Tropical Fish

A Complete Pet Owner's Manual
by Peter Stadelmann and Lee Finley

This book is another one from the Barron's series. It has all the usual instruction on aquarium setup and fishkeeping. There were a few extra features which I appreciated, and might even photocopy (mine is a library copy) for future reference. One is a page detailing aquarium plants by their growth habit, how to arrange a pleasing layout, how to best plant and propagate each type. There are several charts that help you out when you have an urgent situation- one dealing with "emergency aid for breakdowns in the aquarium"- things like sudden filter malfunctions, leaks, unexpected temperature drops, etc- what to do for each. There is another chart on how to deal with algae outbreaks (nine types detailed), and several pages' worth of descriptions and drawings to help you diagnose and treat common diseases. I was surprise how often emergency measures entailed cessation of feeding the fish for several days; I suppose so that their waste doesn't compound the problem but it is something I would not have thought of. The photos are okay, some really good and others just average, but there are certainly a lot of them! Not all the fish are identified in the pictures, which annoyed me. On the other hand, a drawing of three types of snails easily told me which kind I have crawling around in my fishtank right now (he must have hitched a ride on a plant, a common introduction).

Rating: 3/5   95 pages, 1990