The Captive Reef: A Concise Guide to Reef Aquaria in the Home [Hardcover]

Dana Riddle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1996 | ISBN-10: 0964014726 | ISBN-13: 978-0964014725

The Captive Reef is a practical handbook for beginners and advanced hobbyists. A review by Bob Goemans "The Captive Reef, A Concise Guide To Reef Aquaria In The Home," is presented in 34 chapters followed by an Appendix dedicated to the testing of various aquaria lights. Without attempting to name each chapter, I think it may suffice to say that the book is also divided into three main parts. Part One is devoted to "The Natural Environment." It encompasses the work explained in chapters 1 - 4, i.e., the natural habitat, anatomy of corals, and, photosynthesis and zooxanthellae. Part Two is entitled "The Artificial Reef." It comprises the work discussed in chapters 5 - 9. These chapters relate to functions surrounding the maintaining of an aquarium, i.e., chemistry, algae, filtration, lighting, and water movement. Part Three "Corals," takes up the remaining 25 chapters and fills almost 130 pages. It describes both stony and soft corals, along with their feeding, diseases, predators, parasites, aggression, and reproduction. In these chapters, the Author notes how to pronounce their scientific name, where the specimen lives in nature, and their water flow, feeding, lighting and other related requirements. This alone makes the price of the book worth it! The center of the book contains twenty-two color photographs and there are numerous sketches and charts throughout the book. I did notice some editing errors, e.g., Table of Contents shows Chapter 4 being in Part One. Yet, inside the book, Chapter 4 is incorrectly located as the beginning of Part Two. Putting aside these minor items, "The Captive Reef" belongs in every hobbyists library. It is that good!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 297 pages
• Publisher: Energy Savers Unlimited (February 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964014726
• ISBN-13: 978-0964014725
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,568,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative, but dry., March 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Captive Reef: A Concise Guide to Reef Aquaria in the Home (Hardcover)

Coral reefs are mineral deposits laid down by microscopic animals that reside in them, in symbiosis with algae. Many people simply place dead collar reefs in their fish tanks, as a decorative rock. However, it is possible to keep the coral alive and growing in captivity. This book gives a brief description of a real coral reef in the ocean, and has an extensive explanation of how to keep coral alive in an aquarium. The book jumps immediately into discussing technical nuances, and never gives a simple overview of what is involved in raising coral. It has a few nice color photographs.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for lighting and current requirements of corals, June 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Captive Reef: A Concise Guide to Reef Aquaria in the Home (Hardcover)

I have been keeping a reef aquarium for a year now and used Dana's book to choose the animals I am keeping. It is an invaluable resource I refer too often. It provides the necessary information on the requirements to keep many different species of corals at home. I would whole hartedly recommend this book to anyone thinking about setting up a reef aquarium.