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Tropical Fish
Tropical Fish
- GenresReference
93 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 27, 2008
To look around my room, you’d see one wall almost entirely occluded with books that I’ve collected over the course of my life. It dawned on me, as I just finished reviewing and posting about the latest book I’ve read, that I’ve already read a great many books that I would otherwise never have the opportunity to discuss. It’d be ashame to let my existing collection of books collect dust, never to be read or appreciated again, so I decided to occasionally reread an old book and introduce it to my digital collection of reviews.
With that, I selected a very short book, but one that had a profound influence over me for the years to come. When I was 10, I wanted a pet. Truth be told, I wanted a dog and I can’t remember why I didn’t have one at that age, but given decades to reflect, I suspect that my mom didn’t believe I was old enough to be responsible for another living being or to learn the lessons of life that only a dog can teach you and share with you. In her typical wisdom, she was right. It would be another year before it’d be appropriate for me to be introduced to sharing my home and my heart with a creature as incredible as a dog. I also suspect that my mom was still grieving the loss of the dogs she had as a child. Having lost two dogs now myself and understanding the enduring grief of losing such a vital loved one, I can sympathize with my mom, if that was, in fact, a reason.
That said, I took a shine towards keeping fish, so my mom started buying me book after book about the hobby. Remembering I was a young child, appropriate books would have to be brief but imagination-catching, and this book by legendary ichthyologist, Dr. Herbert Axelrod was my introduction to the hobby.
What a vivid introduction it was! Weighing in at only 93 pages and written for 9-12 year olds, it was right up my alley. My mom would have bought this book for me sometime around early 1981, so you can well imagine that a quick re-read of this book is a trip down memory lane in more ways than one. While it reminds me of a really simple, happy area of my childhood, it also provides for a few short laughs as just about all of the information about aquarium equipment is very dated!
The book starts with a few pages on the very basics of the equipment you’ll need and considerations you’ll want to make as you plan your first aquarium. If you want to find almost any of the gear that Dr. Axelrod suggests, you’ll want to find an historian, though... those devices will be around three decades old. The book continues on to describe a couple aquatic plants and then comes the brief introduction to some of the most popular fishes of the day.
Maybe the funniest part of this section is it’s focus on breeding the fishes he describes! I wonder if our hyper-sensitive culture today would tolerate references to reproduction aimed at such an age group? I doubt the topic caused too many 9 to 12 year olds to suffer through therapy as a result of this book though, so I guess it all worked out for us, back before you could air a TV program filled with wall-to-wall violence, but if there’s so much as a single reference to sex, parents (today) freak out!
This micronic-portioned fish encyclopedia does a yeoman’s job of breaking fish down into their commonly agreed classes and families though, and as such, it offers a few good lessons in biology and science.
What really sparks the imagination of any kid who read (past tense... the newest printing of this book happened in 1995) this book, however, are the vivid and brilliant color photos of some of the more popular and attractive tropical fish. The photo of the Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta) alone inspired me to eventually become a kiddie-expert on the species.
The reason this book has such a fond spot in my heart though, truly is because it is the very reason I developed a lifelong interest in the hobby of fish keeping. That fondness made it easy for me to blow through this book today in just around an hour, if that. The pages are slightly yellowed, some of them have even fallen free of the book’s binding, but as it has so many countless times in the past, it made me smile.
For the zealous, eager readings of this book as a child and the warmth I still feel as a I peruse an old favorite
With that, I selected a very short book, but one that had a profound influence over me for the years to come. When I was 10, I wanted a pet. Truth be told, I wanted a dog and I can’t remember why I didn’t have one at that age, but given decades to reflect, I suspect that my mom didn’t believe I was old enough to be responsible for another living being or to learn the lessons of life that only a dog can teach you and share with you. In her typical wisdom, she was right. It would be another year before it’d be appropriate for me to be introduced to sharing my home and my heart with a creature as incredible as a dog. I also suspect that my mom was still grieving the loss of the dogs she had as a child. Having lost two dogs now myself and understanding the enduring grief of losing such a vital loved one, I can sympathize with my mom, if that was, in fact, a reason.
That said, I took a shine towards keeping fish, so my mom started buying me book after book about the hobby. Remembering I was a young child, appropriate books would have to be brief but imagination-catching, and this book by legendary ichthyologist, Dr. Herbert Axelrod was my introduction to the hobby.
What a vivid introduction it was! Weighing in at only 93 pages and written for 9-12 year olds, it was right up my alley. My mom would have bought this book for me sometime around early 1981, so you can well imagine that a quick re-read of this book is a trip down memory lane in more ways than one. While it reminds me of a really simple, happy area of my childhood, it also provides for a few short laughs as just about all of the information about aquarium equipment is very dated!
The book starts with a few pages on the very basics of the equipment you’ll need and considerations you’ll want to make as you plan your first aquarium. If you want to find almost any of the gear that Dr. Axelrod suggests, you’ll want to find an historian, though... those devices will be around three decades old. The book continues on to describe a couple aquatic plants and then comes the brief introduction to some of the most popular fishes of the day.
Maybe the funniest part of this section is it’s focus on breeding the fishes he describes! I wonder if our hyper-sensitive culture today would tolerate references to reproduction aimed at such an age group? I doubt the topic caused too many 9 to 12 year olds to suffer through therapy as a result of this book though, so I guess it all worked out for us, back before you could air a TV program filled with wall-to-wall violence, but if there’s so much as a single reference to sex, parents (today) freak out!
This micronic-portioned fish encyclopedia does a yeoman’s job of breaking fish down into their commonly agreed classes and families though, and as such, it offers a few good lessons in biology and science.
What really sparks the imagination of any kid who read (past tense... the newest printing of this book happened in 1995) this book, however, are the vivid and brilliant color photos of some of the more popular and attractive tropical fish. The photo of the Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta) alone inspired me to eventually become a kiddie-expert on the species.
The reason this book has such a fond spot in my heart though, truly is because it is the very reason I developed a lifelong interest in the hobby of fish keeping. That fondness made it easy for me to blow through this book today in just around an hour, if that. The pages are slightly yellowed, some of them have even fallen free of the book’s binding, but as it has so many countless times in the past, it made me smile.
For the zealous, eager readings of this book as a child and the warmth I still feel as a I peruse an old favorite
August 20, 2011
Excellent book discussing aquariums and the types of fish to stock them with.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews