Customer Reviews

The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums (Second Edition)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book, and it has provided lots of good advice as I've set up a family aquarium. I dabbled a bit as a teenager, with varying success (some tries my aquarium lasted a year, other times I definitely got new tank syndrome and they all died). Now that I'm a bit older, I wanted to set up an aquarium for my son's 4-year old birthday that we could all enjoy, and I wanted to make sure I did it right.

This book is written in a very accessible manner, as if the author is in your living room giving a friendly chat about his experience in the hobby. It is the ideal length, and the neatest thing about it is, as the author says, he provides what he views is the minimal ESSENTIAL info to enable you to set up a successful first, and doesn't present the range of viewpoints, or more information that might just confuse a beginner. He rightly notes that a successful beginner will be interested in finding more detailed information if his initial experience is positive.

The three best things about this book in my opinion:

-- the information on water changes. I had mistakenly believed in earlier efforts that water changes were BAD, and should be kept at a minimum. The author is a water change fanatic, comparing a water change for an aquarium to opening the windows in an overcroweded room with poor air circulation (not to mention sanitation!), and he is right. I have not lost any fish yet, and I credit that to water changes, and ...

-- cycling; the next best thing about the book. An easy-to-understand step-by-step guide to the mystical concept of cycling. In addition to explaining this for beginners, the author stresses the need to start stocking the tank with fish slowly. You will have success if you follow this advice.

-- stocking schemes. Though on one hand being limited to a recommended stocking scheme is well ... limiting, it relieves you of the burden of extensive research to try to come up with fish that are hardy and won't eat each other. He provides about 10 different options, so there is considerable choice, and you can tweak a bit if you want, with minimal research.

So buy this book with confidence. You have a large base of satisfied readers guiding you in this choice. And kudos to the author, Mr. Boruchowitz, for making such a lasting and successful contribution to the hobby he loves!

I purchased this book on the strength of the reviews of the first edition. I have to say that I was not at all disappointed.

When I got the book, the sum total of my fish knowledge came from pet-sitting a betta fish for a month. However, I work in a large pet store and wanted to learn about our aquatics department. This book was invaluable in helping me to quickly understand the basics of aquarium care. I found it relatively easy to read & understand.

I was also snared into the world of fish-enthusiasts - I am now in the process of setting up my own tank (I'm still in the cycling stage) & have tentative plans for a second tank.
The book helped me avoid the common pitfalls beginners make and revealed the truth behind some fish myths (fish do NOT grow to fit the tank).

The chapters on required equipment (Ch 4: What do I have to have?), cycling (Ch 12), & Suggested Stocking Schemes (Ch 19) are particularly helpful. This is some of the most important information new fish owners should have, and it is hard to find in other aquarium books.

The book does not have much detailed information on specific species of fish, but that is not what this book is meant to do. That information is easy to find in any freshwater fish guide.

I definitely recommend this book to beginners.

I had an aquarium several years ago, had to give it up due to many moves. I have set one up again. I needed a brush up on start-up and care since much has changed over the years. Should one follow to the letter his detailed instructions, I feel they would be successful in their endeavor.
My one complaint in regard to the book is that he addresses 50-55 gallon tanks, (only in "stocking schemes" does he come down as far as 30 gallon. There are many of us who live in an apartment, or as myself, in my 80's living alone, or for other restrictions cannot entertain such a large tank. I have a 15 gallon tank, and with the water exchange it is about as much as I care to deal with. It is too difficult to try to scale back all his recommendations to 10-20 gallon tanks. I realize this would involve a lot of additional text, but this well written and illustrated book leaves those of us with smaller needs a bit frustrated.

I think the book has everything a beginner needs to properly set up a freshwater aquarium. Very helpful!

I just checked this book out from my local library, I don't know very much about aquariums and I feel like I learned a lot from reading this book. Even though this is an introductory guide, for people like me who are just getting into freshwater aquarium management, it does a superb job of making very detailed information very easy-to-understand, without overly-simplifying this. I would highly recommend this book for both beginners or for a more experienced person who needs a quick-reference guide.

I am a TAFE teacher here in Australia and was looking for a book for my high school students. We were doing care of freshwater fish and I wanted a simple but accurate text. I love this book it has many practical suggestions, was easy to read and follow. The information was exactly what I wanted. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to start a home aquarium. Good job!

I found this book to be a comprehensive guide to all aspects of starting and maintaining an aquarium. There are many commom sense suggestions to help someone be successful to first time. I especially found the fish groupings helpful. They were explanatory about the number and type of fish that would work together.

This book was easy to read and understand. I found that I had more knowledge of the nitrogen cycle and other freshwater subjects than seasoned aquarium owners. My fish are doing great despite the advice of my local pet store owner who doesn't understand the nitrogen cycle.

Getting back into the fish keeping hobby after a tankless few years, I needed a refresher course to both avoid screwing up and to get updated on newer methods and modern filtering systems. While this book does not over indulge in technical detail, it does a nearly perfect job of acquainting (or reacquainting) one with keeping and maintaining a fresh water aquarium and offers sound advice on choosing what to put in it. I have several books on the hobby and this is the one I most consistently go back to.

This is a fantastic resource. It is the only guide I needed to get my aquarium up and running. I'm a complete novice and I like how this book keeps things simple. It tells you what you need to know without bogging you down in a bunch of extra stuff that you don't. It is perfect for beginners. If you want to be successful with your first aquarium, then I'd recommend you get this book.