Reference Books

[morganjl]

I have read several threads regarding good books. So far it seems that the consensus is that Reef Inverts by Calfo and Fenner is great and that Reef Aquarium by Delbeek (Vol1) is great. What about Natural Reef Aquariums by Moe and Tullock?

When I first started keeping marine aquariums in 1997 I was told that the two books by Moe (Moe alone) were the "bibles" of Marine aquarium keeping. However I now know that my efforts then were juvenile compared to what all of you are doing....man oh man am I totally and completely impressed with each of your abilities! (OK -- Jealous might be a better adjective).....

Thoughts?
As of now I have the Calfo and Fenner, the Debeek (Vol1) and the Moe and Tullock in my "shopping cart" at Amazon......

 

[fungia]

i like natural reef aquarium. it is a good book but maybe if you are experienced and already have "the reef aquarium volume 1", it is not advanced enough for you. "the modern coral reef aquarium" series is also very nice and i consider them reference books like delbeek and sprung's series.

other then that there are many good specific books for corals and fish. and of course a lot of info online like in the library here. i am amazed how much stuff we can read now, it is good for all hobbyists.

 

[Len]

Here's a list of books that our community heartily endorses: http://www.reefs.org/library/reading/

Hope that helps a bit. If you're looking for a reference book for fish, Scott Michael's unfinished series Reef Fishes is the one, bar none.

 

[Anonymous]

Fenners Conscientious Marina Aquarist is a good starter book also.

 

[hdtran]

If you've never touched a saltwater aquarium before, I recommend John Tullock's "Your First Saltwater Aquarium." It's less than $10, and except for the overly complex salinity/specific gravity discussion, is very good for the total novice. He basically goes thru live rock, some stocking information with 'relatively hardy' critters, and gives a couple of 'mini reefs' setups, including the 'cure-it-yourself live rock.'

For slightly more advanced, either Bob Fenner's "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" or John Tullock/Martin Moe's "Natural Reef Aquariums" are fine. They overlap a bit, so if you have one, I wouldn't get the other.

You've already got "Reef Invertebrates" on order; that's an excellent book. Eric Borneman's "Aquarium Corals" is also good if you're interesed in keeping corals.

I do not have any of the more advanced books, so cannot speak to them.