A PocketExpert Guide to Marine Fishes: 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species

This is a thorough book about marine fish. My son carries it around with him and refers to it often. He has visited many aquariums and even the open ocean and this book has never failed him. We also have salt water aquariums and find this book helpful is choosing our next fish. It tells you all about the fish and whether it is reef safe, friendly, and all of the other important information you desire when building your own school of fish.

This book is as it says in a smallish format, ..and soft cover. (My "new" copy arrived "dog-eared" despite being what I would consider adequately packaged.)That being said, the photos are excellent, in colour, and clear. I bought this book for a novice diver who wanted an identification method for reef fish encountered, ..and I must say it is excellent for this purpose. Okay so the paragraph or so about each species may not be exhaustive, but it's a "pocket" guide, .....which is exactly what I wanted. You don't want to be dragging around some weighty encyclopaedic tome when diving.If you are a marine aquarist, then there is still quite a bit of information you will find helpful, specially about compatibility. You don't want your very expensive new addition to have all it's fins eaten off immediately upon introduction,(I've had THAT happen!) ...or have it gobble up your precious corals, or the other denizens of the tank. The "Captive Care" has some very good hints that just may help you to get that reluctant feeder started.Now it's certainly NOT the "dernier cri" in saltwater aquarium books, but it doesn't pretend to be. It's something you can carry with you, leaving those heavy detailed texts behind on your bookshelves.A wide selection of fish, some rays, sharks and eels are included, ...certainly all of the ones you are most likely to encounter on a coral reef. There are no pelagic, or free swimming fish at all fishermen please note, despite the book being inclusively titled "Marine Fishes", .... these are all smaller reef dwelling and non-edible specimens. The very ones likely to be offered for keeping in aquaria; but for anyone new to the joys of exploring coral reefs, this is an ideal and compact book for looking up "what fish is that?"For this purpose alone,I'd highly recommend it. My diving friend loves it!

As someone looking to start a saltwater tank, I picked up this book to fully understand what species I want and SHOULD put in the tank I plan on setting up. This book is invaluable in pointing me to fish that will be the most appropriate for me, a new saltwater aquarist, to support. This book is a saltwater version of  Tropical Freshwater Aquarium Fish from A to Z (Compass Guides) , which like the Marine Fishes book, includes detailed information about minimum tank sizes, feeding guidance, and tips for captive care. A "suitability" color-code is also displayed for each species ranging from green (a hardy fish which is suitable for most hobbyists) to red (leave the fish in the reef).If you're new to saltwater tanks like me, I recommend you also read  Complete Encyclopedia of the Saltwater Aquarium  and the  Aquarium Corals : Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History  to gain an understanding of what's required to set up and maintain a healthy saltwater environment. Slow and steady is the word. They've certainly helped me understand what it is I need to do and this Marine Fishes book is a handy take-along for visits to the local fish stores.

As an Ichthyologist ( collector of fish ) this book is essential in knowing what fish can be put together in a tank without killing each other or the collector . Most fish are o.k. in a display tank , while other can't be put in a reef tank with out nipping and killing the corals. Then there are those fish that can sting or bite the owner while cleaning the inside of the tank . The book also lets the collector know just how large that cute little fish will grow to and what size tank it will take to keep him happy . If you don't have this book , and yet wish to have a salt water tank , without it your just rolling the dice .

I purchased this book, along with the companion Reef Fishes, for my son back in 2007 when we were starting up a marine aquarium. They have been our go to source for species information and selection. He studies them all the time and takes them everywhere with him. Question him about any fish and he knows all about it. Ask to see a picture, and he'll turn directly to the page without consulting the index. The covers have been worn off for quite some time, and the pages are starting to disappear. He finally lost both books over this past Thanksgiving holiday, so I am replacing them for Christmas. He enjoys looking at his "fish books" so much, that I searched Amazon to find other ones he might like too. I am unable to locate one that compares to these, no sense buying books he won't open more than once. It's going to be a long month until Christmas, when he gets his replacements.

So it sucks when a newly purchased fish dies... if you've done all the water and good practices, sometimes it's not you, it's the fish! Shop owners want to sell, so asking them is pointless. We always would take this with us to the shop and have all our current specimens tagged, so we could determine if they would be a good fit. I have bought several books, and this one is the most direct, and complete when it comes to identifying and shopping. Find what you want before you hit the store! Likely your LFS will be happy to order what you want.Ways to improve: The feeding schedules seem untrue, 2-4 times a day for some fish. My babies were fine with their once daily feeding. I suppose the author may mean in the ocean or someone who doesnt work. I learned to ignore this. Also, no books have this information that i have found, but this one would be amazing if it had typical lifespans.

This book is designed to aid and enhance the readers knowledge and understanding of the variety of warm water tropical marine fishes there are out there to consider when setting up a fish only, fish only with live rock or reef tank. The book lists the types of fish, their feeding habits, and compatibility issues. By reading this book the user can plan better what they are looking for in variety better and are not limited to whatever their local aquarist has in stock because they can ask them to source for more exotic species for their tanks. I would recommend this to all hobbyist's from beginner to breeders.

Easy to understand, in colour, separates the different species and difficulties in keeping, nice little book to carry in to a shop when selecting fish, also advise what fish are compatible.

Good for making marine fish selection in a dictionary format which has nearly all the species available.

Searched for a decent book about what to feed, what fish can go together, without buying 3-4 books! This has it all.

Great item