The author, Bryan Chin, has won IFGA Best in Show awards in tank and delta categories. Also he has won in class awards in Greens, Multicolor, Blue, Reds, Purple, Blue-Green Bicolor, and Breeder Male. In 2013 he was named Guppy Man of the Year. He has written fancy guppy articles published in the IFGA newsletter and his Rocky Mountain Guppy Association club website (guppywest.com). He has also spoken at aquariums clubs regarding the breeding of show guppies. His fish photographs have been published in Tropical Fish Hobbyist and Amazonas magazines. Written from experience and illustrated throughout with over 100 diagrams, tables, and full color photos. Breeding Show Guppies provides readers with how to breed show winning guppies, from selecting the right fish to providing the best aquarium management and health. Contains valuable information about: - Maintaining good water conditions - Healthy growth in guppies - Breeding Techniques - Problem solving to fine tune your show guppies - Journal on breeding winning green guppies - Showing guppies
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.
"Provides readers with all the basics of guppy ownership, from selecting the right variety to providing the best feeding, aquarium management and health care."--Back cover
It's not every day that a 16 year old writes a book. In fact, girls and boys of that age are supposed to spend their time studying what other people write. It is pre-sumed that at that age they do not themselves have anything significant or interesting to say. And the education system guarantees just that. The best rewards go to those who can parrot set answers to set questions in examination halls. Those who try to use their imagination or reply differently are often punished with low grades.
Noble and dignified, if somewhat tousled, the Otterhound is no longer called upon to hunt his namesake quarry, though he now makes a reliable companion dog for an active family who knows how to keep him busy. This giant hunting scenthound is blessed with a boisterous nature, a sonorous voice and an irrepressible love of mud, traits that may not be welcome in every household. No dog as big (and messy) as the Otterhound is for everyone, and the Otterhound—though personable, even-tempered and friendly—is no exception. Author Juliette Cunliffe, a recognized authority on hound breeds the world over, paints a pleasing but realistic portrait of this majestic hound among hounds, offering sensible information about the breed’s training, feeding, care and maintenance. Students of the Otterhound will welcome the author’s concise but complete history of the breed in England as well as American breeder Elizabeth Conway’s retelling of the breed’s history in the United States. Like all editions in Kennel Club Books’ Comprehensive Owner’s Guide series, Otterhound discusses the breed standard, breed characteristics, puppy selection, owner requirements, healthcare and much more. Surely all admirers of this noble breed will welcome this Special Rare-Breed Edition as a cherished addition to their canine libraries.
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.
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.
