Good Betta Book recommendations

Anyone have any good Betta book recommendations? I'd like to find a nice, in depth, detailed book describing absolutely everything there is to know about Bettas. Are there any out there?

 

I liked this one: Betta Book - Happy Healthy Pet by John Tullock - easy to read and understand.

 

Ok, I was thinking about that one. I also thought about the one from the Animal Planet series. Know anything about that one?

 

These are two excellent books on Bettas

 

Great recommendations Carol - those would make wonderful bday presents when our bdays come along (both in august)

 

The Barrons books are all excellent for all subjects. I have them for plants and several subjects. They do not talk over your head and they give a lot of really good information about everything. Some of the books give the information but you need a medical degree to understand them. I have a book about Fish Disease in general that I use a lot that is not technically just a betta book but says a lot and gives a really good place to start when you just do not know what it may be.




I buy most of my books at Amazon.com as you can buy them used and always check the used section as a lot of the "used" ones will be new but have a smudge or folded page and so cannot be sold as new. They do not charge a lot for postage and they have great books.

Rose

 

Ok. Again thanks for all the info. I'm really wanting an in depth, detailed book and have a feeling these books may be a little on the "basic" side from what little bit I was able to skip over.....but it sounds like these are my only options. lol

 

These books get pretty specific actually. You might try a good browsing at the local Barnes and Noble or Public Library. Or if you are lucky enough to live in a University town, go to their library and browse. They will not allow you to check out the books but you can look and see if you find one that fits what you want. There are books that cover fish in general that are huge and complex but the books that Butterfly listed are really comprehensive about bettas and cover pretty much all of their anatomy, breeding, types, species, and other information. You will be surprised actually. The Barron's Books are wonderful and I believe they actually have 2 on Bettas.

I have a whole bookcase and floor full of fish and plant books and a lot of references but most of them are not limited to ONLY bettas. They contain a lot of very good information about them but you have to find it as part of the book about freshwater aquarium fish in general. I also have articles from some of the magazines I have received that carried good information on bettas, but again, most of the time when you get great information, it is mixed in with information having to do with other fish as well. Most of my VERY best reference books that have the MOST details and information down to the nitty-gritty are not specific to the bettas at all. (but Bettas play a very good part in their own section)

Rose

 

I went to Barnes and Noble Sunday night and they didn't have any fish specific books. It was all stuff like "setting up your aquarium" or just talked about aquariums in general. I already know the basic stuff like that. Same thing with the library. I finally just bought one from Amazon, the one from the Animal Planet series.

 

Hey Everyone. So I got my son his first aquarium about a month ago, and ever since then I have been totally hooked. It's all so fascinating, and coming from a background in science, I just want to know more and more. My wife calls in my tank now, lol. Anyway... my ultimate goal is to one day do a planted freshwater aquarium that's 75 to 100 gallons. However, before I do that, I want to read a couple good books to help me in my planning and to prepare me for whatever comes up. I want to do this right. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, lol. So what books do you recommend? I've heard a lot of great things about The Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Diane Walstead. The only negative I've heard is that it's older and doesn't touch on some newer technologies like CO2 injection. What are all of your recommendations?

 

I am glad you are fascinated with fish as the rest of us. As for the books I sadly can't recommend a lot. Most of them were written a while ago and have not advanced with the times. There are also not a lot of newly published books. So some of your best resources will be on here or on other forums.

 

Agree with above! Many of the books out there are old. I own the Planted Aquarium book!

This is the great thing about Forums, websites, and Youtube since they keep up to date with modern information and technique, which have replaced aquarium books.

 

A LFS guy lent me a book called "The ABC of the aquarium" when I first started out, I think it is old and it was written by a French dude which name I forgot. It is a pretty basic guide, not gonna lie but I liked it.
There is also a good book which seems to be supercool but is more in the vet side written by some "Noga" guy, talks about fish disease.
I don't know if fish books have been replaced, as an example I can talk about chess, which I have played for a long time. There are a lot of chess forums on the internet and tons of videos, they are helpful for beginners but once you get decently good at the game you realize most forums, articles and videos are semi-crappy, and that is where you start investing in books, I don't know if we could say the same about fish...
The only thing I can tell you which applies to everything is to research a lot and look for different points of view, even if they sound crazy or you disagree with them, read about those too.

