Understanding Tropical Fish (Interpet Handbooks) [Hardcover]

Gina Sandford (Author)

Book Description

Series: Interpet Handbooks | Publication Date: November 1, 2000

Fish keeping is a rapidly expanding hobby. One in ten U.S. households now has an aquarium. Tropical fish, however, are notoriously difficult to take care of. This guide offers essential advice on choosing and using the best materials and equipment. Specially commissioned photographs demonstrate every stage involved in setting up a fully working system so that you can keep your tropical fish healthy and attractive for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

An invaluable guide for all fishkeepers keen to learn more about the fascinating and delicate creatures in their care. Using clear text, colour photographs and stunning illustrations, this book provides a unique 'behind the scenes' look at how freshwater tropical fish live in their watery environment. It explores all aspects of their everyday lives, including their basic structure, how they sense the world around them and how they reproduce.

The book closes with an overview of popular tropical freshwater fish presented in their scientific groupings for easy reference.

About the Author

The author Gina Sandford's interest in fishkeeping began with a goldfish and developed to include sticklebacks, young perch, pike and eventually tropical fish. She has kept and bred many species, but has a particular interest in catfishes. She has written several books and contributed many articles to magazines and journals. Gina travels widely, giving audiovisual presentations and lectures to both experienced and young audiences.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 141 pages
• Publisher: Howell Book House (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764562355
• ISBN-13: 978-0764562358
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,526,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best fish book in my library, December 10, 2002

By 

Chrissy the Hyphenated (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Understanding Tropical Fish (Interpet Handbooks) (Hardcover)

Sandford takes an unusual approach to educating current and potential aquarists about the hobby. Rather than the standard "buy this" and "do that", she begins by showing us where pet store fish come from in the wild, then moves on to how they are shaped, what they eat, how they breed, and what all this means about how to determine and meet their needs in captivity. Sandford is an excellent writer who manages to balance scientific terminology with common language and her text is beautifully illustrated with drawings and photographs. I would not hesitate to recommend the book to anyone who has the most passing interest in tropical fish. As a well-established aquarium hobbyist, I learned enough to be reading it again a year later, plus I found that short exposures to specific topics increased my spouse's rather slim interest in my pets. This book would make an excellent starting point for a parent or young person considering a first tank. I would recommend it for the classroom or home schooler as well. It is extraordinarily well done and, at the low price, a real bargain as well.