Customer Reviews

Aqualog: African Cichlids II, Tanganyika I Tropheus

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The endemic and ever-popular Tropheus species from Lake Tanganyika are the subject of this 190 page recently published book. It is very well laid out with a section at the front outlining the natural history and aquarium care of these fishes. This section will be extremely helpful for novice Tropheus keepers as well as those more experienced, right through to commercial breeders. There is something interesting and educational for everyone in this "must read" section.

The majority of the book is taken up by the discussion and depiction of all known Tropheus species (6) and varieties (120+). These are broken up into 13 distinct lineages by the author, but the number of species may be more - possibly 14-16. We'll just have to wait for a taxonomist to devote a lot of time to this group before the final number is decided. Of course, there are new discoveries all the time too. There is even a section in this book that includes all the latest collecting locales and colour variants that were too new to include in the main body of this work. With all the photos and drawings of fishes, this book will be an invaluable source for those wanting to ID and check the validity of their pure strains.

Each of the varieties is depicted, by either a full-colour photograph or a very exacting colour drawing. The descriptive text for each of these varieties is broken down to the following paragraph headers: Distribution - Discovered - First Importation - Colouration - Remarks.

Of course, this being an Aqualog book, there is a large section at the back of the book where colour updates of all new discoveries for the fishes in this genus can be included so that you always have the most up to date photo catalogue of these enigmatic and attractive Rift-Lake cichlids.

Also, as an added bonus, there is 31.5" x 22.5" poster depicting the lake and the locales of all the populations and colour varieties mentioned in the book.

All of the Aqualog books are excellent value, although they are not particularly cheap. They are full to the brim with first class colour photographs and to reproduce these in a book is an expensive process. Whether they are about African Cichlids or some other species of fish they are the most comprehensive identification books you can buy. They never become dated because as new fish become available to the aquarist trade the books are updated. There is not a lot of literature on African cichlids so this book is invaluable.

They do not deal with the basics of fish keeping, there are many and varied books that do that. They are in the main a fish identification encyclopaedia and nothing more. But for those aquarists who are particularly interested in a single species they are indispensable.

This book is simply a must have for the Tropheus enthusiast. Its up to date, has the latest names/designations and some of the latest Tropheus discoveries. It will be a great investment for the Tropheus enthusiast or anyone considering keeping Tropheus in the future, highly recommended.

This book is a great presentation on almost all the Tropheus available from the Tanganikan Lake. Free Poster!