Freshwater Aquariums For Dummies [Paperback]

Maddy Hargrove (Author), Mic Hargrove (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2006

Covers the latest aquarium gadgets


Design a dazzling underwater environment with this bestselling guide!

Setting up your first freshwater aquarium can be a daunting task. This friendly guide answers all your questions, from setting up your tank and selecting fish to the water, chemicals, plants, and much more. There's also expanded guidance on combining different species of fish, maintaining a tank, cleaning gravel, and dealing with common problems such as algae.

Discover how to
* Choose the right aquarium
* Select the best fish
* Get good deals on equipment
* Maintain a clean, healthy environment
* Handle tank pitfalls
* Breed your fish

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Covers the latest aquarium gadgets

Design a dazzling underwater environment with this bestselling guide!

Setting up your first freshwater aquarium can be a daunting task. This friendly guide answers all your questions, from setting up your tank and selecting fish to the water, chemicals, plants, and much more. There's also expanded guidance on combining different species of fish, maintaining a tank, cleaning gravel, and dealing with common problems such as algae.

Discover how to

• Choose the right aquarium
• Select the best fish
• Get good deals on equipment
• Maintain a clean, healthy environment
• Handle tank pitfalls
• Breed your fish

About the Author

Maddy and Mic Hargrove are both contributing writers for many aquatic magazines, including Tropical Fish Hobbyist and Aquarium Fish magazine, and are also the authors of several aquarium books. They have both been in the writing industry for over 30 years.
Maddy’s interest in fish began when she was five years old. She often dreamed of keeping fish at home as she watched the local fishermen bring in their daily catch in her hometown. She began keeping aquariums at age seven and began breeding fish at age ten. She built her aquarium collection by selling and trading her newborn fry to local aquarium stores in exchange for aquariums and equipment as she was growing up.
Her passion for aquarium fish continued on after she finished her college degree in journalism and began writing aquarium-keeping articles for print and online aquatic magazines. Eventually, she wrote several aquarium columns and began writing fishkeeping books to help other hobbyists enjoy keeping aquariums at home as much as she did. Her love of fish has also appeared in her greeting cards, cartoons, and other artwork.

Mic has kept aquarium fish for almost 30 years. He was one of the first sailors to develop a tank system that could keep aquarium fish alive onboard Navy vessels. His love of fish began when he saw many different species, aquatic traditions, and other hobbyists while on his worldwide military travels.
Both authors enjoy breeding fish, traveling, scuba diving, cooking and creating exciting new recipes, collecting old records, and computer games.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 2 edition (September 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470051035
• ISBN-13: 978-0470051030
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets > Fish & Aquariums

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It's okay, January 28, 2007

By 

J. Andrews - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Freshwater Aquariums For Dummies (Paperback)

This book isn't too bad, but there's definately better out there. The humor is kind of lame, as it is in all dummy books, but overall the information is sound. However, there are a few exceptions, like who still uses undergravel filters? or even still has a film camera anymore...thats right there's a whole chapter dedicated to photographing your fish. Not to mention there are also a ton of typos in this book, which is kind of ridiculuous for a second edition. Overall it covers just about everything, but not in any great detail....you'd do better to find something else.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Freshwater Aquariums for Dummies, February 6, 2007

By 

Microprof - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freshwater Aquariums For Dummies (Paperback)

I am very disappointed in this book. It has mistakes and much of the information is out of date. For example, in a discussion of the nitrate cycle, a complex topic for many, the authors have confused nitrate and nitrite. This makes the discussion worthless. The discussion on classification is out of date as DNA studies have caused many changes to the whole sytem.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great, basic information, January 23, 2007

By 

JLH "Arizona Reader" (Queen Creek, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Freshwater Aquariums For Dummies (Paperback)

This is one of the many books I read after "inheriting" a fish. This was a very easy to read and understand while not insulting me for being a rank beginner. I followed many of this book's recommendations and my fish are very happy.