# Books for a person who is new to the hobby?



## bobo (Jan 21, 2004)

That's a good question Art. I have many aquarium books which I have enjoyed reading, but I can't off the top of my head think of one that contains much accurate, up to date information on Planted Aquaria specifically, other than Diana's. So much has changed so fast that by the time it hits the bookstands it often contains erronious or dated info. Most of the relevant information is on Websites like The Krib, the Aquatic Plant List, the AGA and of course, right here. 

Pictures are timeless and for inspiration any of Amano's three books are hard to beat. I wish someone would compile a picturebook on Dutch Aquaria too. 

bobo


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## prn574 (Mar 6, 2008)

I can't agree more with Bobo, i've been going nuts looking for literature about modern aquascaping. I'm looking for books that show the diagram and rearrangement of plants. If anybody has any advices please post them.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

bobo said:


> ...I wish someone would compile a picturebook on Dutch Aquaria too.
> 
> bobo


Planted Aquariums Creation and Maintenance by Christel Kasselmann has some layouts of Dutch Aquaria.

Tropica Aquarium Plants Second Edition by Tropica has some as well.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

Here's a partial list of books.

*Aquarium Plant Books​*
All these books are very good. I have all of these except the one by Pabloo Teapoot plus many more. I listed these in order starting with the best (IMO) and working down. You can usually find most of these books cheaper at Big Al's, but it will pay to shop around at different places: 
Big Al's - http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18297/cl0/plants?viewType=Category 
FishBookStore.com has a large selection too. http://fishbookstore.com/
http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.ebay.com/ are sources as well.

I hope this helps you.

Aquarium Plants (Hardcover) by Christel Kasselmann (Author), Ulf Kotlenga (Translator) 
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Plan...0352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-2

Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist (Hardcover) by Diana L. Walstad (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Ecology-Planted-Aquarium-Practical-Scientific/dp/0967377307

Tropica Aquarium Plants Catalogue, Expanded Second Edition (Spiral-bound) by Holger Windelov (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Plan...352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315984&sr=1-26

Aquarium Plants: The Practical Guide (Hardcover) 
by Pabloo Tepoot (Author), Ian Tepoot (Editor), Judy Leiby (Illustrator) 
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Plan...0352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-8

Planted Aquariums: Creation and Maintenance (Hardcover) 
by Christel Kasselmann (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Planted-Aquar...0352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176679817&sr=1-5

Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants (Hardcover) by Peter Hiscock (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-...0352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-1

Aquarium Plant Paradise (Hardcover) by Takashi Amano (Author) 
This is a very good book that has a lot of "how to" info. 
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Plan...352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-12

Nature Aquarium World Volume 1 (Natural Aquarium World) (Hardcover) by Takashi Amano 
{Strangely, this one isn't listed on the USA site. It's on the UK site though.} 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nature-Aquarium-World-Bk-Natural/dp/0793800897

Nature Aquarium World Volume 2 (Hardcover) by Takashi Amano (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Aquari...352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-16

Nature Aquarium World: Book 3 (Hardcover) by Takashi Amano (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Aquari...352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-18

The Inspired Aquarium by Jeff Senske & Mike Senske 
http://www.amazon.com/Inspired-Aquarium-Instruction-Living-Aquariums/dp/1592531954

A Barry James book was my first plant book. It's little but it sure helped me to get started. 
A Fishkeeper's Guide to Aquarium Plants: A Superbly Illustrated Guide to Growing Healthy Aquarium Plants, Featuring over 60 Species (Hardcover) by Barry James (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Fishkeepers-G...0352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176324425&sr=1-1

There's many small paperback books published by Barron's that have good info and they are fairly cheap.

Aquarium Plants Manual by Ines Scherumann: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18297/si1382330/cl0/barronsaquariumplantsmanual

Plants for Your Aquarium by Wolfgang Gula: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18297/si1382339/cl0/barronsplantsforyouraquarium

I saw this one listed at the AGA site but I haven't looked at it. It looks good.
The Aquarium Plant Handbook
New from Oriental Aquarium, this 185-page full color book is more than double the size of Oriental's two previous "catalog" books, features new photographs and text descriptions of most aquarium plants, and an introduction by Takashi Amano. A great value for a reference book! 
$25 (AGA members) 
$30 (non-members) 
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/bookstore.html

The Simple Guide to Planted Aquariums (Simple Guide to...) (Paperback) by Terry Ann Barber and Rhonda Wilson
http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Guide-...2209518?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181398471&sr=1-1

The Natural Aquarium: How to Imitate Nature in Your Home (Hardcover) by S. Yoshino 
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18297/si1381647/cl0/thenaturalaquarium

Barron's Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature by Peter Hiscock
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...87/cl0/barronsaquariumdesignsinspiredbynature

The Book of Water Plants
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18297/si1381317/cl0/thebookofwaterplants


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Some of the best books for reference material on fish and plants are the Baensch Aquarium Atlases Volumes 1 through 3. They are out of print, but you can still find them used on Amazon and Half.com


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## brewce (Dec 12, 2007)

Wow, Left C, That's only a partial list? Being a novice to all this wonderful underwater greenery, I would like to know what do you all at APC consider a must have on your bookshelf? Btw I would suggest this be made a sticky.


