Customer Reviews

Book of Coral Propagation, Volume 1, Version 1.0: Reef Gardening for Aquarists

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anthony Calfo is, in my opinion the guru of coral propagation and mariculture. His very informative and fun to read book is filled with all you need to know about starting to cut and grow thriving corals. I have set up my Mariculture business using only Anthony's advice found in this book and I am having great success. If you follow Anthony's advice, you will save thousands of dollars in setup and many hours of tinkering around trying to figure out how to do certain things. If you are doing mariculture as a business, this book is too good for your competition to have. I want to keep it a secret but there are hundreds of fantastic ideas and advice that you cannot help sharing with your friends. My fellow Coral Farmers think I am a vault of knowledge and an expert in the field - I just hope they never meet Anthony, I only know what his excellent book has taught me. I cannot wait for part 2 (soon to be released) ...and the best part is that Anthony is available via e-mail for advice or clarification of any issues you may not understand. Buy it now!

Anthony Calfo's "Book of Coral Propagation" was a pleasant read. It is a nearly all text book, but the author's easy-going, sometimes eccentric, writing style makes even difficult topics simple to understand. It is focused on the profitable, commercial propagation of coral, but there is a healthy amount of information for the casual owner of a coral reef display tank. The book covers topics on captive reef care from planning, equipment, and hardware to water quality issues, supplements, and feeding to shipping methods and recieving protocols to propagation techniques. But, the most important part of the book is the coral family overviews. The author covers the proper care of all of the coral species seen for sale in the trade. There are many other books that do the same thing, but where this book is different is in the discussions about profitability of species. This is the first book that I have read that discusses expected growth rates and ease of propagation. This is invaluable information for anyone serious about coral propagation. If you want to grow and propagate corals for display and trade with fellow aquarists, or to sell on a small-scale to local retail stores, orto make the jump to full-time, for-profit coral gardening, you must have this book.

The "Book of Coral Propagation" is now my favorite book in my 40-some reef/marine aquarium book collection. If you are looking for a first-rate book on coral propagation and husbandry that is in-depth, up-to-date, and full of ground-breaking information, then look no further. Don't assume this book is just about propagation for the commercial sector or hardcore reef aquarists. It provides a holistic view on the husbandry of corals too, that even beginners can appreciate. In order to propagate corals, you need to understand how they thrive and grow, and this book will be your ultimate guide. So even if you don't plan on propagating corals, this book will still provide more information on husbandry than any other book out there. The coral family overviews themselves are worth buying this book. This book is thick, and it's not full of filler. Unlike most books in the hobby (and industry for that matter), this book actually contains valuable knowledge - and lots of it - derived from years of bona fide research, practice, and experience! There are many coral books out in the marketplace, and a few coral husbandry books, but all fall short of providing practical and useful information that aquarists can really use. Most of these so called coral books are reiterations of biology books or make good coffee table books (pretty pictures). This book is radically different! It is so refreshing to read a book that is actually useful. Looking at a picture book full of pretty corals is not going to help you grow and care for corals in your aquarium. Not only is this book useful, it is very easy to read. It's amazing how a book with so much knowledge and detail can be so painless to read and comprehensive at the same time. I would highly recommend all reef aquarists add this book to their current book collection. No matter how many books you have, you will find this book most useful and full of innovativation, insight, and revolutionary knowledge based on real-life experiences of the author. And if you don't have any coral books yet, then look no further, save your money, and buy this book first!

I know I am not the only person who sees a nice corals and wants it. Either the person selling it tried to assure me 'oh it'll do fine in your tank' OR they try and sell 100s in equiptment I don't need. Before making a coral purchase I consult this book, will it -really- do well in my tank? Sometimes the answer is no, sometimes yes, BUT since consulting this book I've never had a coral witheraway and die. From reading the articles on the various types of corals, I have better possitioned my tank, and ended up with happy corals growing and spreading in my tank. The money for this book has saved me time and and again from throwing away money on the wrong coral or the wrong equiptment It has also saved me time in doing things right the first time.

This book is very readable and not dry at all. Its actually a good read which is rare in a truly useful book. The style and organization of this book make it a book that is never on my book shelf, it's most often on my nightstand becasue it always seems to have another gem of wisdom to impart.

If you are interested in reproducing your corals, THIS is the book you should buy! Intended for commercial coral propagation, this book is also +excellent+ for the private, home based reefer as well.
It discusses not only coral propagation, but also coral needs, do and don'ts, also other important aspects like water quality and ways to optimize it with simple but very effective tips...in a nutshell: no matter if you are a newbie or advanced reefer, commercial or private, this book should be in your reef aquarium reference library!

Remember all of those mundane questions on the reef forums?

431 Pages packed with the answers and advice that we all seek. From newby grommets to advanced marine aquarists, Anthony Calfo has suceeded in putting his knowledge into the words that are understandable to all of us. And, that's without glossy photographs!

I couldn't put the book down and read it cover to cover.

Get this book and read it ...

This book is a must have for anyone who has or is thinking reef keeping. Excellent details on all aspects starting from set up to specific detail on most species (soft and hard corals) to include light, food, reproduction, and current requirements. I have read the book four times and use it as a referance over and over again. The author provides assistance and updates to the book via email. Can't wait for book two which is scheduled for publication 04/2003.

I can't say enough good things about this book,as it is very readable with a huge amount of good information, either for someone with a little experience in the reef hobby,or for those who might not remember ever being without an aquarium. Keeping in mind that this work is aimed at captive propagation of ornamental corals, a hobbyist who wishes to have only a display tank for the livingroom may pass by this book by, assuming that the information within is only for the professionals, but that reasoning would surely only serve to diminish said hobbyist's understanding, and thereby diminish appreciation for their project.I would recomend that a person just learning about the reef hobby would obtain just one of the highly rated I.D. style books (for the pictures and the identification aspect) and this book, which will impart an understanding of why these animals do what they do in aquariums. The only complaint I can conjure up is that the paperback format will force me to purchase another copy when this one begins to fall apart because of overuse. In short, if you are curious enough about the reef hobby to read book reviews of such,then get a copy, as this one should become a classic among reef hobbyists, surpassing currently available literature. It contains a great amount of good, useful information and no useless, confusing "Cosmik Debris"!

This book along with Natural Reef Aquariums by John H. Tullock are by far the best I have read. I have bought many. To my amazement The Book of Coral Propagtion kept me up most of the night and thru the weekened. This is technical reading made easy. The result was I ordered differant equipment for my 125 reef set up and will approach it in many new ways.

Calfo goes into minute detail with humor. As expected he hit the nail on the head with this one, again.