The Aquarium Fish Handbook Paperback – 31 Dec. 2014

Lots of species of tank fish and tells you what you need to know

very pleased with the was described well and was exactly what I had been looking for. in very good condition for its age more than happy with it

I have a lot of fairly old books on tropical fish keeping but, having recently got back into the hobby, I was looking to update my collection with something a bit more recent but equally as good as the books I already possessed.I actually thought that this book was very informative in terms of the number of species featured and the information given. If you are setting up your first tropical aquarium then this book doesn't go into too much detail about the primary set-up as it doesn't spend too much time dwelling on beginner topics such as choosing a tank, finding a suitable location for it or any other queiries first-time fishkeepers might have.One the other hand, if your looking for a comprehensive guide to a HUGE variety of tropical fish (which I was!) then this is a great book to choose as the majority of the book is dedicated to the wide variety of tropical fish available. The information is detailed and clearly presented as opposed to getting lost into background pictures. It also had more detail about the various fish than some of the other books I had been considering which tended to be more general or give the bare minimum of information about the individual fish. This book also has plenty of photographs as well.Overall, even if you already have a lot of books on tropical fish, its ideal to just pick up and have a flick through.

I feel strongly about warning potential buyers after buying it and finding out that it is essentially the same book as "The Tropical Fish Handbook" by the same author, which I likewise cannot recommend. The author is a pet shop owner and fish importer and rather than being a fish lover I feel he wants to make a quick buck with this book (hope it doesn't apply to the fish he has sold over the years). I do not consider myself a novice in the aquarium hobby and like to read about fish and aquariums but there is nothing in this book that I can recommend.The first part covers setting up a tank and I cannot comment on this part as I skipped it. I noticed that all the aquarium shots are of the same community aquarium over and over again. Possibly not important in the scheme of things. However, the pictures of the fish in the species description are terrible. The look pale and washed out as if they had been pickled in formaldehyde. If this is to show more realistic depictions than glossier books it miserably fails because some fish are unrecognisable. The descriptions are boring, repetitive and sometimes worrying as in the case of the red tail shark which is recommended as being "excellent" for a community tank. Butterfly cichlids are "easy" according to the author, not an opinion shared by many. In fact all fish in this book are easy keepers. On a scale of 1-10 for easiness (10 being very easy) no fish is below 8. There are no recommendations as to size of tank. A whole lot of cichlids don't come under this header but end up under "others".The author is lazy: every fish has the same recommendations for temperature(22-26C) and like wise for pH regardless whether they are from alkaline lakes or amazonian black water streams. Albino varieties are presented as if they are different species.This book has no insights for the experienced fish keeper and potentially could cause grief for the novice and his fish who might select unsuitable fish in a community with unsuitable water parameters.

I liked the look of this books format and, having bought it, am glad that I did so.The information contained in it is quite basic but very useful with a good guide to aquarium set-up, plants and fish.Each fish is described with the use of a good photo, a small write up and an "at-a-glance' overview of its main characteristics.Well worth purchasing if you are new to aquariums and fish.

Detailed, full, interesting, thorough. Great book