Books on Animals

Fish: Tropical fish

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See also:
Coldwater fish
Marine fish
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Mini Encyclopedia of the Tropical Aquarium

Gina Sandford
Interpet Publishing (24 Jan 2005
)ISBN-10: 1842861018
ISBN-13: 978-1842861011 

This handbook is a very useful guide to tropical fish for novices. It gives you essential information, like how to set up an aquarium, select fish, and prevent and treat ailments. Specialists will want more, for example on breeding, or some of the more exotic tropicals, but this is an excellent basic guide. It is well set out and easy to follow, with illustrations to make the text clearer. There are also some gorgeous pictures of fish. It's also a handy size, so you can easily take it with you when you are choosing fish. 

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The Bumper Book of Tropical Aquarium Fishes

Dick Mills (Editor), David Sands (Editor), Peter W. Scott (Editor)
Interpet Publishing; 2nd Revised edition (Oct 2002)
ISBN-10: 1842860747
ISBN-13: 978-1842860748

This is a very helpful guide to setting up a community aquariums. It is easy to follow, sets out information in bite-sized chunks. It covers the basics very well, like tank selection, equipment for lighting and heating, filtration, water quality, water plants  and preventing and tackling health problems. There is also help on choosing fish. There's information on a wide range of  species, including their requirements, and their compatibility with other fish species. Specialists in particular types of fish such as cichlids, will want a more in-depth book, as will enthusiasts who want to breed fish on a large scale, but this is an extremely helpful book for people who are starting out with tropical fish, and just want a community tank. 

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Aquarium Manual: The Complete Step-by-step Guide to Keeping Fish [Hardcover]

Jeremy Gay
J H Haynes & Co Ltd (1 Oct 2009)
ISBN-10: 1844256405
ISBN-13: 978-1844256402 

Jeremy Gay's book is one of the better guides to setting up an aquarium, whether you are new to fish keeping, or want to upgrade your current set-up. There are more detailed guides to choosing fish, and people who want to specialise in marine fish really need a more specialised guide. The strength of this book is in providing information on the general principles you need to bear in mind to keep fish healthy, whether cold water, tropical or marine. There are chapters on setting up the tank, there's a lot on filtration and water quality, as well as a fair bit on fish health. Jeremy Gay has a lot of experience in this field. He is deputy editor of Practical Fishkeeping magazine, and has researched fishkeeping both in the UK and abroad. His adventures include trips to study fish in the wild, in exotic places such as the Amazon.

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What Fish?: A Buyer's Guide to Tropical Fish

Written by a team
Interpet Publishing (Oct 2006)
ISBN-10: 1842861190
ISBN-13: 978-1842861196

This is probably the best book around for choosing tropical fish, and has enough information to be useful for experienced fish keepers as well as novices. It is very easy to be swayed by the attractions of fish in shop aquarium tanks, only to find that they create problems once you release them in your home tank. Catfish can chomp the tails of resting guppies. Other fish can be such bullies that they terrify companions into an early watery grave. This guide can save you many unpleasant surprises. It is also helpful if you want to breed fish, giving more information than most guides to tropical fish, for example on which fish are easier to breed, and how to go about encouraging fish to produce offspring. This book is very easy to follow, nicely illustrated, and it is also a good read, with amusing anecdotes.

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Setting up a Tropical Aquarium Week-By-Week

Stuart Thraves,
Interpet Publishing; 2nd Edition (28 Feb 2010)
ISBN-10: 1842862235
ISBN-13: 978-1842862230

This book is one of the best around for help with setting up an aquarium. There is a lot of emphasis on patience, and the need to prepare the tank well, rather than rushing out immediately after filling it, to buy fish. The most useful part of the book is the easy to follow step-by-step illustrated guide, taking the reader through the different stages of creating a healthy home for tropical fish, week by week. The author, Stuart Thraves, has worked with fish all his life, studying both fish in the wild, and developing expertise in the equipment needed to keep tropical fish healthy in captivity.  

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