What are Your Must Have Books?

[MuddyWaters]

All,

I'd like to get a couple of books to read about freshwater tropical aquariums- the fish, water & plants.

What are the books you go to over and over again? Or, what book gave you insight that you wouldn't have otherwise had?

For plants, I'm interested in something that addresses LED lighting comprehensively and deals with fertilization methods.

For plants and fish, I'd like to get an encyclopedia type book that is reliable and gives insight into each fish and/or plant.

There are tons out there, but there's also tons of info on the web- one thing you read will often directly contradict something else- both with 100% confidence that they're right. I'm trying to find some info that's practical, reliable, and not the "this is my way and it's the only way that's any good" type approaches.

Thanks for any feedback you can provide!

 

[GaryE]

First, almost everything is out of print. So most good aquarium books are second hand now, and prices can vary wildly.

For fish info, the three volume Baensch Atlas can't be beat. It's a bit dated, but it is astonishingly good. They were $45 each new, 35 softcover, but may be collector's items now.
A lot of specialist, high quality fish books are ludicrously expensive. I have one that was an expensive $85 new 20 years ago that now sells for 700, in mint condition. It's become a bit crazy. Very little new is being published.
Books are also opinionated, but the good ones were peer edited. If I said anything I could not provide backup for, my scientist editors would have roasted it and sent me back to write something I could prove. That is a process not followed on youtube. There, I can say anything I want, and it's only popularity that matters. I'm not popular!

 

[Ichthys]

The Baensch Atlas is 4 volumes. I have them.

It won’t tell you about individual fish species, but The Tropical Fishlopaedia, by Dr Peter Burgess and Mary Bailey, tells you about all aspects of keeping fish, and is a book every aquarist should have.

My favourite book is very old and a lot of the names, and the species available, have changed by now, but it has some gems of information that are all but forgotten. Sterba’s Freshwater Fishes of the World.

The internet pretty much marked the end of across-the-board fish atlas type books.

 

[GaryE]

I notice no responses on the plant question. At this point, the best books are self published by reputed authors, and are very expensive. I doubt you'll get anything that looks at LED lighting. It's changing so quickly, no one could keep up.
You might find things with ferts.

Online, if 'plant world' is like 'fish world', you'll get brand loyalties at one level, and then have to delve into chemistry. Every town I've lived in has people who mix their own. I would look for sites plant people who make sense like, choose one approach and go with it. We live in times where people who know nothing are very loud, in everything, and we have to work around them as obstacles. There's a point where you have to look at credentials, see who has studied and put a little trust in that. If the site sells large scale, be skeptical is my rule. Seek the nerds.

 

[Back in the fold]

I have two copies of the Dr. William T. Innes book Exotic Aquarium Fishes . It was the first tropical fish book I ever read back in the 1960’s and is still relevant . It lists almost all the common fish of the hobby with just enough information on each to get you going on keeping them successfully . It is also a wonderful moment in time snapshot of the hobby in its infancy . Dr. Innes also has a very distinctive and charming writing style that appeals to me . One other book I have that I treasure is Ed Warner’s Success With Killifish . He self published this small paperback himself and is a hobbyist . He makes no claims to any scholarship or authority and tells you straight up that what he recommends may not work for you . Refreshing honesty .

 

[MuddyWaters]

I notice no responses on the plant question. At this point, the best books are self published by reputed authors, and are very expensive. I doubt you'll get anything that looks at LED lighting. It's changing so quickly, no one could keep up.
You might find things with ferts.

Online, if 'plant world' is like 'fish world', you'll get brand loyalties at one level, and then have to delve into chemistry. Every town I've lived in has people who mix their own. I would look for sites plant people who make sense like, choose one approach and go with it. We live in times where people who know nothing are very loud, in everything, and we have to work around them as obstacles. There's a point where you have to look at credentials, see who has studied and put a little trust in that. If the site sells large scale, be skeptical is my rule. Seek the nerds.

I'm set on the fertilization method- Dr Barr's Estimative Index. I found a good recipe to create my own, but then found dry mixes online pretty cheap, so laziness won.

The lighting is more difficult. I have found some decent information on how to see how much light the plants are getting, but the info on how much time at 100% etc. wildly varies.

I think I'll just have to keep digging. The desire to be an authority, and the ease with which one can achieve that status (be the loudest) has obfuscated the real info, but I like your mantra- "look for the nerds."

 

[Back in the fold]

@MuddyWaters and @GaryE I too wholeheartedly agree with the statement “look for the nerds” .