Customer Reviews

Wrasses & Parrotfishes: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Their Identification, Behaviors, and Captive Care (Reef Fishes)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wonderful book, full of pictures and information, a must have for any diver or aquarium hobbyist! My only criticism is the lack juvenile pictures and lack of Parrotfishes compared to Wrasses but this could be due to the fact that most Parrotfish grow to large for a tank! reviewed by [...]

Wrasses and Parrotfishes is another excellent book in Scott Michael's Reef Fishes series of books. This book is filled with information by one the hobby's foremost experts on the husbandry of marine fish in captivity. This volume is packed with captive care information and incredible photos of these beatiful and fascinating groups of fishes. I highly recommend that any serious wrasse fanatic include this book in his or her library. The information in this book will save fish lives and improve the aquartist's identification and husbandry skills. This book is worth every penny.

Everything written by Scott Michael is EXCELLENT! He's my favorite aquatic author. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND all of his books!

Wonderful book, full of pictures and information, a must have for any
diver or aquarium hobbyist! My only criticism is the lack of juvenile
pictures and lack of Parrotfishes compared to Wrasses but this could be
due to the fact that most Parrotfish grow to large for a tank!

There is really only one true complaint I can make regarding this volume, it is literally nothing but almost 400 pages devotes entirely to wrasses and parrotfish.
Which brings me to the best part of this book: it's 400 pages of wrasses and parrotfish.

Now, to be fair wrasses are one of the biggest fish families, but the length is entirely justified. While the parrotfish section is still of very high quality, it is of limited use to aquarists due to their rarity in the fish trade.

First the book itself: this isn't something you'll want on a dive boat or to take to the fish store. This is a lovely, well-bound hardback with good picture printing. It holds up to heavy handling well.

Every species described (and it covers every fish I've ever heard of, I know of no omissions in this volume) includes at least one, and for most wrasse species multiple, beautiful color photographs. There is usually a juvenile, adult, and female example of every species due to the variant patterns between sexes and ages. All of the pictures are of high quality and are taken well.

The fish themselves are broken up by taxonomy, and every genus gets a brief summary of the species and fish within the genus and some of what an aquarist or diver can expect from them. Each species is described by scientific name, common name (or names), and maximum size. From there it the depth of coverage varies widly based on how commonly they are encountered in the wild or the tropical fish trade, ranging from a few sentences to a full page or more. It tends to cover biology and behavior in the wild, captive care, minimum aquarium size and temperature, and finally a "aquarium suitability index". Finally, any other pertinent remarks round out the entry. In general, this includes the most impressive and comprehensive coverage of any given animal I've encountered in any book.

In and of itself this is a poor reference for an aquarist or diver due to how limited the scope is. However, the reef fishes series is by far the most impressive, in-depth, and ambitious attempt to provide an incredible reference series on marine life. If you have series interest in learning about fish for any purpose other than basic identification this is by far the best investment. Unfortunately at the moment another reference is required since there are still multiple volumes left to round out the series. Still, there's more information per dime in these than anything else I've seen. Volumes 1 through 4 (though only volume 1 is actually labelled by volume, the rest are labelled by two of the larger groups covered within) are well worth it and honestly necessary to really get the most out of this book. I cannot recommend these books highly enough.

Of all the books in this series, I think this is the most spectacular. Great information and species to die for are here, cover to cover. Scott has outdone himself with this volume.

Excellent book, as usual with this (never ending) series...
A must buy if you are interested in reef fishes.
I hope the next one does not take as long...