Books,books, gotta buy books

[Viv]

I would love to put together a back reef and just think tose T.maxima clams are beautiful. If the clam was placed high on the slope wouldn't it be out of place?
I mean the tank is so much shorter than the ocean and the light closer to the claim in the tank than in the real world, would this lead to problems????? Also, can anyone suggest some kind of book or something that might tell what kind of fish and inverts would go with something like this? From what I am currently reading the Tang needs a new home....what about other animals...Starfish, worms, crabs, snails...
If I'm gonna get truly into this want to do it right, can you help? I guess a good book suggestion is the place to begin so I don't drive everyone nuts..Have The Reef Aquarium, Julian Sprung and Charles Delbeek-vol. 1, but I'd like to get more biotype info. Thanks

[FishDaddy]

Hi, Viv,

Between Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals and Scott Michael's, Aquarium Fishes, you should get most of the information you need. Not sure about the clams, having never kept them.

HTH,

Dick

[Viv]

Hey thanks Dick, its so much nicer to be pointed in the right direction, than searching and never finding!

[FishDaddy]

You're mighty welcome, Viv!

Dick

[Fatboy]

Viv,

This is a summary of some of the books I have:

Ultimate Marine Aquariums: Written by Michael Paletta. 192 pages. Published on 2003. I must say that I was very disappointed with this book, mainly because the photograph quality is bad. He could have done a really nice book since he reviews 50 different aquariums, but the pictures are not professional at all. Very good information if you want to get some ideas and now what people have done to have such nice aquariums. Profiles of those aquariums are very complete.




Reef Notes: Written by Julian Sprung, the three (3) volumes are a revisited and revised version of his past articles in FAMA magazine. The books go from 1989 to 1994. Each book has around 170 pages and were printed on 1995 and 1996. Even that this is very old material, there are some good articles. In these books, he includes new comments and it is very interesting to see how he has changed his opinion through the years. Lots of information for beginners.



The Reef Aquarium (Volume One): Written by Charles Delbeek and Julian Sprung. 545 pages. Published on 1994. Tons of good information. Even that some of it is a little bit outdated, is a good book to have in your bookshelf. Fourteen (14) chapters that cover reef lighting, aquascaping, water quality, control of nutrients and algae, and diseases among others. It is an expensive book, but I was happy when I bought it.



Marine Fishes – A Pocket Expert Guide: Written by Scott W. Michael.448 pages. Published on 2001. A must have for every hobbyist and even for LFS. Good pictures of fish and good summarized information about them. My copy is already looking crappie because of all the use.



Algae – A Problem Solver Guide: Written by Julian Sprung. 80 pages. Published on 2002. Disappointing book. Even that I don’t have algae problems, I bought to know a little bit more about them and be prepared in case of emergency. The book has good pictures and descriptions of all the species, but I was looking for some more in depth information on how to control algae. It is a good guide for beginners.



Book of Coral Propagation: Written by Anthony Calfo. 450 pages. Published on 2001. Great book even that it doesn’t include pictures. Lots of information in sixteen (16) chapters that covers coral farming in greenhouse operations, systems and hardware, husbandry, coral family overviews, shipping, quarantine, coral placement, propagation, pest and troubleshooting among others. Great information.



Marine Reef Aquarium Handbook: Written by Dr. Robert J. Goldstein. 198 pages. Published on 1997. Definitely a book for beginners. Very basic information but it can give you a good overall picture of what it takes to keep a salt water aquarium or reef. Twenty-three (23) chapters that covers basic equipment, water quality, nitrogen and carbon cycles, filters, lighting, algae, corals, diseases, mollusks and fishes among others. Good book for starters.



Coral Reef Aquarium: Written by Ron Shimek, Ph.D. 126 pages. Published on 1999. Extremely basic. I think there are better books for beginners. Four chapters were he covers understanding the coral reef, the environment, the organisms and beyond the basics. I wouldn’t buy it again.



Your First Marine Aquarium: Written by John H. Tullock. 79 pages. Published on 1998. Extremely basic but good a first approach for a beginner. It will guide you step by step on how to mount your first aquarium. Not a bad choice to start.



Corals – A Quick Reference Guide: Written by Julian Sprung. 240 pages. Published on 1999. Good book for coral identification and summarized information about placement, feeding, etc. Nice pictures. Great for a quick reference but this is not the book you are looking for if you want some more detailed information. Good book to have in bookshelf.

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: Written by Robert M. Fenner. 432 pages. Published on 1998. Book for beginners that counts with good information about setting up an aquarium, fishes and invertebrates. Good pictures. A must have for everybody that is starting. It helped me a lot in my beginnings.





Natural Reef Aquariums: Written by John H. Tullock. 336 pages. Published on 1997. Also an excellent beginner’s book. Nice pictures and information on different habitats.

Reef Fishes – Volume 1, 2 and 3: Written by Scott W. Michael. Each book has between 350 and 600 pages. Published on 1998 and 2004. Beautiful books. Extensive information about fish species. Unfortunately, volumes 4 and 5 are not available yet. They are a great buy on my opinion.




Invertebrates – A Quick Reference Guide: Written by Julian Sprung. 240 pages. Published on 2001. Good book for invertebrate identification and summarized information about feeding, behaviour, etc. Nice pictures. Great for a quick reference but this is not the book you are looking for if you want some more detailed information. Good book to have in bookshelf.



Aquarium Corals – Selection, Husbandry and Natural History: Written by Eric H. Borneman. 464 pages. Published on 2001. A must have. Great pictures and information. Twelve (12) chapters were he covers different types of corals, anatomy, food and feeding, taxonomy, husbandry, water chemistry and health among others. Everybody with a reef tank, must have a copy.



Algae – An introduction to Phycology: Written by C. Van den Hoek, D. G. Mann and H. M. Jahns. 624 pages. Published 1995. This is a very technical and difficult book to read, but it is great if you want to go in depth on algae. Not a book if you want to get into a lot of detail, but if you are challenged to learn more about our hobby, it could be a good book. Definitely, not for normal aquarists.

[tims]

here is the book section on TRT.
http://www.thereeftank.com/books/

[tdwyatt]

Specifically for info on biotopes for the clams and critter info, two books are very good for the clams, Reef Invertebrates by Calfo and Bob Fenner (ISBN 0-9672630-3-4) AND Daniel Knop's Giant Clams, now available as a translation of the original German work, (ISBN 3-921684-23-4 ). In Anthony and Bob's book there is whole chapter dealing specifically with the clams in terms of selection criteria, general health, and husbandry. The chapter is a fairly easy read (with Anthony's usual writing flair). The Knop book goes into much greater detail and may be a bit of a chore to read for some not already familiar with these clams . Both are "must have" books if the goal for your tank is a reeftop biotope for epibenthic clams.

There should be no problem with having your clams in shallow water, as many in the wild will locate in tidal water locations where they may even be exposed to air for portions of the day. It has become difficult to find them in shallow water over time, as they are often collected in the wild from the easiest locations first (and eaten!)

Using the ISBN on the book sites should make them easy to find. I believe Two Little Fishes is bringing the Knop work into the US, if the big sellers don't list it, you may want to check with some of the more specialized dealers.

HTH

[drsyme]

I found it on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...118818-5539035

[Viv]

Thanks everyone of you-you've made my job so much easier! Really appreciate all the advice I've received! Again a Big Thank You. Viv