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Reef Fishes #1
Reef Fishes: A Guide to Their Identification, Behavior, and Captive Care
Covering 68 families and thousands of species, Reef Fishes is an authoritative guide designed to be a lifelong reference for saltwater aquarists, divers, and amateur reef naturalists. This volume covers coral reef habitats and fish families, with detailed information on major groups.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 23, 2014
2008 review: Great reference book. I should buy this.
2014 REVIEW January Re read. I have been fish watching and identifying fish for just about 15 years. And now that I live in Hawaii, it is still fun, but it is becoming more difficult to see an "uncommon, rare, or new fish" Thus I have become a fish voyeur. John Hoover does a good job, in his latest book, explaining some fishes behaviors, but so far I have not found a book that is inclusive. Scott Michael's book is mostly for aquarists, however, he does a more than adequate job, in Volume I, of describing the stalking, feeding and spawning behaviors of quite a few of the fish. I wanted to reread this book, as I have noticed some unusual behaviors in the Trumpet Fish. Anyone who watches fish would know the Trumpet Fish can change its color quickly. I recently saw it floating along, in glorious yellow, with a group of yellow Tangs, and suspected it of posing as a yellow Tang. BINGO! To shorten up this tale, this behavior is called "riding", and the Trumpet Fish is indeed trying to blend in, to more easily catch his lunch. Scott Michael wrote two pages about this stalking behavior, and I now have more behaviors to watch for.
The book also confirmed our observation of the nest defending nature of some Triggerfish. Something that Jeff and I became acutely aware of in Bali, when the Titon Triggerfish would actually chase you, and if you did not retreat, we were told the consequence could be a nasty bite. And this year, for the first time, we became aware that the male Lagoon Triggerfish, in the waters of Kailua Kona, will also make a run at you, trying to keep you away from it's unhatched litter. However, Jeff stood his ground, and snapped several pictures of this behavior. If you are really interested, the description and pictures are in his blog. Try Googling Jeff Hill Snorkeling Kona.
To summarize, a very good book, but it does not have all I was looking for. I will keep searching.
2014 REVIEW January Re read. I have been fish watching and identifying fish for just about 15 years. And now that I live in Hawaii, it is still fun, but it is becoming more difficult to see an "uncommon, rare, or new fish" Thus I have become a fish voyeur. John Hoover does a good job, in his latest book, explaining some fishes behaviors, but so far I have not found a book that is inclusive. Scott Michael's book is mostly for aquarists, however, he does a more than adequate job, in Volume I, of describing the stalking, feeding and spawning behaviors of quite a few of the fish. I wanted to reread this book, as I have noticed some unusual behaviors in the Trumpet Fish. Anyone who watches fish would know the Trumpet Fish can change its color quickly. I recently saw it floating along, in glorious yellow, with a group of yellow Tangs, and suspected it of posing as a yellow Tang. BINGO! To shorten up this tale, this behavior is called "riding", and the Trumpet Fish is indeed trying to blend in, to more easily catch his lunch. Scott Michael wrote two pages about this stalking behavior, and I now have more behaviors to watch for.
The book also confirmed our observation of the nest defending nature of some Triggerfish. Something that Jeff and I became acutely aware of in Bali, when the Titon Triggerfish would actually chase you, and if you did not retreat, we were told the consequence could be a nasty bite. And this year, for the first time, we became aware that the male Lagoon Triggerfish, in the waters of Kailua Kona, will also make a run at you, trying to keep you away from it's unhatched litter. However, Jeff stood his ground, and snapped several pictures of this behavior. If you are really interested, the description and pictures are in his blog. Try Googling Jeff Hill Snorkeling Kona.
To summarize, a very good book, but it does not have all I was looking for. I will keep searching.
September 1, 2012
extremely helpful with my saltwater tank species
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews