Recommended reading?

[andsoitgoes]

Wow, that's 3 recommendations for the same book (another member mentioned it when I was asking about it)

Just need to find it for a reasonable price, now! Anyone got a used one to sell?

J&L recommended "Natural Reef Aquariums" - anyone have experience with that book?

[wetcoast]

There are lots of places you can find Calfo's book - all are about the same price. It is worth it. There have been some other good books I have read by Julian Sprung, Ronald Schimek, and Bob Fenner. Look those names up on Amazon and you should be in a good place. And share the ones you have read afterwords in this thread so that others can do the same! - Regards-Dave

[Delphinus]

Kind of pricey but "The Reef Aquarium" by Julian Sprung and Charles Delbeek, volumes I, II and now III are really the bible of reefing.

Fossa and Nilsen also have a similar series, from a European perspective, said to be very good as well, but I haven't read those myself. There is said to be a lot of overlap between this and the TRA volumes.

Clownfishes, by Joyce Wilkerson

Anemonefish And Their Host Sea Anemones, Daphne Fautin and Gerald Allen
(This is the bible of host sea anemone identification, plus anemonefish identification and geographic ranges. Not a whole lot of relevant info for captive care, however, because the authors do not (or did not at the time of writing), approve for the practise of captive anemone keeping. Nevertheless these two are the worlds foremost authorities on the subject so it is worthwhile having, if your into anemones or anemonefish. For captive care, including breeding of clownfish, the Wilkerson book is a better bet. Ultimately, you'll have to have both if this topic interests you.)

Clams by Daniel Knop

Clams by James Fatheree

Knop is/was the authority on tridacnids for the longest time. His book however is slightly dated (yet the info is still relevant), plus it is translated into English from German. The Fatheree book just came out a few months ago so is very flashy and new. Both books are worth having IMO, if clams interest you.

Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman.

Fish books - pretty much anything by Rudie Kuiter is going to be an amazing reference. Also look for Scott Michael. There are too many titles to list but look for these authors.

There are, of course, so many others. Too many to list at once! These above ones are my favourites but I bet I'm overlooking a few too. My best advice is look to the serious reef oriented vendors such as J&L, Ocean Aquatics, and see what books they sell.

For a starter reference though, look to the TRA volumes (first one I mentioned). Can't go wrong with those.

[Chaotic Cricket]

Originally Posted by daveatwinterpegca

There are lots of places you can find Calfo's book - all are about the same price. It is worth it. There have been some other good books I have read by Julian Sprung, Ronald Schimek, and Bob Fenner. Look those names up on Amazon and you should be in a good place. And share the ones you have read afterwords in this thread so that others can do the same! - Regards-Dave

Yes amazon.ca is a good place to find them, quite often you can find used copies there as well. I picked all of mine up used then after reading most were ut back there for someone else. Aside from a few I kept, which are at the bottom of a pile of things in a mini-storage unfortunatley.

[fishface]

Originally Posted by andsoitgoes

J&L recommended "Natural Reef Aquariums" - anyone have experience with that book?

i've got this one and would recommend it for sure.

[andsoitgoes]

I was really hoping to find some used, I don't need fancy (I would like a newer edition, though - such as Calfo's Coral Propagation, which has lots of illustrations)

Shame these aren't more prevalent on the internet book sites (used to be into the used book market, and it's dry as a bone for this stuff, sigh)

[Snappy]

I agree with the Amazon scenario. This is what I did for my own library and would recommend it as a great source to find what you want at a lower price. Delivery is usually within a week.

[andsoitgoes]

Originally Posted by Snappy

All those books mentioned above can be purchased through Amazon for much cheaper than the retail stores. This is what I did for my own library and would recommend it as a great source to find what you want at a lower price. Delivery is usually within a week.

That's what I'm hoping to do - Natural Reefs is pretty darn cheap at amazon, but stuff like Coral Propagation still run fairly close to retail and for that one it takes about 4 - 6 weeks to order it in.

I might just start out with Natural Reef and go from there, seems a good beginners book - I had seen some discussion regarding a previous book the author did that had a lot more information, I dont' remember the title but I'm going to try and hunt it down.

[Delphinus]

I've had mixed results with Amazon. Sometimes 4 to 6 weeks can be more like 4 to 6 months, I guess it depends on how hard it is find a stash of the needed books. So if you're patient go for it, but if you're impatient (like me sometimes ) then ordering it from the aquaria vendors is a sure bet because they'll likely have a stockpile.

Also with some of the newer titles, like Fatheree's clam book, you can pretty much ONLY get at the aquaria vendors. Well maybe it's better by now since it's been out a few months but for a while there it was only those vendors who went to MACNA and picked them up there that had it .. places like Amazon and Indigo didn't even recognise the title when I was looking for it.

I had the *hardest* time getting the Kuiter Wrasse book last year. I ended up buying it from the U.S. Now there seems to be more places you can buy it (ie. I see it on J&L's site NOW). Basically, sometimes it can be a wild goose chase if you're looking for a title that's not in the mainstream. I guess it's all part of the fun.

[andsoitgoes]

LOL - yeah, I felt that way when I was ordering books (mostly obscure comics, way back) - and it was enjoyable to a degree, but this stuff seems pretty cut and dry - either you gets it, or you don't.

Seems like starting with Natural Reef is a good launch pad, and I'll branch out from there and just keep my eyes open!