Corals: A Quick Reference Guide (Oceanographic Series) 1st Edition

by Julian Sprung (Author)

104 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-1883693091

ISBN-10: 1883693098

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A comprehensive field guide for aquarists, divers and naturalists, with detailed full color photographs of hundreds of species, encompassing the majority of coral genera one is likely to encounter on reefs around the world, This book defines corals and distinguishes them form similar hydrozoans, zoanthids, and corallimorpharia. The corals are described and compared to similar looking species, and their range and the correct pronunciation of the Latin name is given.

In addition, for aquarists who grow corals in reef aquariums, information is provided in quick reference charts concerning each coral's requirements for light, water movement, and food, hardiness in captivity, aggressiveness toward other corals, and proper positioning in the aquarium.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Julian Sprung began studying marinelife more than 30 years ago in his native South Florida. He is a biologist, author, photographer, and aquarium design consultant. His research of coral reef ecosystems in nature and in specially designed reef aquariums has invovled travel to many countries. Julian writes about his work for various aquarium hobby publications, and his monthly column, "Reef Notes" in Freshwater and Marine Aquarium magazine has been compiled in a book series called Reef Notes Revisited and Revised. Julian also co-wrote with J. Charles Delbeek the books, The Reef Aquarium volumes one and two, considered the "bibles" on the subject.

Product details

Publisher : Ricordea Publishing; 1st edition (September 1, 1999)
Language : English
Hardcover : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 1883693098
ISBN-13 : 978-1883693091
Item Weight : 2.3 pounds
Dimensions : 8.75 x 0.75 x 10 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #507,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #130 in Oceanography (Books)
- #294 in Marine Life
- #336 in Earth Sciences (Books)

Customer Reviews:
104 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		73%
4 star		18%
3 star		4%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Franklin Curtismore

Lots of eye candy, thorough coverage of hard/soft corals

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2012

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I'm new to the hobby (less than 1 year) and saw this book at the local fish store upon one of my first visits to the store. The price tag scared me away... Then one day I was surfing around Amazon and remembered the book! I bought this in conjunction with The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner. Another pricey reference book, but the "fish" version to Sprung's "Corals."

Sprung's book is a thorough reference guide of all coral enthusiasts. There are tons of colorful photographs, and you can tell there was a lot of effort put into classifying the different corals and their origins. I do have a few minor complaints, though. First, the title is Corals "A Quick Reference Guide," and I wouldn't really call it a "quick" reference guide. The book is basically broken into two "huge" chapters: Hard Corals and Soft Corals. Pretty broad... Second, the corals are listed according to their scientific name. That is awesome, but I have a hard time remembering the "common" names for the corals I see at the local fish store... So, quick turns into flipping page by page until I see the picture of the coral I want/am interested in. It hasn't failed me yet.

Beyond the colorful pictures and knowing the scientific name of the coral, there is a chart that shows thou where you should place the coral in the tank (very helpful). It includes other relevant information, including a brief description. When I say brief, I mean BRIEF. You'll be hitting the interwebs looking for more information, once you've found what you're looking for in the book.

The "Aggressiveness" gauge on the charts seem poorly calibrated. The explanation is very vague... It doesn't hold water, in my eyes. Also, the book doesn't mention feeding information, which is really important, in my opinion.

It's a nice "coffee table" book, but not a good reference material for a serious reef tank hobbyist...

2 people found this helpful

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Le Stryge

Corals, yes; ...but not as we see them!

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2010

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I made a huge mistake in purchasing this book, .....although that's probably not a bad reflection on the book as such.
I wanted a reference book on identification of corals as they are found on tropical reefs. The other reviews seemed to indicate that this was a suitable reference, however in reality it's no help at all. It is indeed VERY aquarium orientated, and probably a comprehensive list at that, however if you are looking to identify coral by the larger shapes you see when diving,(the hard structural form) then you will be left totally baffled by this work. The photos, ...and there are lots, ...are so close-up and focused almost on the individual polyp, as to leave you wondering just what the whole colony looks like!
The close-up factor probably works for a marine aquarium enthusiast, (that's how you will see the corals in a tank), but if you see them in their natural habitat and in the forms normally encountered on the reef in daylight, there's just no way you will be able to say for certainty what is what if you rely on this book.
So if like myself you want to be able to pin down just what sort of coral outcrop you have been snorkeling over, .....this is NOT even remotely the book for you. If you are considering keeping corals in an aquarium situation, then perhaps you will gain some insights, but to me the text looks a little thin even for that. There's no doubting the author's great enthusiasm for his subject, ....it's just his fascination with the almost microscopic rather than what is seen by the naked eye that made this book more of a scientific polyp study than I required. I have some amazing photographs I've taken of coral outcrops, but it's extremely hard if not impossible to identify any of them using Julian Sprung's photos to work from. At least SOME wide shots of the differing forms of an actual coral colony itself would have added immeasurably to the book.
I'm giving it only three stars, because it will now languish on my shelves, ...but I understand that I did buy the wrong book, despite reading the other reviews.

4 people found this helpful

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Ma Gee

Beautiful, detailed book on corals.

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2020

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Very detailed descriptions of coral and their care. It's our "go to" guide for our aquarium.

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Michael A. Davis

Beautiful pictures, but incomplete text

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2006

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This book is full of fantastic full-color pictures with which one can easily identify many of the corals commonly available. Also includes many rare corals.

However, the text material about the corals, care etc. is extremely brief - much too brief. General care and lighting needs for a particulate coral species is given in the form of bar graphs and placement diagrams. This could theoretically be a helpful companion and summary of a more extensive text about the coral species being described. However, in this book, these diagrams are a *replacement* for the text. In and of themselves, the diagrams are inadequate to properly gauge the needs of the coral species.

I was also disappointed that the book completely leaves out many commonly available corals (for example the corallimorphs ("Mushroom corals"), which are common beginners corals). Leaving these corals out while including many rare species which the average hobbyist will never see seems to dilute the usefulness of the book.

I would recommend instead Borneman's "Aquarium Corals" (which I have and refer to constantly), and/or perhaps Sprung and Delbeek's more extensive 3-volume "The Reef Aquarium" (which has received good reviews, but I don't own (yet)).

11 people found this helpful

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Helene Knott

Great Visual Reference

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2015

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I read some reviews criticizing the book for being 'pretty' but with little information on the science and culture of corals. This might be true but for my purpose as a visual reference for embroidery and fiber art I couldn't ask for a better guide. There are LOTS of photos of such a wide variety of corals that I'm going to have to explore the theme in more projects.

2 people found this helpful

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Peter Spear

Well researched and written

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2019

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Lots of pictures a good reference book for ones interested in coral

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WLR75

Great book!

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2019

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