Freshwater Reference Books

[pud2224]

I'm looking for suggestions of Freshwater books/magazines. What have/do you read? Are there any out there you find helpful? I know AA is the best but I can only look at a computer/phone for so long! Let's hear what you like!

 

[Rak9378]

Great topic!! I'm interested to see what others have to say.

I recently started reading Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine. Pretty good magazine. Relatively cheap and available for iPad.

As far as books, I recently purchased The Manual of Fish Health by Dr. Chris Andrews. Great info on fish biology, water chemistry and disease.

 

[pud2224]

Anyone else? I've looked at TFH.

 

[Bichir Bro]

Tropical Fish Hobbyist is what I have and it's awesome!

 

[Andy Sager]

Unfortunately, most of the good magazines of the past are now defunct due to the Internet's vast array of information ( not all correct BTW).
I suggest, if you want to get some information on the original fish that have been modified to today's offerings (i.e. A balloon Molly is just a differently shaped regular Molly and NOT a separate specie), you may want to read through some of the older TFH books such as: The handbook of tropical Aquarium fishes by Axelrod and Schultz, Encyclopedia of tropical fish by Innes ( Known in the the industry as "the Innes book" ) as well as the species specific books that were put out by TFH publications back in the 60s and 70s. These books will not have pictures or descriptions of today's varieties but, for example, if you know about a Silver Angelfish, that info goes to Marbles, Golds, Kois, etc. as well. Same with Guppies and Zebra Danios ( Glowfish are just modified zebra danios) and all the other fish. Another example, Berry Tetras, are originally Black Skirt Tetras. They may have gone through many variations to get them to this point but they have the same requirements of Black Skirt tetras.
As for new books being published today, I have seen some of the books available in the shops and I must admit, I do not know of these authors nor do I think they compare to the information I got from the books I mentioned above. (Just my opinion of course.)
I have seen some of these books being offered on Ebay as part of collections being sold so I'd start there for these.

There are, I believe, some foreign magazines that are supposed to be the next generation of quality information. Amazonas Magazine and Practical Fish Keeping magazine seem to be the best offered.

I hope this helps.

 

[pud2224]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Amazonas is one of the best fw specialty magazines I have read. Defiantly worth a look. Contains a lot of interesting articles/pictures.

 

[Krogman]

I have yet to read any of his work but I hear Herbert Axelrod is great

 

[Andy Sager]

I have yet to read any of his work but I hear Herbert Axelrod is great

Mr/Dr Axelrod was a great explorer. Making yearly trips to the Amazon and discovering new fish. You'll notice the Latin names of a few fish are named after him. My former boss and his Father were his companions on some of those trips where they too discovered new fishes.
That all being said, Axelrod's company TFH Publications seemed to be the only reliable source back in the 60s and 70s for informational books on pets in general. Name any animal kept as a pet and TFH most likely had a book on it. But it's greatest asset were the contributing authors of all those books. Some of the best minds of that time were writing the books that TFH was publishing so his name is on a lot of books. His contributions to them had been questioned at the time but there was no denying that the information, no matter who contributed it, was invaluable to the hobby. Maybe that's why TFH magazine is one of the few that still exists.

Just some ramblings from his fellow New Jersyite. Thanks for reading them

 

[Tom Fields]

Wonderful to see Dr Axelrods name appear.he ws my source of knowledge for the hobby. Iff you can find his books they are still full of valuable info.marc Weis is another great read. give em a look and remember The water info is as valuable today as it was 30 years ago.

 

[pud2224]

Thanks, all great info! I'm beginning to look up their works.

 

[Andy Sager]

Wonderful to see Dr Axelrods name appear.he ws my source of knowledge for the hobby. Iff you can find his books they are still full of valuable info.marc Weis is another great read. give em a look and remember The water info is as valuable today as it was 30 years ago.

+1 x100
As I've stated many times in many threads here, the science of fish keeping hasn't changed all that much, just the machinery to do it with has. If you know WHY you are doing WHAT you are doing, then HOW you do it is really insignificant as long as you do it.