Aquarium Atlas by Dr Baensch

[SarahBravo]

Does anyone have any or all of the 3 volumes of this? I'm confused as to how it works, are fishes A - H in vol 1, fish I - S in 2 etc or is each volume an updated and expanded version of the previous one? They have great reviews, but I can't find any online store that shows the index (always useful to check out in a reference book).

Or could anyone recommend another encyclopaedia of aquarium fish? I have a few small ones, but with only the most common species, I'd like something a little more expansive on the fish, but without the 'how to set up an aquarium' stuff. (Not that I'm an expert, just that I already have some books for that kinda info).

And on another topic, one of my zebra loaches, the ones that like to lie on their sides and pretend to be dead, was lying on his side when I got home so I poked him and told him not to be a bad fish, except..... he was dead. Bummer.

Sarah

 

[Da_Oz]

Look here

http/www.fishbookstore.com/phpcatalog/

 

[SirMinion]

Does anyone have any or all of the 3 volumes of this?  I'm confused as to how it works, are fishes A - H in vol 1, fish I - S in 2 etc or is each volume an updated and expanded version of the previous one?  They have great reviews, but I can't find any online store that shows the index (always useful to check out in a reference book).

There are now four of them, and we have the first three.

We have found them invaluble for researching what to keep in our tanks.

Sometimes they seem a little strange, not listing what we might consider common hobby fish, but sometimes listing fish that you'll never see in someone's home (like the mekong catfish, or the european pike)

Occasionally, volume two lapses into german for no apparent reason.

Each book is set out into fish in families, and then into sub-families. For example, the characin family contains several sub families such as bryconinae and tetragonopterinae

I'm not sure how they've decided what order that they're in, but it seems that they simply keep finding more fish to write about and so produce another book.

Book one also includes aquarium plants, fish biology and taxanomy and has all that stuff about how to build from scratch and maintain various biotope aquariums.
..plus details of around 600 species of fish.

The fish details include:
The fish's current scientific name including family, sub family & species.
Previous names and synonyms
when it was discovered and by whom
Any common names
Where it comes from & type of biotope/habitat
Prefered captive decor
What it eats in the wild
What it eats in the aquarium
Water parameters including temp, hardness & pH
Social habits (peaceful, aggressive, etc)
Wild & captive breeding info
Sexing
Adult size (metric & imperial)
Recommended tank size (metric & imperial)
General observations & points of interest
How common the species is in the hobby
...And of course one or more full colour photographs.

Book two has less other stuff and more fish,
book three has more fish and I assume book four has yet more fish.

You can be pretty much assured that if the fish is in the hobby, then it's listed in Baensch.

(They seem rather short on puffers though)

On the whole though, they are an excellent resource. We will be buying volume four just as soon as we can find it for less than £38....

 

[SirMinion]

And here's a scan of a typical page...

And each book has several indexes:
An index of common names
an index of scientific names and
an index of synonyms.

 

[Link]

I've got the first three book and they are seriously cool
I couldn't tell you what order they have them in or anything but if you cant find the info in these books you probably wont find it anywhere else.
I just look through each one until I find the right info. Doesnt take as long as you'd think

 

[Dubby]

That looks wonderful

How would that compare with (say) www.fishbase.org?

 

[CFC]

A great set of books for the information on the basic husbandry of most fish, i have all three and the photo index of books one to five and will be adding the fourth and fith atlases to my library as soon as they are published in English. Unless you have a serious intrest in a particular set of fishes then these books will give you all the information you will ever need. There is also a seperate dwarf Cichlid atlas whch is great for those with a intrest in Appistogramma species etc.

 

[Ben]

me wants now!

 

[SirMinion]

I have all three and the photo index of books one to five...

So is the photo index book worth having as well as the main atlases?
Often wondered what the difference is.

Also I believe altlas 4 is now in English.

Have a look here at the full range.

 

[Arfie]

They look good books, I must keep my eye out for them.

Sarah, sorry about the loss of your Loach and looking at your sig you've had a bad few days

Arfie

 

[LadyMinion]

How would that compare with (say) www.fishbase.org?

I think the books are a much better resource than fishbase. Fishbase is more "scientific" and not really much help to the average aquarist.

 

[Nisha]

I got the first atlas recently (after it was recommended by CFC! ) and I'm really glad I got it. It has good, easy to understand info on the fish and plants. Plus it goes into lots of fascinating detail in introductions to each type of fish which can be read at leisure. The common and scientific name indexes make it really easy to find the info you're looking for. Very handy to have around.

 

[SarahBravo]

Thanks guys, SirM, most excellent feedback! I will definitely be looking for these on ebay! (Can't buy them new, was just bad and bought a python cos I can't stand the bucket brigade any more!) Yeah Arfie, little buggers keep croaking. I've told 'em, the next one to die gets into BIG trouble

Sarah

 

[SarahBravo]

SirM, you're a bad influence, don't think I can resist vols 1-3 for just £47!!!

Sarah

 

[SirMinion]

SirM, you're a bad influence, don't think I can resist vols 1-3 for just £47!!!

Sarah

Yes, that is a darn good price. We paid £23 to £28 each for ours!