Simon & Schuster'S Guide To Freshwater And Marine Aquarium Fishes [Paperback]

Simon and Schuster (Author)

Book Description

Series: Fireside Books (Holiday House) | Publication Date: July 29, 1977

A guide for beginners and experts alike, Simon & Schuster's Guide to Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Fishes is the most useful book an aquarium enthusiast can own. Whether you are interested in goldfish, guppies, or the most exotic marine species, the opening section on starting an aquarium covers everything you need to know. Illustrated in color throughout, the 295 entries cover plants, amphibia, reptiles, and invertebrates as well as aquarium fishes. Each entry provides the common name, scientific name, and family; distribution of the species in the wild; a description of shape, color, and size; information about sexual differences, feeding habits, reproduction, compatibility with other species, and much more. Next to each entry are easy-to-read symbols that indicate the proper water temperature, pH, and illumination.

This comprehensive guide gives you all the information you need to maintain a beautiful, balanced, and thriving aquarium.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

1 DWARF SEDGE

Acorus gramineus

Var. pusillus and var. variegatus

Family Araceae.

Distribution Japan; the variety variegatus is of horticultural origin.

Description Acorus gramineus is a shrubby plant, 10-12 in (25-30 cm) in height, with long, narrow, ribbonlike leaves, slightly curved when at maximum length. It is an amphibious marsh plant which, however, can adapt to underwater life in an aquarium. Var. pusillus, with short, rigid leaves 1 1/2-4 in (4-10 cm) high, and var. variegatus, with leaves reaching 16-20 in (40-50 cm) and bearing yellow streaks, are more common than the original form.

Propagation Through division of the tufts or the rhizome (the fleshy underwater stem) by cutting their tips and planting the base of the stem immediately in shallow water, whose depth is then gradually increased.

Environment Temperature: 59-68°F (15-20°C), best at 65°F (18°C). pH: neutral. Water hardness: soft. Illumination: moderate to normal. Soil: No particular requirements; clay or clay with peat.

Note The dwarf variety of Acorus is commonly used in small aquaria.

2 ALTERNANTHERA SESSILIS

Alternanthera sessilis

Family Amaranthaceae.

Distribution Humid or sporadically flooded areas of the Old World.

Description Perennial plant, always partly immersed in its natural habitat, but well suited to life underwater in the aquarium. Its stalks are very branched and characteristically red, The leaves are stalkless, lanceolate, up to 2 3/8-2 3/4 in (6-7 cm) long and 3/8 in (1 cm) wide. The upper surface is variously colored from dark green to wine red, and the lower side is always bright red.

Propagation Very simple, by cutting.

Environment Temperature: 60-72°F (16-22°C), possibly somewhat less. pH: near neutrality. Water hardness: medium. Illumination: Normal to intense, even if artificial. Soil: sand and rock, possibly with the addition of fertilizer.

3 ANUBIAS LANCEOLATA

Anubias lanceolata

Family Araceae. The genus Anubias contains six species.

Distribution Tropical Africa.

Description Perennial plant with a fleshy underwater stem over 15 3/4 in (40 cm) high in its natural habitat, seldom higher than 11 3/4 in (30 cm) in an aquarium. The leaves are lanceolate, rather blunt at the tip, 4-4 3/4 in (10-12 cm) long and 1 3/16-2 in (3-5 cm) wide, dark green, with long stalks and leathery blades, concave on the upper side.

Propagation Very slow, by division of tufts.

Environment Temperature: this species requires high temperatures, between 68°F (20°C) and 86°F (30°C), best at 77°F (25°C). pH: neutral or, if possible, slightly acid. Water hardness: average to soft. Illumination: low-level. This species grows naturally in rain forests, where light levels are low. Soil: no particular requirements, but preferably sandy.

Note Anubias lanceolata is an excellent plant to use in warm aquaria. Its only drawback lies in its slow rate of growth.

4 LACELEAF PLANT

Aponogeton fenestralis

Family Aponogetonaceae. The name of the genus is derived from two Greek words -- apon (water) and geiton (close to).

Distribution Madagascar.

Description Oblong leaves, 5 7/8-7 7/8 in (15-20 cm) long, characteristically lacking spongy tissue and therefore consisting only of a network of veins.

Propagation By division of offshoots; less commonly by seed.

Environment Temperature: 60-68°F (16-20°C) with possible extremes of 57°F (14°C) and 76°F (24°C); undisturbed, frequently renewed water, pH: 6-8, or neutral. Water hardness: soft to medium. Illumination: normal, preferably diffuse and artificial. Soil: mainly large-grained sand, and a little mud.

Note Cultivation of this plant is difficult; during the period of winter dormancy, the water temperature must be maintained around 55°F (13°C).

Copyright © 1976 by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milano

Product Details

• Paperback: 337 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; First Paperback Edition edition (July 29, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671228099
• ISBN-13: 978-0671228095
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,386,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A good review of fish but a bad guide for setting aquarium, December 1, 2002

By 

Anthony O'Krongly (Arlington, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Simon & Schuster'S Guide To Freshwater And Marine Aquarium Fishes (Paperback)

I bought this book as a fish familiarization reference after setting up my aquarium with another book and am glad I did. To say this is a bad intro book on aquariums is an understatement. Anyone considering fish as a hobby would immediatly change their mind upon reading the introduction to this book (which covers setting up an aquarium). For one thing it is way too scientific with diagrams of how pumps work and loads of discussion on things you don't need to know in detail and glaring lack of easy to understand explanations on what you do need to know.

