Tropical Fishkeeping References

Comment. General comments on these references.
Adrain, Colin. Mosquitofish in the Aquarium.
Baensch, H. A. and Rudiger, R. Aquarium Atlas.
Cornelius, John. Cold Experiment.
Cust, George. Striped Secrets of the Leopard Danio.
Frey, Hans. The Illustrated Dictionary of Tropical Fishes.
Ford, David. What's Cool About Coldwater.
Huntley, Wright. Jordanella floridae, The American-Flag Fish.
Innes, William T. Exotic Aquarium Fishes.
Jackson, L. A. Jordanella floridae, A Stranger In Its Own Land.
Kadlec, Jaroslav. The Killifish of West Africa.
Latimer-Sayer, Derrick. Teach Yourself Indoor Aquaria.
McDowall, R. M. New Zealand Freshwater Fishes (A Natural History and Guide).
Pool, David. The Coldwater Tank, No. 1.
Rosler, Hans-Jurgen. South American Killies in the Garden Pond.
McInerny, Derek and Gerard, Geoffrey. All About Tropical Fish.
Sellers, K AND Sellers, J. An Uncommon Killie.
Walker, Ann. American Flagfish.

Comment

The references on this page are in no way a definitive list, but rather a possibly biased selection of books enjoyed by the writer. Most are older books that capture something of the flavour of the hobby in the fifties and sixties. If they tend to have anything else in common it is that they are, each in their own way, meaty volumes which include large amounts of text and information and sometimes intriguing artwork. Hopefully there's something in here for every aquarist. Enjoy!

