Customer Reviews

Reef Fish Behavior: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

RFB ablely illustrates and explains the fish actions commonly observed by divers and snorkelers. This volume will increase the novice's understanding and enjoyment of the acquatic environment. The pictures are excellent and the author nicely translates scientific jargon to readability. The binding is sturdy but flexible so it is easy to pack into your dive bag. However, I expect that most dive destinations will have a well thumbed copy on hand soon. My only criticism-- Ned doesn't deal with my favorite box fish. This is a great book. I expect to carry it with me on every dive trip.

I'm a scuba instructor at a resort in the Caribbean, and this is the book I rely on most heavily (yes, even more than Snyderman's Marine Life & Humann's Reef Fish ID!) in explaining what's going on. It's also the book I recommend to everybody who comes to the Lodge, and the one they enjoy the most. So, whether you're a snorkeler or a marine biologist, you'll gain a lot from having this one in your collection!

This is a wonderful synopsis of behaviors that I didn't know existed. It is well written with great pictures showing the enormous amount of time underwater that it must have taken to compile them. It has made me look at the reef in a whole new way.

I have owned and loved the three Humann field guides for years - the reef "Fish", "Creature", and "Coral" identification guides respectively, but this book is the best of all, in my opinion. The information which scientists have discovered regarding the inter-relationships of these organisms often yields "fish stories" which rival the inventions of the most imagninative writers of fantasy. In the tropical underwater world, "truth" really is "stranger than fiction," making fascinating and fun reading. And, of course, Humann's splendid photographs on nearly every page greatly enhance the narratives.

If you are hesitating due to the price of this book don't. Check out the contents page on the 'look inside' facility above. It is well worth the expense. Excellent photos,( I wonder how many hours underwater they spent observing the behaviour captured in these pics?) highly informative text, an absolute mine of interesting facts and observations about a complex subject. Though specific to the Caribbean and Bahamas it can also be used by divers in the Pacific and Indian oceans. Obviously it does not cover all species and unfortunately misses out on some of my personal favourites Morays, Lionfish, Boxfishes, Porcupinefishes and Puffers but at 360 pages it still covers a lot of ground. Enjoy!

This is another excellent book from New World Publications. I've had mine for about 3 years. It explains a lot of those strange behaviors you've noticed such as "kissing" grunts, the pecking order of damsel fish in staghorn coral, attacks on damsel fish gardens by roving hoards of blue tang and grouper runs. It also talks about behaviors that perhaps you haven't noticed and will notice after reading the book. It's a reference like the others but this one is more to be read through the first time rather than just used as a reference like the others. If you're a "fish geek" or just want to know more about what you're seeing underwater this is an excellent addition to your library. It will help you to understand the fish and often help to identify them as well.

This is a beautiful set and a great reference. I'm a diver and I see all sorts of things each trip that I have not seen before or don't recognize and yet always find it in these books. They are attractive, well done and real mystery solvers. I wish I could pack them for every trip.

As a family we enjoy scuba diving. Our last vacation in Honduras we were noticing certain fish "acted" in very specific ways and some making no sense to us at all. We were told about this book and have read it now and things we saw make much more sense now. We will be heading back to Honduras in August and hope to use this new found knowledge regarding fish behavior in helping us capture better pictures.

My Name is Steve Fox, I am a scuba instructor in Utila, Bay Islands,Honduras I would like to say that in my dive shop and resort we use the whole Paul Humann set of books, they are fantastic, after every dive we sit with customers and go though all the fish,creatures and coral we have seen, they are the divers bible.

Steve
www.DeepBlueUtila.com

Very professionally done. It's more scientific than I expected, in a good way. I'm looking forward to seeing new things that I would've missed without this book.