Writing a fish handbook...

[Never2Bknown]

Because fish are beautiful, common, and relatively cheap, a lot of people buy them without really doing any research. So, I'm making sort of an easy-access free handbook with tips, a disease reference, info on dyed fish, and, of course, basic care info on several different types of fish (and a few eels) commonly found in pet shops. If I did every single type of aquarium fish I could find, the book would several inches thick... Anyway, for each species of fish, I look up at least 5 to 10 different websites or care sheets in order to make sure that the info I put down is accurate. It's really fun because I get to learn a lot of info about fish that I didn't know before.

Here's the fish that I've done so far:

African Butterfly fish
Angel Fish
Bala Shark
Betta
Black Ghost Knife
Black Neon Tetra
Black Skirt Tetra
Blood Parrot Cichlid
Blue Gourami
Bristlenose pleco
Bumblebee Goby
Cardinal Tetra
Channel Catfish
Cherry Barb
Chinese Algae Eater
Clown Loach
Corydoras Catfish
Discus

as well as
Guppy
Kuhli Loach
Swordtail

To Do:
Dragon Goby
Dwarf Gourami
Dwarf Puffer
Fire Eel
Fire-Mouth Meeki
Giant Danio
Glass/Ghost Catfish
Glass Fish
Goldfish
Green Puffer
Hatchetfish
Hi-fin Bull Shark
Iridescent Shark
Kenyi
Kissing Gourami
Knife Fish
Molly
Oscar
Otocinclus
Pacu
Peacock Eel
Pearl Danio
Pim Pictus Catfish
Platy
Plecostomus
Rainbow Shark
Rasbora
Red-Finned Shark
Rosy Barb
Rubbernose Plecostomus
Siamese Algae Eater
Silver Arowana
Silver Dollar
Spiny Eel
Synodontis Catfish
Tiger Barb
Tinfoil Barb
Tire-track Eel
Upside-down catfish
Zebra Danio

Long list, huh? If there's a really common fish that I'm missing--or if you can tell me about the most common African Cichlids (there's so many, I don't even know where to start!!!)--I would really appreciate it.

Also, if there are any special care tips that you know about a type of fish that you own, please, tell me!!!

General fish keeping tips are greatly appreciated as well.

I'm writing this book to give away for free at my LFS's so as to encourage people to do at least a LITTLE research before they buy a fish!! The fish info includes any special needs for a type of fish as well as what they eat, what their water and habitat requirements are, how big they get, what kind of tank they are best suited for (aggressive, community, etc.), and how big their minimum tank size is.

 

[fufanu360]

very nice idea...

hmm i got some otyhers for ya, lab cichlids, jewel cichlids, some common plecs... i think u forgot the mollies!

 

[sylvia]

I have a simple suggestion concerning the 'blue' gourami... call it a 'three-spot' and include it's color morphs (blue, opaline, soby, gold etc) as people often confuse these and think they are seperate species...

Also make it clear that dwarf gouramies have various color variants.

Moonlight gourami, honey gourami, thick-lipped (colisa labiosa), banded/striped/indian gourami (colisa fasciata), croaking gourami, sparkling gourami... I don't know if these are considered common but licorice and chocolate gouramies too.

Then there's paradise fish.

I'd include some ctenopomas and climbing perches even though they aren't quite so common.

And Oh My!!! You've missed the PEARL GOURAMI???!!!

edit: And so people don't complain about my labyrinth obsession German Blue/Gold and Bolivian rams.

 

[aqtaquaman]

If it a modiest free hand book stick with generalities,e.g. the importance of water changes, compatibility issues, different water chemistries, biotopes, and of course the nitrogen cycle, just to name a few. If you include this, plus all the species profiles it would actually be a book and the work involved would not make you want to just give it away.

As for african cichlids, go by biotope: malawi, tanganyika, victoria, west african central/ east african. Then name the most common of each.