Tropical Fishlopaedia : A Complete Guide to Fish Care

by Mary Bailey, Peter Burgess

The More You Know About Your Fish… …the better equipped you will be to care for them. Tropical Fishlopaedia gives advice and guidance on all aspects of fishkeeping, including choosing and buying compatible species; fish body language; nutrition; breeding; lighting, water, and decor; aquarium maintenance; identifying and treating disease; and much much more. The easy-to-use ‘What If…?’ section answers all your questions and concerns, giving in-depth information on a whole range of problems, such What if my fish swims at an odd angle? What if my fish has jumped out of the tank? What if my fish has spots? What if my fish hides? What if my fish won't eat? What if my fish clamps its fins? Whatever your question, Tropical Fishlopaedia has the answer. Author Mary Bailey has kept tropical fish for more than 25 years, and is known internationally as an expert on the cichlid family. She has written several fishkeeping books, and is the English editor of Aqua Geographia magazine. She is also contributor to, and co-editor of, the Cichlids Yearbook series. Dr Peter Burgess BSc MSc Mphil PhD, is a fish health scientist, with more than 25 years' experience as an aquarist. An author of numerous articles and scientific papers on fishkeeping, he is editor of the international journal Aquarium Sciences and Conservation. A visiting lecturer in aquarium sciences, he is also an international consultant to the aquarium fish industry.

Genres: Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I'm seriously buying this as soon as I get to the bookstore. Written with an emphasis on freshwater fish, it has invaluble information for those keeping a saltwater tank as well. It details tank set-up, chemistry, fish disease and treatments. Can't wait to get this one for my own.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great...if you are getting a fish, that is. Otherwise it's a little bit um... uninteresting.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

When my Dad suddenly decided to move to the Poconos, he had two fish tanks that needed rehoming. His tropical aquarium still had two fish living in it. I took both tanks. The tropical fish tank lasted for many years, until it sprung a leak on Christmas week. I frantically tried to transfer the fish, old gravel and stuff to a new tank, but in 24 hours, they all died. I wound up having to toss a new $150 tank and still want to vomit when I remember about the fish.

I did have this book at the time -- and it was no damn help. In fact, it was ZERO help in all of the years I had tropical fish. I was also a freelance writer at the time, occasionally getting assignments to write about tropical fish. Again, this book was ZERO help.

It's a total waste of money.

It's organized poorly. It doesn't even have an index. The print is very small. The physical book itself (I have the paperback) is so tightly put together that it hurts my hands to try and keep the book open long enough to read anything in it. The photos are pedestrian and mostly unhelpful. The silhouettes and drawings were better than the photos.

This was written for a UK audience. Normally, that doesn't bother me, since I lived in the UK for nearly five and a half years. However, it was a real problem here, since the authors nattered on about products that just were not available or applicable to American fishkeepers. For example, their advice on preparing found wood for an aquarium was useless. In America, any found wood is just too dangerous to stick in your fish tank.

This book scared me away from any other in Wiley's "lopaedia" series on pets.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the single best reference I’ve found for diagnosing and treating diseases and other problems in aquariums.