Aquarium Atlas v1

One very popular hobby in the UK, indeed large parts of the planet, is that of tropical fish keeping - and as with any hobby, there is a plethora of books on the subject aimed at aspects of the hobby, from the beginner, to the specialist, to the niche market, and so on.

As a long time tropical hobbyist myself, I also have a number of books, magazine articles, and other sources of information - after all, we are looking after living creatures here and it we are morally bound to give them our best attention, which sadly isn't always the case.

During my thirty-plus years of caring for fish, I have found one book to be completely invaluable and I keep it close to me as a general handbook that covers every aspect of aquaria and it remains as relevant to me today as it did when I first bought it many many years ago. That book is "Aquarium Atlas" by Dr Rudiger Riehl and Hans Baensch. My copy is bruised and battered and even has loose pages but I have had it for over 25 years now, and is a continuing source of reference to me so that is perhaps unsurprising.

What makes this book so special? Many books tend to be collections of pretty pictures of fish, but little description, or grand descriptions and poor illustrations. This book (and in fact subsequent volumes too) have both.

The book is divided into several sections, dealing variously with the aquarium itself, substrate, filtration and the contained environment, to plants, lighting, various biotopes, plants, fish health, and of course the fish themselves, all contained within slightly under 1000 pages, and yet contained in an handy size that simply works.

The Fish themselves form the bulk of this book as one might expect, and rightly so. The key to this book is how those fish are arranged, not simply by geographical region, but also into orders and families. In fact it can be become rather technical in places - but not to such an extent that it preaches or becomes overly complex. It allows the reader to take in as much, or as little as necessary. But the way in which it is arranged demonstrates how much thought has gone into this book and why it remains invaluable over thirty years after first being published. A great example of this is the family Cichlidae which spans much of the globe, from Africa, South America, and Asia, and we can find the type we are looking for readily. Similarly with characins both egg-laying and live bearing.

When dealing with individual fish, this book has a universal pattern; a clear photograph on the right hand page and a description on half of the left hand page - more where necessary but the format is consistent and useful. Within that description is the fishes name in both latin and common forms, other synonyms or previous names (nomenclature of fish historically has been somewhat fluid) geographical region, a brief history of it's introduction into the hobby, sexual identification, social behaviour, maintenance, breeding habitat, feeding, and other notes. This is all laid out in a neat, concise, consistent way and is technically accurate. I have never been able to find fault with the description of any of the fish I have kept.

Below this description is a brief key, designed to be a quick reference, covering temperature range, maximum fish size, aquarium size, and water chemistry and condition - in both metric and imperial, thus meeting all our needs.

The wealth of information within a single description is truly outstanding and gives all but the specialist enough information to make an informed choice about the fish and plants to be stocked in the aquarium. Indeed, some books claiming to specialise in certain fish are less informative and not as clear.

The fish are grouped generally by family, some getting a special section of their own (such as the true bony fishes) and each comes with a map illustrating the group's range across the planet. This allows the aquarist to choose fish specific to one region or specific water conditions, or compatibility - something very important. Fish are not cheap to buy, and ensuring that they will not be devoured by a newcomer is for many people rather important - but sadly has happened to many of us.

One of the most important features of this book is not the single index, but the three indices that enables the reader to locate exactly the fish or subject desired. There is a common index, an Index of Synonyma, and an Index of Scientific Names - an excellent reference that enables the most obscure fish to be researched if necessary.

The first volume contains details of over 600 fish and 100 plants, subsequent volumes are of a similar magnitude and it is widely considered to be the fish bible within the ornamental aquatic trade itself - importers, stockists and reputable retail outlets generally have a well thumbed copy to hand for reference. It's worth pointing out that the quality of construction is high. The pages are shiny, and so can withstand the occasional drop of water, the spine is sewn and indeed my own copy has taken a lot of battering over the years and remains completely legible.

This is an invaluable book for any fish keeper. It is not the cheapest book but comparatively is excellent value for money, there are plenty of less informative volumes for a similar price. One thing that is sure that the savings in terms of loss of fish reduced by owning this book will repay its price many-fold. Anyone serious about keeping freshwater tropical fish needs this book in their collection. If you love fish, you'll love this book.