eBook The Simple Guide to Fresh Water Aquariums ePub

I have really enjoyed referencing this book while setting up my first 55 gallon tank. Boruchowitz writes in a friendly, amusing tone while staying informative. I especially appreciate the stocking ideas - he has several groupings of fish listed which 1) will not overstock your tank, 2) generally coexist peacefully, and 3) are suitable for beginner aquarists. Definitely helps with the planning stages.

The only thing i disagree with is his method of cycling. The book was written in 01, though, so 13 years is a long time for standard protocols to change. Instead of cycling with a hardy species of fish, which Boruchowitz will be the first to tell you can be stressful on the fish, you can now buy pure ammonia and do a fishless cycle. Just make sure it's pure, no surfectants or colors. Add some directly to your tank as food for the beneficial bacteria, and it will start to cycle. I found some at Ace Hardware.

My wife and I picked up this book in the pet store along with a 29-gallon starter kit. It might have been better to read the book first, but I lucked out in that there was nothing really wrong with my kit (All-Glass kit with Tetra components). I like the For Dummies books, and looked through the Dummies book, but this one got me with its colorful photos, but is written in very much the same style as Dummies: Cartoons beginning the chapters, call-outs in the margins, friendly writing style, etc.

If you're a raw beginner with aquaria, I don't know what you could need that this book doesn't cover. I think the most valuable unique feature is the last chapter which includes a dozen or so expertly predesigned stocking schemes. Compatible fish are chosen, and the numbers given for your size tank (29- or 50- gallon) to ensure success. We are following the Asian biotope with White Clouds, Rasboras, Gold Barbs and Dwarf Gouramis.

Probably the most annoying thing about the book is that the photos of the fish are scattered throughout the book. It is nice in that while you are reading on more mundane topics, there's a fish photo to remind you of your results. I can see the advantage of this, but when you want to see what a Dwarf Gourami looks like, you have to search through the book. The index lists the fish, but does not reference the photographs! A separate index of the photos would be nice, or, at the minimum, list the photos in the regular index.

The author strongly suggests a 50- or 55-gallon tank to begin with. This is not a bad recommendation. But he realizes that that's not practical for all households. A 29 gallon is his second choice. The things he preaches are regular water changes, no overfeeding and not overpopulating the tank.

Mr. Boruchowitz suggests placing the tank near a floor drain and where a hose easily reaches. I suspect that this is not possible for most people who want an aquarium, like us, to add ambience to your living area. To meet his suggestions, we'd be putting the tank outside on the patio or on the bathroom sink! Therein lies the main disadvantage of a larger tank - water changes need to be done with buckets.

Although he does tell you the correct pronunciation of "cichlid," I wish he had discussed other pronunciations so you don't feel like a fool in the fish store. (Gouramis: Gore-A-meez or GORE-a-miss?). A half page on Latin pronunciation would have been a cool addition.

There seems to be a wide range of recommendations on what to do while cycling the tank. Some experts recommend 10-15% weekly water changes while cycling or not. They argue that letting the ammonia level rise encourages the development of the nitrifying bacteria (this is a good thing - we're trying to do this) and there is little unusual you need to do. At the other end of the spectrum are those who do large and frequent water water changes while cycling to keep the ammonia levels down for the benefit of the fish, and argue that the bacteria will develop fine regardless. Mr. Boruchowitz falls very much in the latter camp, also encouraging frequent water testing while cycling. I guess my point is to be aware that there's a range of opinions on this topic, and you may find that you can be sucessful with less work than presented. (My expert aquarist coworker told me to not bother testing and don't do anything heroic with water changes.)

Other reviewers complained that the author did not focus much on the fish. There are 1000-plus-page books on freshwater aquarium fish, and I believe that this is outside the scope of this book. There is enough discussion of fish to make you avoid problems, and if you follow the suggested stocking schemes, you should be successful. This book is addressed to beginners. Once you're successful with a scheme in this book, you can spend a lifetime researching other fish to keep.

This book also explodes many misconceptions, like that fish only grow to fit the size of the tank, (They grow until the tank is too small to support them, and they die!) and that you must have an algae eater in the tank (the problem is that people use an algae-eater as an excuse to omit proper maintenance, or don't consider its load on the tank).

I HIGHLY recommend this book to someone starting with an aquarium for the first time (and would suggest getting the book first, but when we decided to get an aquarium, we were too excited not to buy the whole outfit!). I only did not give it five stars because there's room for improvement, especially in indexing the fish photos.

I had no idea where to start. 24, new apartment, only had dogs my whole life. Couldn't get a dog so i decided to go with an aquarium since there was a sale at the pet store on aquariums and their supplies. I had no idea where to start or what to get. So i did what every intelligent person does, I researched to find out what to do from experts.

I came across many different books and this one had the best overall direction in every aspect to get you moving in the direction YOU want to go, not just a single minded direction of what fish to get or what setup is best.

I read the entire book cover to cover on a trip from Chicago IL to Columbia SC. After reading it I felt more confident and started looking at what fish are out there and what products work with what equipment and what fish prefer what decor.

This book will walk you step by step through every process of starting an aquarium with great detail. I now have a successful 55 gallon tank with about 20 fish. I am very proud of this tank and give all the credit of it being a success to this book! The prices on here are the best you will find, but a local petco, petsmart or borders will carry it if you would like to brows through it yourself.

It is worth every penny to know what to do and what you are doing before you start. If you are deciding to start and adventure with an aquarium, I would say you have to get this book, You wont regret it. Worth every penny!

I am new to the hobby of aquaria and I wanted a guide that would give me just enough information to get started without a lot of extraneous details or esoteric information. I feel like this guide has given me the knowledge I need to get my first tank up and running. On the downside, the text repeated itself ad nauseum, major points repeated over and over. I do understand hammering home important information, but the way this guide is written is to essentially say the same thing, three times, in successive paragraphs. This fact makes trudging through the text tedious at times. Another issue I had with the guide is that the photographs scattered throughout the book do not really coincide with any description in the text. I was frequently wondering more about the fish or piece of equipment in the photo.

Overall, I am glad I bought this and would recommend it for a beginner.