The beautiful color and peaceful nature of the guppy have contributed to their increasing popularity. Aquarium Care of Fancy Guppies provides all of the necessary information needed to successfully raise and care for guppies in home aquariums. From setup and maintenance to feeding and breeding, this comprehensive yet easy-to-read guide will help anyone interested in keeping these charming little fish. Book jacket.
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
Livebearers focuses on four families of fish which contain many of the most attractive and popular species in the tropical fish hobby today, including guppies, mollies, swordtails, and platies. The families include Goodeidae (Mexican livebearers), Anablepidae (four-eyes and others), Poeciliidae (guppies and others); and Hemirhamphidae (halfbeaks). Author David Alderton explains that hobbyists have applied the term livebearer to these four families for convenience even though there are fourteen families in the wild that reproduce by bearing live young. The chapter “Where in the World?” focuses on the natural history of these families, their distribution, and lifestyles. Hobbyists looking to begin an aquarium of livebearers or to expand their existing communities will find useful information in the chapter called “The Different Groups,” in which Alderton discusses age considerations, health matters, and sex. The chapter also describes the four families and the most common genus/species of each. Included are sixteen representatives of the Family Goodeidae (e.g., Allodontichth, Characodon, and Skiffia), three genus of the Family Anablepidae (Anableps, Jenynsia, and Oxyzgonectes), twenty-six representatives of the Family Poeciliidae (e.g., Belonesox, Fiexipenis, and Limia); and three genus of the Family Hemirhamphidae (Dermogenys, Hemirhamphodon, and Namorhamphus). This colorful, user-friendly guide offers basic information on the anatomical characteristics, housing options, required aquarium equipment for livebearers as well as their feeding habits and food requirements (greenstuff, carotene-rich foods, live foods, meat, etc.). The breeding habits of livebearers have ensured their popularity with hobbyists, and the chapter on reproduction describes the various breeding habits of livebearers and outlines successful breeding strategies for interested hobbyists. In the chapter on health care, the author offers solid advice about caring for livebearers to maximize their lifespan in captivity, which is typically only a few years. He also gives information on signs of illness and some basic diseases that can be treated by the fish keeper. The final chapter offers photographs and distribution maps for sixteen popular livebearers of all four families, including information on size, physical description, natural habitat and behavior, and required aquarium conditions. The author’s livebearer hit parade includes the butterfly goodeid, rainbow goodeid, black-finned goodea, four-eyed fish, guppy (millions fish), black molly, sailfin molly, swordtail, platy (moonfish), mosquito fish (dwarf and large), humpbacked (black-barred) limia, black-bellied limia, pike livebearer (piketop minnow), knife (Alfaro’s) livebearer, and wrestling halfbeak. Resources, glossary, and index included.
Betta fish, also known as Siamese fighting fish, are a popular choice for pets due to their beautiful appearance and easy maintenance. Despite being easy to care for, many people are unaware of the proper way to care for betta fish. Therefore, this book will provide a guide on how to care for betta fish easily and correctly. By studying this guide, you can ensure the health and quality of your pet betta fish, ensuring they remain beautiful and active.
A solid beginner's guide to caring for and breeding guppies, aimed at first-time guppy owners. Very little rivals the life and beauty a well-maintained aquarium can add to a room, and getting started with one of your own needn't be as difficult as you might imagine.
For beginning aquatic fancier looking to start out right with fish, Freshwater Aquariums by David Alderton is the ideal primer. A vertebrate that breathe primarily by means of gills and swim by means of fins is the author’s lead-in to the first chapter called “What are Fish?” Alderton builds the reader’s confidence by providing solid information about what fish are anatomically speaking, how they evolved, how they breathe, how they move, where they live, and how they behave. The new fancier’s aquarium begins in chapter two with instructions on setting up the tank, including selecting the right size, figuring out how many fish, setting the tank, equipment, substrate, heating, lighting, filtrations, plants, water chemistry, assembly, and more. Choosing the freshwater fishes that appeal to the reader is the subject of “Introducing the Categories of Fish,” which schools readers in seven categories: Cyprinids (e.g., goldfish, minnows, and barbs), Characins (e.g., tetras), Cichlids (e.g., oscars, angelfish, and discus), Anabantoids (gouramis, bettas/Siamese fighting fish, and paradise fish), Toothcarps (guppies, swordtails, platies, black mollies, and killifish), Catfish, and others (loaches and Chinese algae eaters). The purchasing, maintenance, and feeding of fish are described in considerable details, and the author gives a basic overview of breeding and keeping fish healthy as well. Resources, glossary, and index conclude the book.
Fish Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment, Second Edition provides thorough, yet concise descriptions of viral, bacterial, fungal, parasitic and noninfectious diseases in an exhaustive number of fish species. Now in full color with over 500 images, the book is designed as a comprehensive guide to the identification and treatment of both common and rare problems encountered during the clinical work-up. Diseases are discussed following a systems-based approach to ensure a user-friendly and practical manual for identifying problems. Fish Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment, Second Edition is the must-have reference for any aquaculturists, aquatic biologists, or fish health specialists dealing with diagnosing or treating fish diseases.
