Hi everyone,

I'm a novice to aquariums, and really want to do this right, I don't want to rush into things and end up wasting a bunch of money or make some pour fish suffer because I don't know what I'm doing. So I was wondering if anyone could recommend some freshwater aquarium books. Dealing with everything from fish species and how they interact with each other , to chemistry of the tank, and so on. I would really like books that are built like text books, I find these are easier to read and to consult with.

I'm really taking my time with this hobby, I have been working on my tank setup for over 6 months . So far I have built my own stand, gotten the tank (50 gallon short and deep), and am now working on a sub filter ( 20 gallon long tank).

Thanks for the help guys I will appreciate any ideas.

Why waste your money on books, when you can have the experience and knowledge of the people on this forum for free. First time I set up an aquarium, I thought I'd buy books...big mistake. Yeah, it gave you info, but didn't tell you how accurate that info was and I made some major mistakes. If I had just gone here first, I would have been more successful. You can research different kinds of fish and what they're compatible with on-line or ask the people here what they recommend. They know from experience...

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20 gallon long:Amazon Swords, Ruffle Swords, Red Flame Swords, Fanwort, Wisteria,8 Lemon tetras,
6 otos, 11 Amano shrimp, 3 mystery snails, 3 Bolivian Rams, 3 black skirt tetra and 2-3 lemon tetra fry
10 gallon: 30 lemon tetra fry, give or take...1 gallon Anubias, Fish: 1 betta

Books are nice because you always have something to refer back to and you know where it is but on the whole I have to agree with scooterlady. I have found much more specific, accurate and up to date info from this forum and other sites on the net than from books. Of course, as we all know not everything you read on the net is true but it is easy to compare and cross reference information. This forum has some really experienced and helpful members.

If you haven't done already start by reading about the 'fishless cycle' then find out all you can about the fish you want. If you give us an idea of your plans we will try to point you in the right direction.

There are so many thousands of fish available to us these days a book can't have extensive information about all of them, some fish are even too new to the hobby to appear in books, but you will find most of what is known about a specific fish on the net. If you want books try to find ones that are specific to our needs, for example, if you are going to breed cichlids, a book specifically on the subject might be useful but a general aquarium book is unlikely to have more thank a paragraph about it.

The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums (Second Edition) by David E. Boruchowitz

It's easy to read, gives the basics, covers the nitrogen cycle and suggests viable combinations of fish. He covers one way of doing this in an effort to ensure success so it is not a comprehensive review of fishkeeping but it is a good starting point.

Thanks guys I do see what you are saying and I agree, I just wanted to know if there were any books out there that are good at covering any basic of fresh water aquariums. I will definitely be using the forums for a lot of my research I just wanted to get a book for fast referencing if I needed a quick answer.

Thanks Russel !!!! checking it out on amazon right now.

I understand, it is different when you have a book at your fingertips.
This looks like it might be helpful: Fish & Aquarium Book Reviews at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish

Thx for the link!

I've been in the hobby off and on for the last 60 years and when I got back in a few years ago I needed a book to bring me up to date. I looked around and finally settled on THE COMPLETE BOOK OF THE FRESHWATER AQUARIUM by Vincent B. Hargraves. It's what it says it is complete with all the new technical I needed. I got it as a remainder at $5. He also did a saltwater book which I got just because he's such a good writer....

thanks vadis and snail im looking them all up right now

Hope you find what you want, let us know if you find a book you love, it might be useful for others.

One of my favorites that I used before I found this place is " The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" by David E. Boruchowitz. It has alot of useful information about the nitrogen cycle, types of fish, lighting, cleaning etc., and my favorite section is their suggested stocking schemes with lots of ideas for combining fish into community tanks, biotopes, species tanks and some that are just plain fun, like a Black and White tetra tank, tanks based on sizes of fish, etc. And all their stocking schemes are for both a 29 gallon and 55 gallon, with the types of fish and how many of each for the 2 sizes of tanks. It's a fun and interesting book...

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20 gallon long:Amazon Swords, Ruffle Swords, Red Flame Swords, Fanwort, Wisteria,8 Lemon tetras,
6 otos, 11 Amano shrimp, 3 mystery snails, 3 Bolivian Rams, 3 black skirt tetra and 2-3 lemon tetra fry
10 gallon: 30 lemon tetra fry, give or take...1 gallon Anubias, Fish: 1 betta