The References

ADRAIN, COLIN. Mosquitofish in the Aquarium. UK, in The Aquarist and Pondkeeper, May, 1993.
This is a discussion on Gambusia affinis and Heterandria formosa (both 'cool' tropicals) and guppies (because they are known to some hobbyists as 'mosquito fish'). The author is a keen, young aquarist who records his actual experiences of keeping these fish. My citation above spells the author's surname as it was for the original article, but I wonder if it is in fact 'Adrian'.
BAENSCH, H. A. AND RUDIGER R. Aquarium Atlas, Gemany, Baensch, 1991, ISBN: 3-88244-050-3.
This is the most modern book amongst those being reviewed on this page. It describes itself as: "A complete digest for all aquarists. Features 600 aquarium fish and 100 aquatic plants in full colour. Condensed, concise, information for every aquarist.". It is small, but heavy, and is printed on high quality paper with an attractive dust jacket. The price tag was weighty too, ending up at about the equivalent of $60 (US) when exported to the opposite side of the world. I purchased it for use as a reference work to sort out for myself the shambles that is aquarium fish nomenclature. It is ideal for this as it has indexes which list species by common name, scientific name and synonym. But with a 1991 publication date my copy is close the becoming out of date. It has a useful bibliography and photographs which are nearly all clear, colourful, side-on shots. The species descriptions, though sometimes losing a little in translation from the German, are systematic and make interesting reading.
CORNELIUS, JOHN. "Cold Experiment" in Practical Fishkeeping (Magazine), UK, August 1981.
An article recording the practical experiments of an aquarist in keeping selected tropicals at cooler temperatures. The author suggests 50° F (10° C) as being a quite acceptable minimum for the flagfish, bloodfin (Aphyocharax rubripinnis), peppered catfish, white cloud mountain minnow, golden barb, Texas cichlid and blind cave fish. He quotes 60° F for swordtails and angel fish, 65° F for neon tetras and says that he found paradise fish to be 'coldwater fish'.
CUST, GEORGE. Striped Secrets of the Leopard Danio. In Aquarist and Pondkeeper, UK, August, 1993.
Dr George Cust describes a breeding experiment to confirm his suspicion that the leopard danio is actually a 'sport' or colour variety of the zebra danio. He took one population of each and bred them to check that they were pure strains. He then crossed them and found that there were the proportions of each type amongst the fry that would be expected if the leopard danio was a recessive variety of the zebra danio. The concludes that the "results from the crossings, which obey the classical laws of genetics, support the hypothesis that the leopard danio is a recessive colour variant of Brachydanio rerio, the zebra danio".
FREY, HANS. The Illustrated Dictionary of Tropical Fishes. USA, TFH, 1961.
This book, originally published in German, mentions a suggested minimum temperature for many species. It includes meticulously drawn pen and ink diagrams and handpainted colour plates and so is of interest to the fish artist. Though maybe seen as a trifle out of date these days (Malawi cichlids, for instance, don't get a mention), this book was a classic in its time and is still worth referring to. Frey gives a suggested minimum temperature for most species which is useful.
FORD, DAVID.What's Cool About Coldwater. In Practical Fishkeeping, Circa 1996?
Although primarily about coldwater fish and the importation of them into the UK, this article gives a list of tropical fish suitable for cooler temperatures.
HUNTLEY, WRIGHT. Jordanella floridae, The American-Flag Fish. USA, in Journal of the Americn Killifish Assc., 29(1):3-12, 1996.
A detailed discussion of the virtues of this species, which the author describes as a "colourful bargain", under the headings: Appearance, Behaviour, Living Conditions, Spawning, Conclusions.
INNES, WILLIAM T. Exotic Aquarium Fishes. USA, TFH, 1966.
The exact original publication date of this book is unknown but the author began aquarium photography as early as 1905. Anyway it's another classic! The early black and white photographs have been supplemented by more recent colour photographs by Dr Axelrod one of which illustrates the new cover. It's a mine of information with a meaty, detailed text; unlike many modern books which tend to be all colour plates and little information. I saw this book on the shelf in an aquarist's shop recently (September, 1996), so it must still be in print.
JACKSON, L. A. Jordanella floridae, A Stranger In Its Own Land. USA, in Tropical Fish Hobbyist, June, 1992.
A detailed description of keeping and breeding this species.
KADLEC, JAROSLAV. The Killifish of West Africa. USA, in Tropical Fish Hobbyist, August, 1992.
A comprehensive and attractively illustrated article giving distribution maps, photographs of many species and descriptions of their spawning behaviour.
LATIMER-SAYER, DERRICK. Teach Yourself Indoor Aquaria. UK, English Universities Press, 1958 edition.
This is a small, seemingly modest, beginner's book on aquarium keeping. Perhaps, a little dated now, it's still crammed full of tips, some of which may interest the modern hobbyist. The author is an artist who has liberally illustrated the book with pen and ink drawings of fish and diagrams of equipment. His sketches of theromometers, for instance, give a clear idea of the models available in the era when he was writing. The descriptions of live food cultivating setups are worth checking out, even if only for the intriguing drawing of a fish head suspended in a jam jar for catching flies!
McDOWALL, R. M. New Zealand Freshwater Fishes (A Natural History and Guide). New Zealand, Heinemann Reed, MAF Publishing Group,1978, 1989, ISBN 0-7900-0022-9.
This book is not about fishkeeping but is a very comprehensive record of the fish fauna of one country in the South Pacific; covering 27 native, 20 introduced species and 6 marine 'wanderers'. It describes how livebearers, such as mollies and swordtails, have been released into and thrive in thermal hot pools in the central North Island districts which would otherwise be too cold for them. It also tells how many introduced freshwater coarse and game fish are threatening native species, one of which is portrayed on the front cover. 250 photographs and numerous scientifically accurate rapidograph ink drawings are included.
POOL, DAVID The Coldwater Tank, No. 1. UK, Practical Fishkeeping, 19??.
A helpful and well written introduction to setting up a coldwater tank. Includes mention of rice fish, white cloud minnows and paradise fish as coldwater fish.
ROSLER, HANS-JURGEN. South American Killies in the Garden Pond. USA, in Tropical Fish Hobbyist, January, 1992.
The author describes his practical experience of keeping the following in a garden pond: Cynolebias bellotti, C. nigripinnis, C. alexandri, C. whitei, C. constanciae, Pterolebias longipinnis and P. peruensis. These were all summered in an outdoor pond with the author checking the temperature in the autumn and removing the fish when it regularly fell below 59° F. He says: "It didn't matter which species summered in the garden pond- in every instance, I "harvested" magnificent fishes. The most astonishing thing was the even the puniest fry, which I would never have kept to raise under aquarium culture (for reasons of space) developed into handsome creatures when raised outdoors". This is an intriguing article - a good read!
McINERNY, DEREK AND GERARD, GEOFFREY. All About Tropical Fish. London, Harrap, 1958.
This once very expensive book was a classic in its day. It includes exquisitely printed colour photographs which were some of the first of real quality in an English book on tropical fish. It has breeding prescriptions for most common, and some rare, species. The technical advice it gives is sound, the authors having been commercial breeders and importers.
SELLERS, K AND J. An Uncommon Killie. USA(?), in Freshwater and Marine Aquaria, January, 1985.
The 'uncommon killie' is the American Flagfish for which a distribution map is given together with a record of the authors' experiences of keeping them.
WALKER, ANN. American Flagfish. UK, in The Aquarist and Pondkeeper, November, 1974.
A brief but interesting article recording the author's experiences of keeping and breeding this fish and then subsequently losing the fry due to some guppies being placed in the tank!

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