What good books are available

[the_r0ck]

Hi, I will like to ask what plant species reference books are good? Kinda like a book where it lists the plants and their basic characteristics.

I had a couple of recommendations but couldn't find them locally.

May I also ask specifically where I can get the book and roughly at what price.

Thanks

[BFG]

There's a locally plant book from Oriental farm. I can't remember the title as mine is with a friend. Diana Walstad also has a book about plants but it's pricey and it's worth it if you are into this hobby for the long run. The 3rd book is from Tropica. All 3 are good to have for this hobby if you are serious.

[valice]

The three plant books suggested by BFG are available at C328...
There is also another book in Chinese too... It is a green hardcover book... Can't remember the name, sorry about that...

[Justikanz]

The Oriental Farm's book is 'The Aquarium Plant Handbook', it has a lotus flower on the cover. Should be about $3x...

There is also a book by Christel Kasselmann, 'Aquarium Plants'. This book, AQ had a mass order before, thanks to Green Chapter. Maybe you can ask Lorba if he still has an extra copy if you want it.

Another book would be 'Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants' by Peter Hiscock. A simple book covering the basic plants, this book can be found in most big bookstores. I got mine from Kino, $5x...

You can also try 'Aquarium Plants Manual' from the publisher Barron's, by Ines Scheurmann. This small book cost about $1x from Kino... but it covers quite a fair bit of plants commonly available.

All based on what I have now. Recommend to browse through before actually buying.

[the_r0ck]

Alright.. thanks for the detailed info guys!

And yeah, been in the hobby for a long time and will continue to, just that I have been using web sources but it's a hassle as a book is always handy.

Only thing is that it can be pricey.

[aqua_not]

I've tried the National Library before. They do carry Takeshi Amano's book, 90's edition though. Nevertheless it was informative. Search for Aqua Design Amano on the library computer (OPAC) and you can find out where the book is at. They can help you reserve and deliver the book to your nearest branch for a small sum. Hope that helps.

[budak]

or general purposes... the tropica database (www.tropica.com) is pretty good and has plenty of good articles. ... Dennerle (www.dennerle.de) has a comprehensive one too, but it seems to be only in German for now....

[valice]

Aquahobby (http://www.aquahobby.com/e_home.php) is also pretty good for common plants and fauna... Also has comments from hobbyists regarding their experience with the plants...

[FishFan]

Heard that the book by Christel Kasselmann, 'Aquarium Plants' is a pretty comprehensive collection on Aquatic plants. Thinking of getting one through Amazon. Anyone has the book and care to comment?

[|squee|]

I borrowed the old one from Ngee Ann Polytechnic's library, it was pretty good with plants and their info and some scientific stuff if I remember correctly. It was rather heavy though, and glossy printed.

[FishFan]

Thanks Terence. Just checked on Amazon and the book costs USD63.50 for a new one!

Wonder if it is a good investment..

[Justikanz]

As mentioned earlier, AQ had a mass order for this book and if I did not remember wrongly, a brief review was done then. You can serach for Lorba's post for this mass order and read the review for an idea what the book covers...

[|squee|]

Fishfan, imho, I wouldn't buy it. Why buy when all you really need to know are plant names and how they look like?

I'd spend the money on Aquajournals. Now those are the books I like (the english editions, all can be found in Nature Aquarium), along with Nature Aquarium World Books 1 to 3 and Aquatic Plant Paradise, all by ADA. They teach you good aquascaping principles, and are a very good source of reference for scapes as well as plants (they list the plants in each tank).

[valice]

It will depend on what you really want to achieve and learn at the end of the day... For Terence's case, he is more interested in the aquascape then the plants... But if you are interested in knowing more about the ecology of the plants and then characteristics, then the book has the necessary information...

Why not go to the library to borrow the book or borrow from any forumer...

FishFan, if you are interested, I can lend you mine to check out the contents... PM if you are interested...

[michael lai]

Hi, you might want to read up some books by barron(publisher) basic stuffs but good read and good price below 20 bucks. Try borders or Kino. The Dennerle guide, system for fascinating aquariums is another absolute gem of a book well worth your money although it costs about 80 bucks. Informative, very reader friendly and best of all you don't have to learn German. Most of the books mentioned here will go with you as you progress as a hobbyist, I like it because it's written easy not with all those technical jargon. have fun.