Books on Animals
Cold Water Fish
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See also:
Marine
fish
Tropical
fish
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Taking Care of Your Goldfish
This is a short, inexpensive, guide to goldfish keeping which is especially written for children - it's a good choice for families who suddenly find they have acquired a fish through one of the younger members, and do not have experience in fishkeeping! The book is set out and illustrated in a way that will appeal to children, who feature in the illustrations, while the information it contains is useful for all the family.
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Care for Your Goldfish
This is the RSPCA guide, first written in 1980, with revisions in 1990. It is a slim volume (48 pages, including index), with short chapters. The subjects covered include goldfish varieties, biology, choosing fish, aquaria, ponds, water plants, feeding fish, handling them, and breeding them. There is a lot of practical information, especially on setting up ponds and aquaria, and the book is well-illustrated. It is easy for older children to follow. Specialist goldfish owners may find there is little in this book they do not already know, but it is a very good introduction to goldfish care.
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Fancy Goldfish : A Complete Guide to Care and Collections
This is a well-illustrated guide to keeping and breeding fancy goldfish, for more specialist fish keepers. It's clearly written, and is a good very introduction to fancy goldfish for those who want to move beyond the basics. Real fanatics may prefer to get their teeth into Smartt's guide to goldfish genetics and breeding.
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Goldfish Breeding and Genetics
Joseph Smartt has written a serious work on goldfish breeding, which includes a short course in basic genetics. You can just enjoy the illustrations and information about the history of goldfish breeding, but the real meat of the book is in its coverage of goldfish genetics. This book is for the true enthusiast, and is the key text for really serious goldfish breeders. There is also help with other aspects of successful breeding such as maintaining good water quality.
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A Essential Guide to Choosing Your Coldwater Aquarium Fish
A very good introduction for people setting up a coldwater fish tank. There is information both on fish species, and on setting up a tank. This book is suitable for beginners. It is inexpensive, and is very easy to follow, well illustrated and well laid out. It is suitable for younger readers, as well as adults. Children, and fish keeping novices in general can benefit greatly from setting up a cold water fish tank before going onto tropical fish, since cold water fish are easier to keep, and tend to have a better survival rate. If beginners really want to go on to keep tropical fish, the experience they learn from keeping coldwater fish is invaluable.
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Understanding Coldwater Fish
Dick Mills, Vice-President of the Federation of British Aquatic Societies, is a well-known author of fish-keeping books, and has been the editor of The Aquarist & Pondkeeper magazine. His 'Understanding Coldwater Fish' is a fascinating source of information on coldwater fish in the wild, as well as fish in captivity. The account of breeding in the wild helps owners seeking to breed their fish in captivity. There is advice on which fish to choose, as well as how to take care of them. The book is very well illustrated, and there is a useful glossary at the end. It costs a little more than Nick Fletcher's book, but also covers more ground in terms of fishkeeping advice, since Fletcher focuses on fish selection.
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Water Garden Encyclopedia
This guide to water gardens is a sumptuous book, lavishly illustrated, with photos of gardens to drool over, as well as clear diagrams and photographs of equipment needed to set up a water garden.
The chapter on container gardening is especially useful for people with very small gardens. The book as a whole gives a wealth of ideas for people who want to set up water gardens, and it is especially strong on design, construction and maintenance. The chapter on aquatic plants gives some good ideas on which plants to choose, as well as advice on care. This chapter also has a lot of information on propagation, which, as any serious gardener knows, is one of the most enjoyable aspects of gardening.
Generally, this is a lovely book, with a lot of information, but there are some areas that receive scant treatment. There is some basic information on fish keeping, though not really enough for anyone who wants to do more than keep a few goldfish in a large pond. It would perhaps be wise to inform readers of the dangers of overfeeding fish, after the author tells them what fun it is to feed fish in summer!
One topic that I would have liked to have seen covered more is the role of water gardens in conservation. Garden ponds are very important refuges for amphibians, which can be entertaining visitors, especially during their breeding season. Fish may suffer from the amorous advances of frogs, so it is worth giving pond owners advice on how to keep them apart, as well as general advice on providing a good habitat for amphibians.
Water gardens can consume a lot of water, which can make them expensive for people who have water meters, and which is of course a problem when there are water shortages. People most likely to want a water garden are perhaps those people who live in the drier parts of Britain, and it is not a good idea to encourage them to use a lot of water for ponds when there may be a shortage of drinking water. A section on water conservation would help to tackle this problem, for example, on types of water features with low water consumption, and on ways of reducing evaporation.
A personal peeve is that there was too much on decking. I would have preferred the six pages on decking to have been replaced with information on amphibians and water conservation.
Perhaps one reason for the absence of advice on conservation and restraint
in using water, is that this book oozes indulgence. It promises little
oases in our back gardens, places where we can pamper ourselves and recharge
our batteries. The author obviously loves his subject, and he transmits
his sense of wonder at the possibilities offered by water gardens. This
is an ideal gift, both because of the beautiful illustrations and the
practical advice. It is not quite an encyclopaedia, but is certainly a
lovely book to read.
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Garden Pondlopaedia
Graham Quick is an aquatic consultant with over 25 years experience of ponds. He has written a very practical guide to building, stocking and maintaining garden ponds, with a lot of information on both plants and fish. There are colour photographs of plants and ponds, but alas, no colour photos of fish. The advice on fish-keeping is, however, thorough, and includes a useful summary of the benefits and drawbacks of different types of fish, including suggestions for suitable mixes of different species.
One great advantage of this guide is that it is very well-balanced. The author has a great deal of knowledge in a wide range of areas, so there is enough here for most garden pond lovers to be able to set up and maintain ponds, with both attractive plants and fish. The diagrams are clear, and the instructions are easy to follow. It is clear that the author has a passion for ponds, as well as a lot of knowledge.
There are a few welcome eco-friendly touches, such as suggestions for building wildlife ponds, and on how to reduce losses of water through evaporation. It is also refreshing to read a book that takes neighbour’s feelings into account – not everyone wants to live next to a loud waterfall! All in all, this book is highly recommended as a practical guide, which fulfils its promise to be complete.
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Pond Owners Handbook
This is an especially useful guide for anyone setting up a garden pond, with advice on all aspects of pond life and pond maintenance, such as setting up the pond, plants, wildlife, and what to do about unwanted visitors, such as blanket weed and herons! The author is a fishkeeping specialist who has published extensively on fishkeeping and pond life. He has something to offer all pond enthusiasts, from people who keep fish in a small water feature, to those with large ponds, and from novices to experienced enthusiasts.
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Creating Garden Ponds and Water Features
The focus of this book is more on pond design and usage of plants than John Dawes' book, which focuses more on the pond's inhabitants. There is some help with choosing and keeping fish, but much more with the aesthetic and botanical side of setting up and maintaining ponds. It's a great help if you want an especially striking pond or water feature, with both advice on basics and more advanced design considerations. There are also very good illustrations which you can use as a source of inspiration.
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Keeping Koi
This is a comprehensive guide to keeping Koi carp, covering all aspects of fish care, from setting up your pond and choosing your Koi, to feeding the fish and maintaining the pond throughout the year. It is fairly short, but is packed with information, and will appeal to experienced Koi owners, as well as beginners.
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Encyclopedia of Koi
A comprehensive guide for owners and would-be owners of Koi carp, helping you to design a habitat for these magnificent fish, choose your specimens carefully, and feed them. There is also clear and helpful advice on disease prevention, and what to do if you are unlucky enough to have your fish fall ill.