Fishkeepers Guide to African Cichlids [Hardcover]

Paul Loiselle (Author), Paul V. Loiselle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1993

African Cichlids differ widely in their behavior and maintenance requirements and encompass every reproductive method known to occur in the Family Cichlidae. This guide examines a wide range of these fascinating fishes, from the riverine to the unique forms found in Lakes Tanganyika and Malawi. 100 color photographs.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 118 pages
• Publisher: Tetra Press (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564651444
• ISBN-13: 978-1564651440
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 0.5 x 4.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #648,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fishkeepers Guide to African Cichlids, April 30, 2000

By 

"akburcham" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fishkeepers Guide to African Cichlids (Hardcover)

This was good book for someone buying their first Cichlid (Like me). However I very quickly wanted to know more! The book is great for setting up the tank and gives nice reviews of some species. I think it is a good first book, I found it very helpful, but it is not for experienced cichlid breeders.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I had hoped for, May 23, 2002

By 

Mark G. Brown (McDonough, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fishkeepers Guide to African Cichlids (Hardcover)

This book was very samll (116 pages) and was not what I had hoped for. I am a new cichlid owner and this is not the first book I bought. I already had my tank and my starter fish. I wanted some information that was not in your average "dummies book" which I had already read. What I got was some new information, but for the most part, it was just a review book.
Also, I wanted an idea for some more fish to buy. This book has profiles of 40 cichlids, which sounds like a lot. However, when you take into account the size you want (in my case 4 or 5 inches) and the disposition of the fish (a lot of reviewed fish would not do well in a community species tank), you end up with just a small number of fish you would even want.
In conclusion, it was an informative introductory book, but I wish I would have spent a few more dollars and gotten a more complete species guide.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experienced Cichlid Owner, June 12, 2006

By 

S. MENEELY "thepurplesmurf" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fishkeepers Guide to African Cichlids (Hardcover)

I have had cichlids since my first tank, which was 6 years ago. I have only ever had cichlids since then, and always had much luck with them. After owning this book, I was able to breed my first cichlids without even trying. Apparently, just by maintaining a very good tank (which was helped along by this book) my fish bred themselves. I had two sets of babies, and finally had to remove "mom" from the tank so that I could manage all of these fish.

The book starts out describing what lakes the different cichlids come from, then gets into the water composition in each of the different lake regions. It also gets into how to handle water pH, ammonia and other toxins, etc. Then, what the different filters are, proper tank lighting, and then what specific plants go well with cichlids of each type described in the book. It also has a great section (which is what prompted me to purchase this book) on specific symptoms of disease in cichlids and how to treat them. This is just in the first half of the book.

There is a short section on breeding, and then the last half of the book is more specifics on various types of cichlids (with pictures).

This book is short but very concise. My first 6 years of amateur tanking was done without any direction besides other people's advice. This is the first and last book I ever purchased on cichlids. Unless you plan on starting a fish farm or running a fish store, this book is more than enough, and short enough to enjoy reading.