Customer Reviews

Aquarium Fishes of the World

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While this book does devote a small section to setup and maintenance of an aquarium, this book works best as a reference guide for species info. Hundreds and hundreds of very nice pictures are augmented with good information on each species' water and food requirements, temperament, maximum size, and miscellaneous background information. I've found a few species missing from this book, but even with over 870 species there are bound to be a few left out.
I highly recommend this for anyone looking for good, consolodated information on hundreds of fish. It's also good for those trips to the fish store when you don't trust the teenage attendant to give you accurate information about that one fish you really like.

If you have the money, and own an aquarium, buy this book. Dr. Axelrod is THE world's authority on aquriumsm, and his books show this. The book has thousands of color photos of countless fish species, and thorough descriptions of them, as well. Even if you don't own an aquarium, you should still at least look at this book for its splendid pictures.

-This is one of the best aquarium books i have seen for this price. It is well worth spending a few dollars for it. The book has everything you need to set up and maintain an aquarium as well as over 700 pages of different species of fish.

-Each page has a picture of a fish or two, then underneath the photo is information about the fish(name, size, temperature, compatibility, diet, etc...)and a couple of paragraphs explaining the fish.

-Then in the rest of the book is sections about taking care of an aquarium(tank set up, feeding, breeding different species of fish, health concerns/diseases, and a index of fish.)as well as about 100 pages on plants and how to take care of them.

-My suggestion is that if you are looking to buy a book that has information about lots of fish for a cheap price then buy this book because you are getting a lot for your money considering its over 1000 pages. But if you want a book about maintaining an aquarium then you should buy one that is focased on that more.I recomend this book over dr.axelrods mini atlas because that book is just photos and dosnt have a lot of info and isnt very helpful. but if you are willing to spend the money then i suggest encyclopedia of exotic tropical fish because it is much more indepth and is very well put togeather.So dont wait another minute and buy this book.

Dr. Axelrod's Aquarium fishes of the World is an excellent book on freshwater fish. Dr. Axelrod is one of the world's foremost experts of fish and their environments, having a species named after him. This book is a must have even if your not setting up your own aquarium. Great reading!

This book is worth the investment. It's almost impossible to cover all freshwater species, but this book does a good job in covering all that may come along. I did not find the X-Ray Tetra but I did find the Ruby Pristella. This section did refer to the Pristella maxillaris or the X-ray Tetra and how similar the two Tetras are. The plant section, while not as well organized, does present a lot of information. There are some typos. If you can forgive these, it is a worthy investment.

I thought this was a good book, but not great by any means, and certainly a lot of money for what you get. If this is the Bible of Aquarium species, there is a gap in this particular market.

The section on fish species is comprehensive in its coverage, but not in the detail on each fish, ie: behaviour, territories and compatibilities. The layout is not easy to view at a glance, and annoyingly the photos are not next to the text, although usually somewhere on the same page.

The photos are often poorly executed and in many cases just plain 'honest'. None of the clever lighting highlighting potential colours in fish, just the dull colour of each fish you'd expect with no aquarium lighting or in their infancy. Usually only one photo per species, rather than showing differences in sexes and ages. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as hobbyists may be disappointed with fish selections from other 'glossier' books.

The plant section is just plain hard to read. You have to read it end to end, rather than use it as a quick reference. There is no cross-reference with common plant names. It is not even vaguely comprehensive of this gigantum subject - just a curtesy really. Again the photos, whilst pretty, do not always show the most characteristic features of each species.

My final complaint is the spelling mistakes throughout the book. Although, they don't usually preclude understanding of the sentence.

Once again, this is a good book - definitely worth borrowing from a library, but not worth spending your hard-earned money on.

This book is very comprehensive. It covers over 870 species of fishes. The fishes are arranged in alphabetical order of their scientific names. In my opinion, this is not a very way to present the fishes. There is no organization at all. Who can memorize the scientific names? I would rather see all the tetras in one section, and all the cichlids in another. If you want a book mainly for fish identification, the mini-atlas or the full atlas may be better choices. Some of the photos are in poor quality. If you are a beginner, many other books may be more suitable.

but perhaps I was hoping for too much. A paragraph on each of a thousand fish, plus a hundred pages on plants and another hundred on tank setup/upkeep was not was I was expecting. That is what you'll get here, however.
I was looking for a little more on each fish, it's compatibility with others and some idea of it's behaviour in the tank.
Oh well.

A true classic reference book from one of the real masters in the field. Personally I find the small print a bit difficult to read but the amount of information packed into the pages is amazing. Would have been good if there were more details on aquarium set up.