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Rainbowfish Complete Owner's Manual
written by Gunther Schmida
Studio : Barron's Educational Series
by Barron's Educational Series
Brand : Barron's Publishing
Publisher : Barron's Educational Series
Released : 2000-03-15
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780764111808
UPC : 027011011801
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 6 reviews)
List Price : $8.99
Our Price : $13.10
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AQUARIUM
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BARRON'S PUBLISHING
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BOOKS-FRESH WATER
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1180
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Product Description |
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These tropical fish from Australian and New Guinea waters make colorful additions to the home aquarium. Here's information on purchase and maintenance of Rainbowfish. Books in the Complete Pet Owner's Manuals series present basic information about pets for new or soon-to-be owners, as well as detailed information for aquarium enthusiasts and other animal hobbyists. Advice and instruction covers purchase, general care and maintenance, and much more. Texts emphasize the basics and are easy for all readers to understand, but most titles in this series also presents facts that even experienced pet owners and hobbyists will find new and useful. All books in this series are filled with high quality full-color photos and instructive line drawings. Length averages between 64 and 104 pages. |
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Recommend for rainbowfish starter |
I expected this book give me some beginner level knowledge of rainbow fish, so it is! 64 pages but clear and easy-understand content give you a clear concept how to raise rainbowfish.
Nice pictures and details specification bring you in a wonder world of rainbowfish.
If you want to start your rainbowfish tank, I recommend you have this book. |
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Appealing to the home aquarist |
As a new fan and keeper of rainbowfish, I am eager to learn as much as I can about these very lovely creatures. Whereas I found Gerald Allen's book interesting, it is geared more towards the scientific community than the home aquarist who aims to provide her or his fish the best possible care. Derek Lambert's Rainbowfishes book is also good but, in my opinion, this title by Gunther Schmida for Barron's fits my needs much better.
Mr. Schmida describes many species, including some I have not encountered even in the more specialized shops or online. The color photos, including a nice series of shots showing Red Rainbowfish spawning and the males of other species displaying, are exciting. The information is written in a knowledgeable yet approachable style, as if the author truly wants to share with the reader. At the end is an index which includes both the popular and scientific names of the fish included. (Note to reviewer wass29 in Moline, IL: see p.22 for information on M. praecox "dwarf neon rainbowfish," the fish you are seeking.) All in all, there is much to like about this small but useful book!
However, there is inconsistency in how quantities are presented. For instance, lengths of fish and recommended tanks are given in both metric and English measurements, very useful for those of us in the US. However, temperatures are given only in Celsius and that is an obstacle to my immediate understanding as I read. Given that this book was translated for the American audience by an American publisher, it is only reasonable to expect it to use the form of measurements we use in the US. If it were published in Europe or Australia, certainly I would not complain.
Also, in the species' descriptions, Mr. Schmida recommends tanks of at least 157 gallons (an uncommon size) to hold certain species, even M. boesemani. However, for other species of the same size or larger he does not make such detailed recommendations. He does not explain why this unusually-sized tank is needed. Could it be because of the individual fish's size or because a school of a certain number is recommended or perhaps for some other reason? I take his tank specifications with a grain of salt.
Even with these concerns of mine, I find this to be an excellent resource for those of us who are enthralled with these beauties from Australasia. I have been using a copy from my local library and now I am ready to purchase my own, I like it so well. |
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A good Starter book |
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This book is a great addition to any collection. It has valuable information about rainbowfish and some of the different varieties out there, it is a quick informative book to read. However I felt it did not have enough information on all of the different varieties of rainbowfish. I didn't see anything on Dwarf Neon Rainbofish (a very popular one at the fish store where I work part time), also it did not describe all of the fish very well and the info on tank sizes and fish recommendations was incorrect. Even with its shortcomings I own and enjoy it anyways |
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Rainbowfish |
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This book has wonderful pictures and information about the different kinds of rainbowfish.. For anyone that is trying to research which specific rainbowfish they should like to keep it's definately a good choice.. The drawbacks are that the pictures and grouped together on seperate pages from the actual information that pertains to the specific species.. It's only a small gripe however.. I also think that some of the information can be a bit sketchy and there is a portion of the book dedicated to standard aquarium set up which I don't feel should be included in a fish specific book.. That's just my opinion though and if you are new to aquarium keeping it can be very helpful.. |
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Very Good Beginner's Book |
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If you are a beginner at keeping rainbows, this is a very commendable book. It covers all of the basics for keeping and breeding rainbows and you can't ask for more than that from a beginner's book. Also, it provides references for seeking further information. It is leagues above the stacks of picture postcard pamphlets being passed off as "informative" books in the hobby. Still, like most books targeted at a relatively small tropical fish market segment, it is filled with many pictures and few words. A 15 - 30 minute read and you will have digested most, if not all, of the information in this micro-tome. After that, it's an inexpensive reference to the names of many species of rainbow with many excellent photographs and drawings of many species. However, the editors seemed to have been rather overzealous. In places the text runs just short of the information you would expect, practically begging questions, and I suspect that the author's original text had the information and the editors decided to cut it to save pages. The information in aquarium set-up and maintenance sections is especially abrupt. It's not that the data is incorrect , but a little information can be dangerous. For example, it mentions that carbon is one of the things you can use in a filter but it doesn't discuss the reasons for, or virtues and problems of, using carbon in filters. It appears the editors allowed the author about one sentence for the topic of carbon -- not enough to do justice to the topic but it keeps down the price of a book with lots of color photographs. Did I mention the photographs and drawings are absolutely excellent? |
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