I read a 40 page Wal-Mart book on setting up an aquarium that was 100 times better than this guide in that respect. So, if you're setting up a new aquarium and want to know (in English) how to set up an aquarium, or want to know information on aquarium products, chemicals, techniques, etc. don't use this book to do it. Any of a dozen short, "so you want to buy a fish" guides will do. You don't need to 4 pages of when/how/why to quarentine fish in order to set up your first aquarium. And even if you did, this book doesn't describe the "how-to's" well enough anyway.

This book IS a pretty good guide to freshwater and saltwater fishes, plants, reptiles, and invertibrates (like crabs, starfish, etc.) It covers about 300 specimens in total, 88 of which are freshwater fish and about 100 salt water fish. The rest fall into the other categories. It's not comprehensive by any means. There's ONE entry for Goldfish, for instance, even though there are dozens of readily available variations of goldfish. The one entry will give you generally what you need for the entire family, but it won't show you pictures of the many flavors available. Many generally available fish are also not in the book at all - but most are.

This book does, however, cover a good range of common freshwater and saltwater aquarium fish. And each entry discusses what you need to know about that fish such as required temperature, food, characteristics, behavior and what other fish (or fish types) it gets along with. All this information is necessary to have a happy community (or species) aquarium.

This book does Not adequately cover breeding fish and other expert topics. Its claim as "A guide for beginners and experts alike" is a bit of an overstatement in that regard. (At least that's my opinion.)

My conclusion is that I like it for what I got it for - pictures of possible additions to my aquarium with a general description of needs, behavior, etc of each fish. I didn't buy it as a comprehensive guide or a guide to setting up my aquarium. In my opinion, if you want that information go elsewhere. There may even be better pictoral fish guides, but I liked the compact size of the book and the easy to swallow ($$) price tag. Happy Fish Keeping

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Nice Starter for Those New To Keeping Aquariums, September 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Simon & Schuster'S Guide To Freshwater And Marine Aquarium Fishes (Paperback)

This is a nice begginers book that goes over the various types of freshwater and marine fish, freshwater plants, marine invertebrates, and freshwater invertebrates. It also gives a bit of general information on how to keep both kinds of aquarium. This book lacks to include many types of marine fish and inverts, but it does a fairly nice job with freshwater. The descriptions are easy to understand, but they make the marine hobbie sound to easy. There was not enough warning givin for some of the marine fish that were listed, which in mine and many others opinions should not be kept in captivity...period. The thing that makes this book nice is that it touches a bit of every aspect of the aquarium hobbie...although the general aquarium teachings, such as its recomended forms of filtration are not gone into in enough depth. All in all, a nice starter for begginers, but once the reader knows what they want to do, they should get a book that focuses more on their specific area of keeping(freshwater OR saltwater).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reference guide for those who keep pet shops to kids!, April 23, 2002

By 

"altmed" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Simon & Schuster'S Guide To Freshwater And Marine Aquarium Fishes (Paperback)

Awesome reference guide (I have a 1977 edition).

Over 300 full-color photos of freshwater & marine fishes, plants, reptiles and invertibrates. Includes common names, scientific names, families, distribution in the wild (where do these things live), a good verbal description, as well as a good photo, pH, temperature, water hardness, light and other pertinent info about where it lives, and what it needs in an aquarium, feeding info (a bit sketchy there, unless you are already knowledgable), as well as behavioral and compatability information (a MUST for keeping social fishes with others, and keeping those that don't get along apart from each other!)

Basic aquarium knowledge is not required to enjoy the book, but to use the technical stuff for fish keeping, one must have some other background info (another book on the basics, or several trips and brain picking of a reputable pet shop employee is helpful!)

Basic chemistry knowledge (especially dilutions [YES! There really is a use for all that math you took through jr. college!] for the disease treatment section is a must of using this to treat diseases)

Fish diseases section is small, but to the point, and covers most common diseases one will see in aquarium fishes, especially fresh water.

If you want to keep a salt water aquarium, this is a good reference, but you'll also need a great salt water aqaurium book!

My edition also does not cover Chloramines, which were added to our tap water after the book was published - use GOOD, distilled bottled water whenever possible, or perhaps a reverse osmosis system w/ filteration, if your house is so equipped. For salt water, I've found it best to change out water directly from the ocean (away from the coastline and rivers), but then too you risk getting diseases in your aquarium that way... I did keep a star fish (sea star)and a Spanish Shawl nudibrach in a goldfish bowl this way for about 3 years, then when we moved sent them back to the ocean... They were awesome, but required we change the water abuot every 2-3 days.

This is an awesome book, great pictures, but I'd suggest also getting another to supplement this one... My supplement is about 30+ years old, and is no longer in print, and I've not seen one in years.