Marine Fishes

by Scott W. Michael, Janine Cairns-Michael (Photographer)

Comprehensive: 500+ species photographs, covering all popular and commonly available aquarium species ---Authoritative: expert advice on feeding and captive care ---Informative: aquarium suitability ratings for every species ---Easy to use: complete species name and common name indexes

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals

448 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 1999

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I necessary addition to the marine bookshelf

[63alfred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource for the saltwater hobbiest

[Dara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not an aquarist nor have I kept any fish other than a few bettas & mollies when I was a kid. I found this book for like $1.99 at Saver’s & said why the fuck not. I like learning about marine life. It was probably intended to be a reference guide & not a cover-to-cover read, but whatever.

Now while I may have very little knowledge on fish & aquariums, I find the information in this book to be lacking. It’s principally focused on keeping fish in captivity, but really only provides the bare minimum information. It best serves as a flip-through picture guide. While it offers brief descriptions of captive diets & whether any given species is aggressive toward members of their own or another species, there is very little provided on personalities or common social behaviours. After just reading this 422 page book in its entirety, I feel like I know nothing more about these fish. Surely aquarists do not take pretty looking fish out of their natural habitats just to watch them be pretty through glass but what do I know