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Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature

Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature

  • Hardcover
  • Author: Peter Hiscock
  • Publisher: Barron's Educational Series
  • Release Date: May 2003
  • ISBN-10: 0764155490
  • ISBN-13: 9780764155499
  • List Price: $27.95

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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon

Summary

This lavishly photo-filled volume demonstrates that having an aquarium to be proud of means much more than keeping fish in a glass tank. The aquarium enthusiast who takes his hobby seriously reproduces a part of the aquatic natural environment in miniature inside his home. Author Peter Hiscock offers practical instructions on setting up a freshwater tropical aquarium. He describes substrate, aquarium plants, and appropriate combinations of fish. Much of this book focuses on fish and plant life in nature, and then offers details on replicating natural settings in the aquarium. Both plants and fish varieties are shown in vivid color photos and described in detail. More than 450 color photos and illustrations.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5

Good, but could be better

Rating: Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4

Overall, this is a good book. It has impressive pictures of the aquariums as a finished product and plenty of info on how to make them look natural. The problem is, as several stated earlier, it is not always accurate. African plants are used in S. American setups, plants that can't tolerate any salt for an extended period of time are used in brackish setups. If you don't mind these inaccuracies, you can get plenty of ideas for your own aquariums. Amano's Nature Aquarium World books would probably be better for inspiration, but it's not a bad read overall.

Biotopes Explained

Rating: Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4

I really enjoyed looking through this book. It is simply written with enough information to get someone started in setting up a biotope aquarium. The photos are nice, those of the aquarium setups are large and detailed. The only downside of this book it that it doesn't have enough information on the fish, plants, and invertebrates as I would have liked. An appendix with listing of those things would have made the book nearly perfect. I used it to set up an Asian biotope with Gouramis and Betta. And to set up a Lake Malawi tank with Mbunda.

Excellent Resource

Rating: Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5

Outstanding book. It helped me visualize the design and layout of my aquarium. An excellent resource for beginners or pros.

More pecific for certain bio types

Rating: Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4

This book give you more of an idear of setting up aquariums for specific bio types or areas with certain fish and plants. Very good if you want to set up and aquarium with plants and fish and dont quite know where to start and what to do. Even for experienced people you still can learn somthing form this book. Not a stand alone book but partnered with a couple of others is a very good referance .

Beginer's aquarium book only!

Rating: Score = 2 Score = 2 Score = 2 Score = 2 Score = 2

Is java fern found in an Australian river, I don't think so. This book is not accurate!
All of the aquarium displays are not even mature, probably because most of the plants would be quite unhealthy by the time the display is mature enough to photograph, very unprofessional!
Another example: there are no mangroves in the mangrove swamp design, Hygrophila corymbosa was used instead with the author stating it is a good substitute for mangroves, what the, right up until the brackish water kills it! What's almost as worse is that the heater is not even hidden in the aquarium background.