Product Description

Covers the latest aquarium gadgets


Design a dazzling underwater environment with this bestselling guide!

Setting up your first freshwater aquarium can be a daunting task. This friendly guide answers all your questions, from setting up your tank and selecting fish to the water, chemicals, plants, and much more. There′s also expanded guidance on combining different species of fish, maintaining a tank, cleaning gravel, and dealing with common problems such as algae.

Discover how to
∗ Choose the right aquarium
∗ Select the best fish
∗ Get good deals on equipment
∗ Maintain a clean, healthy environment
∗ Handle tank pitfalls
∗ Breed your fish

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22613 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 456 pages

From the Back Cover
Covers the latest aquarium gadgets

Design a dazzling underwater environment with this bestselling guide!

Setting up your first freshwater aquarium can be a daunting task. This friendly guide answers all your questions, from setting up your tank and selecting fish to the water, chemicals, plants, and much more. There′s also expanded guidance on combining different species of fish, maintaining a tank, cleaning gravel, and dealing with common problems such as algae.

Discover how to

• Choose the right aquarium
• Select the best fish
• Get good deals on equipment
• Maintain a clean, healthy environment
• Handle tank pitfalls
• Breed your fish

About the Author
Maddy and Mic Hargrove are both contributing writers for many aquatic magazines, including Tropical Fish Hobbyist and Aquarium Fish magazine, and are also the authors of several aquarium books. They have both been in the writing industry for over 30 years.
Maddy’s interest in fish began when she was five years old. She often dreamed of keeping fish at home as she watched the local fishermen bring in their daily catch in her hometown. She began keeping aquariums at age seven and began breeding fish at age ten. She built her aquarium collection by selling and trading her newborn fry to local aquarium stores in exchange for aquariums and equipment as she was growing up.
Her passion for aquarium fish continued on after she finished her college degree in journalism and began writing aquarium–keeping articles for print and online aquatic magazines. Eventually, she wrote several aquarium columns and began writing fishkeeping books to help other hobbyists enjoy keeping aquariums at home as much as she did. Her love of fish has also appeared in her greeting cards, cartoons, and other artwork.

Mic has kept aquarium fish for almost 30 years. He was one of the first sailors to develop a tank system that could keep aquarium fish alive onboard Navy vessels. His love of fish began when he saw many different species, aquatic traditions, and other hobbyists while on his worldwide military travels.
Both authors enjoy breeding fish, traveling, scuba diving, cooking and creating exciting new recipes, collecting old records, and computer games.

Customer Reviews

All in all not bad....
Bought this book as I decided to delve into the weird and wonderful world of tropical fish and all the information I kept getting from the local aquatic centres seemed to be confusing and contradictory.

For a beginner, its not a bad book at all. There is free information available on the internet but I wanted something I could refer to quickly and browse as and when I wanted to.

The contents cover everything you need to know but Im not convinced its laid out in the most logical of of order. However fishkeeping isnt an exact science so maybe thats why.

One word of warning....its written for our friends across the pond so many of the web sites suggestions are US based and irrelevant for the UK.

Good start
This book is an excellent introduction to the world of freshwater aquariums. It's clear, well indexed and assumes you know nothing about the subject, thus makng it perfect for the begginer or novice.It covers everthing to start your aquarium from choosing stockists of equipment and fish to chemical composition of the water. The writing style is easy on the brain and quite amusing, whilst flagging the serious stuff you need to know.I really enjoy reading it !!
Only a harsh 4 stars , because it is quite american (the websites given are all for the U.S) and I would have preferred more speicies info and compatability, but, I suppose that's a whole new book.
In conclusion, if you are new to the subject, buy this book and get friendly with a couple of Aquarium stores to give you speicies guidance.

THIS EARNED POINTS OR ME OFF THE WIFE
THE BETTER HALF WANTED TO START KEEPING FISH. I GOT THIS AND TURNED HER INTO AN EXPERT (SORT OFF)
SERIOUSLY HOWEVER, THE INFORMATION GLEANED FROM THIS BOOK HAS TO DATE SAVED ME A SMALL FORTUNE.
WELL WORTH HAVING TO THE ABSOLUTE NOVICE.
IF HOWEVER YOU HAVE SOME EXPERIANCE, YOU CAN CHECK SOME BITS AND BOBS BUT THIS IS FAR FROM DEFINITIVE.
GET THE BOOKS FROM THE LIBRARY, THE PROBLEM HOWEVER COMES WITH TRYING TO GET UP TO DATE INFORMATION.
THIS IS DATED AS BEING PRINTED RECENTLY, UPDATED ? I AM NOT AT ALL SURE.

OVERALL IT WAS WORTH THE PRICE I PAID BUT WOULD NOT BE IMPRESSED IF I NOUGHT AT A PET SHOP AND PAID THE FULL RRP