like that and many people don't realize it about this hobby until they are already in over there heads. I think for some people to give them a 300 page book to work on right at the get go is asking too much.