The Complete Book of the Marine Aquarium [Hardcover]

Vincent Hargreaves (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Thunder Bay Press (June 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571457623
• ISBN-13: 978-1571457622
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #215,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets > Fish & Aquariums

More About the Author

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for the marine aquarium hobbyist, December 7, 2003

By 

Currahee (South Mississippi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Book of the Marine Aquarium (Hardcover)

I have positively oodles of books on fish behavior, diversity and ecology. When I brought this book home the wife asked "why do you need another fish book?" I will tell you like I told her.

This is the best book I have seen on the fishes commonly found in the aquarium industry. The fishes are arranged according to systematic (evolutionary) relationships, so it is in a format that is familiar to me, and more useful to people that are not already familiar with fish groups. Organization, however, is a minor part of a book. But the information in this book is also top notch. There is important information on hundreds of species referencing, feeding, care, availability and compatibility that is important when considering an addition to your salt water aquarium. There are also excellent sections on general aquarium keeping and reef inverts. This makes this a must have for any hobbyist. Lastly this is also a VERY attractive book, it now gets to be in the living room (near the aquarium where it should be) instead of in my library.

I didn't use those exact words with the wife, but you get the picture. If you're looking for a book on salt water aquarium fishes this is a great choice. Hopefully amazon will begin carrying it soon.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Place To Go Fishing, May 10, 2007

By 

Kevin S. Stailey "ledzep_i" (Atlanta, Ga.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Book of the Marine Aquarium (Hardcover)

I have been in the aquariast hobby for quite a few years. Though I haven't had a tank set-up for almost 10 years since retiring from the US Navy and moving from Va. to Ga. I decided for the sake of the fish in my 150 gal tank it was best left behind in the care of my neighbor and best friend JD. I am now in the research and planning stages of setting up a 250 gal. reef tank. Since so much has happened in the last 10 years I felt it was wise to get some reading material for varied opinions and fact gathering. I now have 5 reference volumes to refer to. This book by Vince is not only a beautiful book with outstanding pictures but is my favorite. Crammed with every possible aspect of this hobby. From beginner to advanced the info is superb. In fact a Newbie could take this book as a stand alone reference from your very first Marine Fish only tank to an explosively beautiful Reef with Fish, Inverts, and Corals. It gives info on all the types of filtration from the Jaubert System,(My Favorite), to the extreme hi-tech route..Plan on spending major bucks if you go the hi-tech route. in my opinion the Jaubert System is as close to natural as you can get and the results I have seen from those using it match if not excel over much more expensive set-ups, but hey, back to the book. Every possible life form is fully described in easy to understand detail, inhabitant compatibility, location of origin, feeding, disease care, all of it. The way it is organized makes it superior for that "gotta have info right now" scenario when one of your prized specimens needs immediate attention. Though the diseases coverage is brief it is concise and easy to follow. This book is now among 2 that sit out on my coffee table. It gets read or at least browsed through alot by my visiting friends. Kids love the pictures. I highly recommend it for anyone from beginner to advanced. You can find higher priced books but non better. It's great buy at twice the price.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, September 7, 2008

By 

Gabriel Torres (Reno, NV, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Book of the Marine Aquarium (Hardcover)

This is a terrific book about saltwater aquariums. Being a beginner hobbist, I found it very useful. But for building my first fish tank I needed to use other books, as this book isn't intended to be a step by step guide. What is great about this book is that the author gives a score from 1 to 5 to each fish and invertebrate depending on how hard it is to keep each animal on the fish tank. Being a beginner, this was simply super. Other great feature from the book are the fact it is hardcover, top-notch paper quality and outstanding pictures -- one for each animal being discussed.

On the down side, it could cover more invertebrates -- event thought the information provided is enough for a beginner like myself --, the author is from UK so many stuff that he talks about is clearly based on the UK market (like recommending a Specific Gravity meter manufactured in Germany that can't be found in the US). The author also emphasizes on cientific names and technical terms, sometimes making it hard to follow for a layman like me.

All in all, it is a great book to have, but not a real complete one for a beginner.