Good Reef Books

[GeorgeW]

Since Amazon refused to take my gift card for my Babylon 5 Season 4 set, I'm thinking reef books.

I already have Delbeek and Sprung, Vol 1 & 2. Even though they're great, they're aging.

Does anyone have any suggestions for either indispensable literature for reefkeeping or (preferably) newer books published that contain updated information?

[Markv]

Do you have the nilsen and fossa books? You can find them cheaper at premium aquatics, however. What about Borneman's book, Aquarium Corals?

[ATLe46]

I'm expecting Aquarium Corals anyday now from drsfostersmith for $35. I think its about the same price at Amazon. Or you can get it at the Petland in Kennesaw for $72.

[Rover]

I've always liked Natural Reef Aquariums by John Tullock. Usually $30 bucks or so around here. Another good one is The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner, which is around the same. For some good eye candy you can pick up Reef Fishes Vol 1, by Scott Michaels (Vol 2 should be out soon). It's a very good book, and very in depth, but the more commonly kept aquarium species won't be covered until Vol 2 and 3. It's pricier (50-60), but well worth it in my opinion.

[wildemon]

I liked Anthony Calfo's Invertebrates. No corals or fish but lots of large clear photos of the animals seldom covered. It also spends a hundred pages on creating the necessary environment including refugiums and mud filters. It is the most contemporary of any book I have read.

[ATLe46]

Does anyone know anything about Dr. Burgess's Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes: Third Edition? I've been looking at it for a while.

How does it compare to Scott Michael's book?

[Rover]

It will have more pictures and less talk. The Atlases are good for species identification and eye candy but that's about it. The Reef Fishes series has a *ton* of good information, and I would highly reccomend it. I was just pointing out that due to the depth the book goes into, some of the more common aquarium fish won't be covered until the later volumes. The first half of the book is general inforation about fish biology and anatomy and reproduction and whatnot, a crash course in icthyology basically. Then the species accounts begins with the most primitive fishes and and he works up. Because of this, some of the more advanced fishes (tangs, angels, butterflies) aren't covered in the first volume. There is a great section on seahorses, and a killer section on anthias. Just scan through the table of contents and you will see what I mean.

[ATLe46]

Thanks Rover! Any ideas on when Vol 2 and 3 will be released?

[GeorgeW]

Based on your suggestions, I thought I'd post a quick rundown of the books and ISBN's in case anyone else wants to get some of these: (for some reason inserting an HTML talbe causes a big gap here)

Title	Author	ISBN
Aquarium Corals	Eric H. Borneman	1890087475
The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium, Vol 2	Nilsen & Fossa	3928819232
The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium, Vol 3	Nilsen & Fossa	3928819283
Reef Secrets	Nilsen & Fossa	189008767X
Natural Reef Aquariums	John H. Tullock, Martin A. Moe	1890087009
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist	Bob Fenner	Can’t find
Reef Fishes	Scott Michaels	1890087211
Invertebrates	Anthony Calfo	0967263034

[Rover]

There is still a lot of speculation about the next volumes. TFH/Microcosm says they are still waiting for him to finish writing them, but when I talked to him at MACNA about them he said that he was finished but that Microcosm was dragging their feet about printing it. They are a smaller company that is extremely quality conscious (especially when it comes to the photography) so I seems that it will have to wait it's turn. When I took Scott Michaels MACO class, he said it would probably be out late 2003 / early 2004, so it could be any day now, who knows....

[Rover]

http://www.microcosm-books.com/html/...Aquariums.html

This is another really neat book that just came out. At the bottom of the page it says RF2 is next!

[Rick O]

Originally posted by Markv
Do you have the nilsen and fossa books? You can find them cheaper at premium aquatics, however. What about Borneman's book, Aquarium Corals?

I have one of the Nilsen and Fossa books and it's one of the better books in my reef library.