Encyclopedia Of Aquarium & Pond Fish by David Alderton (2005, Hardcover)

Very informative book. Son got this to learn more about his aquarium and fish. He loves this book and takes it everywhere he goes>

Actually, I found this book somewhat annoying. Within the two main sections (fresh vs. salt water), there are short discussions of the nitrogen cycle, water chemistry, lighting and so forth. Too brief to be useful for a novice, unnecessary for an experienced hobbyist. Within the chapters on fish, there would be a picture and caption at the beginning, but NO detailed writeup about the fish shown!! I found this particularly irksome, as I was very interested in a particular species, which was the "poster child" for the section, but there was NOTHING of the details of size, geographic distribution, temperament, food requirements, etc. etc. that was written up for all the other examples. Further, most of the fish listed I've never seen in any aquarium shop in my area!

The section of the fish descriptions would have benefitted enormously for having a chart of some kind, comparing the fish by certain similar characteristics, like geography, size or compatability with others. Most of the descriptions of the fish were too short to be really helpful, so I found I needed to go to some other reference book to learn what I wanted to know.

Would NOT recommend this book, unless you like looking at pretty pictures of fish.