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## Mud Pie Mama (Jul 30, 2006)

My top choice for "a person who is new to the hobby" would be this one:



Left C said:


> The Simple Guide to Planted Aquariums (Simple Guide to...) (Paperback) by Terry Ann Barber and Rhonda Wilson
> http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Guide-...2209518?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181398471&sr=1-1


I was very impressed with this when I picked up a copy. Very informative but not in a bewildering manner, thereby living up to its title of Simple Guide. Being a newer publication too, the info is not outdated by advances in the hobby. Very well done, IMHO.

And I agree, quite some list you've compiled *Left C*! I think I may need to keep your post _book_marked!:high5:


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## SkinniMini (Mar 26, 2006)

I actually checked out an old book on Dutch aquariums from our local library a long time ago, believe it or not. They didn't have much else on planted tanks. I don't remember the book but can always find out...
I love good books but to be honest, I've learned alot just by reading stuff on APC! The discussions are a great way to stay up to date, & you can't get the same interactive question/answer/opinion/debate format from a book. 
There are some other sites that I visit every now & then but this one has always been my favorite.


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## brewce (Dec 12, 2007)

It is true what you say SkinniMini, the forums do keep one atop the latest methods. There is nothing like a nice solid reference book or two to inspire or answer a question. For me the more I learn about this hobby, the more books I want

brewce


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## JohnnyReynolds (Dec 4, 2009)

I used to buy books from Amazon.com because they have free shipping.All the books in amazon are very cheap and good. However I heard about AmazingWatcher.Com which is a free website that will "watch" items for you on Amazon and let you know when amazon has them in stock at regular retail price.


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

You know, I've found the basics and so much more are covered better online than in books. For any concept being used, there's a debate about it somewhere. With books it's pretty much all one sided, which is fine when you've got a nice big bibliography and detailed justifications, but most books related to the hobby don't have that. Diana's book is an exception that way; pick it up for the fact that it's a book that's largely standing on real research that backs this hobby rather than personal hearsay.

If anything, given the money, I'd get a subscription to AGA/TAG (I'm considering it right now) and a one year subscription to The Barr Report. I've also heard decent things about Greg's http://www.aquaticplantnews.com/ guide but I haven't looked it over myself.


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## JoeRoun (Nov 10, 2008)

Aquatic Gardeners Association's The Aquatic Gardener: Journal of the Aquatic Gardeners Association at 20 bucks a year cannot be beat, it is wonderful. http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/member.html

I think the Barr Report used to be one of the best deals going, don't know what is going on.

Barron's Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature is quite nice as an idea book.

At 5 bucks http://www.aquaticplantnews.com/ is worth while.

Personally I enjoy Aquarium Style by Matthew Christian as a whimsical and different kind of aquariums.


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

TBR just got an overhaul and a run of spam. Greg is working at things, but no official posts on status have been made. I'm guessing things are going to be worked at over the holidays while more technical forum post counts tend to be bottomed out.


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## JoeRoun (Nov 10, 2008)

Philosophos said:


> TBR just got an overhaul and a run of spam. Greg is working at things, but no official posts on status have been made. I'm guessing things are going to be worked at over the holidays while more technical forum post counts tend to be bottomed out.


Thanks Dan, the TBR melt down seems a shame it was one of the better no nonsense sites.

I know you were very active. I tend to be a bit more laid back about EI, but i liked all your math!

Though The Barr Report seemed to be running out of gas for the last year or so. I suspect the problem with having only one personality and not allowing the "guru's" more visibility.


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

I don't think it's melting down so much as EI has been out, the controversy is over, and it's a standard method now. A lot of the fears and criticism that came with it (as with any new method) have been dealt with. Now it's time to settle on new projects.

I'm still going to be very active over on TBR, but the holiday season and the cold weather kills plant shipping as well as my desire to sit around crunching numbers and reading scientific papers. Too busy with other things to do the heavy thinking on aquariums right now.

Besides that, nobody's asking the questions right now; EI is understood, so I don't have to go doing math for people to show them how to fix their dosing. I'm hoping to change that some time before spring by getting into experimenting with other compounds that are less frequently used. Some chatter on urea, phosphoric acid (good 2 in 1 KH drop and fert perhaps, good for apisto spawning, has some other possible uses) and other compounds. It'll go along with some more fert deconstruction/reverse engineering articles.

There's also more serious work that Tom has been doing on making affordable CO2 meters that's hopefuly going to change the hobby in a big way by making them around the same price as PAR meters rather than $5,000 lab equipment. I'd love to see TBR shift its attention to the science of flow dinamics.

I do agree that the better posters deserved a few more stickies; there are articles from VaughnH and supercoley that I wish I could access more easily.

The design overhaul has definitely screwed with posting too; I'm going to give it a couple weeks then maybe toss in some suggestions if nothing changes.

Anyhow, thread jacking aside...

Here's some links that I find myself looking through now and then. Many of them have a focus on the science rather than basic methods:

http://www.esf.edu/efb/schulz/Limnology/Limnology3.html - Some course work and lecture notes related to limnology

http://www.plantphysiol.org/ - one of my favorites

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/nutrient-deficiency.html - Good for a quick reference, but doesn't mention CO2

http://www.aquascapingworld.com/magazine/ - Excellent free publication on planted tanks. I've got every issue saved.

http://www.aquajournal.net/ - ADA's journal. I don't trust them to be honest about everything, but I do find ideas worth examining at times. Good inspiration for layout.

http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/6243-The-Link-Dump-Thread - My own list of URL's that I update from time to time. Not a serious project, but I'm hoping to grow it into a nice little resource some day.


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