# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Plant Books & Mags: Do you have one?



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Just curious, I know most people, like me rely on the internet for information since its mostly up to date, but if you have plant books which ones do you read?

I have the Kassellman Aquarium plants book. Its a 500+ pg Bible for plant descriptions. Very interesting, but pricy - $60.

I also got a Free Trial of the Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine...from http://www.tfhmagazine.com, no strings attached, no need to cancel, or anything. They send you one and that's it. 
If you want more, you have to sign up for the subscription...which is about $28/year. *Special hint if you want to subscribe: * order a free magazine, and they include an offer for $18/year.

Anyways, what Books and magazines do you own, enjoy and recommend?

-John N.


----------



## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

i have nature aquarium world 1,2, and 3 by amano

encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants by peter hiscock

i have several issues of The Aquatic Gardener, the magazine AGA sells

i have several books over Discus from when i was into them

i also have a years worth of aquarium fish magazine.

but like you said, mostly i read online.


----------



## KRiley (Jun 30, 2005)

I have a few books. I have Pablo Tepoots book. Thats it really. I have a few other books pertaining to fish. I subscribe to TFH. I think its alot better. I used to subscribe to AFM, but it just turned into a repeat. Every year it was the same thing.


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Yeah, I agree w/ Riley... There's not point in having a subscription to AFM as it's the same thing year after year after year. I mean, seriously, how many articles do you need on the best low-tech plants, or new tank syndrome, or common sense communities?!

As for books, for a scientific approach, I rely on Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Scientific and Practical Manual by D. Walstad. I also read a lot from the internet (like this forum) and the articles on the sites of different organizations like AGA or AKA, etc...

-ricardo


----------



## imported_BSS (Apr 14, 2004)

You've hit all the ones I have. The Kasselmann is a must to me. I have the Hiscock, it's alright. I have Amano's Vol 1, though I haven't looked at it yet. I get the AGA, to support the cause and because it's got some good stuff. I also have TFH. It's not great, but I do tend to read it because I'm still learning lots about aquariums in general.


----------



## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

I have the three _Nature Aquarium World_ books and _Aquarium Plant Paradise_ by Takashi Amano, and _Ecology of the Planted Aquarium_ by Diana Walstad. I have read and will soon own copies of _Aquatic Plants of Australia_ by Helen I. Aston and _Aquatic and Wetland Plants: a field guide for non-tropical Australia_ by Nick Romanowski.

When I first started out I borrowed all the aquarium books from the local library. I remember one very good one called _Aquarium Plants_ by Niels Jacobsen with illustrations by Verner Hancke, which gave a good description of all the commonly grown aquarium plants as well as rarer ones, and which was one of the reasons I became really interested in aquatic plants.

From Alex.


----------



## Jane of Upton (Jul 28, 2005)

Oh, I too scoured the library for every Aquarium and Aquarium Plant book I could find. I recall one book, 
The Practical Fishkeepers Guide (or Encyclopedia) by Peter someone. (sorry so vague, it was a long time ago). It really turned around my thinking when I was getting discouraged. 

I have an Axelrod Encyclopedia of Tropical Fishes. Its a good reference, but some of the descriptions try to wax WAY too poetic, while others are redundantly bare bones. The color pictures are good. 

I also have the Peter Hiscock Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants. I was really enthusiastic about all the pictures at first, but soon came to realize that a substantial portion of the pictures are of the emergent growth, not the submerged growth. That was disappointing, for an "encyclopedia". The intended audience is going to want to grow these submerged, so I think at least the submerged growth (if not both growth forms, which would be better) would be the mandatory photo. I suppose its good for ID-ing something that just came from Florida Aquatic Nursery, but for the uninitiated (the target audience, by the way its written) it tells very little about how this plant will look, long-term, in the aquarium.

I'm on the lookout for a used copy of the Kasselman book.

I've got beat-up printouts of articles by Dan Quackenbush (some of my earliest internet "finds"). 

I also bought a bunch of used TFH mags at an auction. The images are still good, and sometimes, you just want to sit with a cup of tea and have a good read. 

My dictionary of Scientific Terms isn't really an Aquarium book, but I've been surprised at how often it can come in handy. 

And of course, I have Diana Walstad's book Ecology of the Planted Aquarium. It definitely tops my list.

-Jane


----------

