Bettas [Hardcover]

Marshall Ostrow (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: TFH Publications; Library edition edition (June 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0866227458
• ISBN-13: 978-0866227452
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #914,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant and Educational Tips on Keeping Bettas, January 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bettas (Hardcover)

This book offers a wide range of tips in many topics. Including disease prevention, breeding, feeding and endless others.

A good book for both betta keepers and non-betta keepers alike!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Older book, but still excellent betta basics with a great disease section, July 5, 2008

By 

Jill Florio "Reuse, reduce, recycle!" (Verde Valley, Arizona) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bettas (Hardcover)

This simple betta care book has been around since 1980 - but it's still the best betta book out there. It provides more basic betta facts and knowledge than the other books on the shelf and is an easy read.

This book has a very good Aquarium Conditions section. Topics include temperature, water chemistry, filtration and aeration.

Like every betta book in existence, the pictures are wonderful. Bettas are just so pretty - it's hard to NOT have good betta photos in these care books. The pictures are older, but no less thrilling.

The Feeding section is pretty good. Freeze dried, frozen and live foods are pictured. Proper diet is discussed: how to balance the right amounts of protein, fiber and minerals.

The Disease, Diagnosis and Treatment section is the best I've reviewed, discussing each malady in depth, and offering ways to combat disease without necessarily taking the "drug cocktail" approach so carelessly typical in other betta care books. And this is an OLDER book. So I am impressed, seeing as how I am a firm believer in using clean water, higher temps and salt as primary treatment methods for most betta illnesses.

The Purchasing Bettas section focuses too much what the hobbyist/breeder looks for. The typical pet owner need not worry about relative body proportions - they just want to take home a healthy and pretty fish!

The following section on Betta Colors is interesting, but again, slanted towards the intermediate-advanced hobbyist. If you are interested in knowing what Normal Green and Extended Red are, this is a good book for you. :)

Since many betta newbies eventually find themselves eager to learn to spot the different colors, pattern varieties (marble, butterfly, Cambodian) and fin types (long-fin, double tail, combtail), this is a good primer to build on.

Breeding and Fry-Rearing are next. This section offers the same information as the other books, but at least it's just condensed to a few pages.

Finally - and this is a nice feature - the Betta Room is discussed. Many pet owners bitten by the betta bug find themselves fantasizing about making their own betta room. Here is some great information for people wishing to enter the intermediate-to-advanced level of betta care.

Overall, I would recommend this book for beginners and intermediate betta pet owners: it provides lots of groundwork and a good start for those wishing to take their interest further. The book may not be as glossy and slick as the other, newer betta books out there, but the information is more comprehensive and accessible.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars pretty good!, February 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Bettas (Hardcover)

The book in my opion was pretty good and covers everything but genetics!!! This book is good if your intention is not on understanding the more complex side of how they get certain colors frm breeding bettas with certain genes!