 

The use of books gives you a better base knowledge so you can identify the bad information on the internet. The fact is, the basics really haven't changed in 30 years or more. And I think a newcomer is better off learning the basics than jumping straight into the high end stuff. That's how most people make mistakes, by trying to go from noob to expert in "one easy lesson". It can't be done.

 

What's a "book"?
No, but seriously, find some good sites/forums(forums CAN be iffy, being that you don't know WHO it is that might be sounding like an expert, but might not REALLY know what they're talking about), and YouTube channels(where you can get to know the person, see the results of their knowledge, etc....). There ARE some downtmright morons with fish channels on YouTube, but, with a little bit of intelligence, you can weed them out pretty quickly...

 

What's a "book"?
No, but seriously, find some good sites/forums(forums CAN be iffy, being that you don't know WHO it is that might be sounding like an expert, but might not REALLY know what they're talking about), and YouTube channels(where you can get to know the person, see the results of their knowledge, etc....). There ARE some downtmright morons with fish channels on YouTube, but, with a little bit of intelligence, you can weed them out pretty quickly...

Read a couple of well written books and it's a whole lot easier to spot the ones who don't know what they're talking about. I've been involved with three good, busy general fish forums in the last 20+ years, including this one. I've looked at probably 20-30 others that weren't worth the time I spent checking them out. Specialty forums tend to be more likely to have at least a couple of genuine experienced people in them.

If someone links a youtube video that I think might be interesting, I'll watch it. So far, not many have been very....accurate. For every good one, there are a hundred bad ones. With those odds, you are better off not using that source.

 

Read a couple of well written books and it's a whole lot easier to spot the ones who don't know what they're talking about. I've been involved with three good, busy general fish forums in the last 20+ years, including this one. I've looked at probably 20-30 others that weren't worth the time I spent checking them out. Specialty forums tend to be more likely to have at least a couple of genuine experienced people in them.

If someone links a youtube video that I think might be interesting, I'll watch it. So far, not many have been very....accurate. For every good one, there are a hundred bad ones. With those odds, you are better off not using that source.

For sure. Books remain invaluable, but, given the bit of time to sort out the bad spots online, there is SO MUCH information out here.

 

I think you will really be intrigued by the science involved with a planted tank. There can be a bunch of chemistry that will either fascinate or terrify. When I see an of a planted aquarium that I like I read that journal to find out what is working. They are all different

 

In my opinions books will be always the pro-stuff, nothing can replace them.
The only YouTube channel that is interesting to me is the Rachel O'Leary one and maybe some pros will laugh at me for liking it lol.

 

She is always interesting

 

I highly recommend going to your local library and see if they have any books about aquariums. Mine has several books about tropical fish and planting your tank. They are all old, but I have enjoyed looking at the pictures with my kids. I have found that they are a great starting point for what you want to keep in your tank.

 

Thank you guys for all the responses! The general idea I'm hearing is that books are a trustworthy source; however, the most recent advances of the last decade or so probably won't be in them.

I like the idea of a book because all of the information is organized in one place and I don't have to go digging for answers. I can just absorb is all in one place. Too bad there's not a massive wikI out there with all this knowledge.

 

She is always interesting

I agree, specially in the videos where she talks about breeding!

 

The use of books gives you a better base knowledge so you can identify the bad information on the internet. The fact is, the basics really haven't changed in 30 years or more. And I think a newcomer is better off learning the basics than jumping straight into the high end stuff. That's how most people make mistakes, by trying to go from noob to expert in "one easy lesson". It can't be done.

My plan is to go from my first tank (a 20 gallon unplanted) to a 75 or 100 gallon planted tank. To me, that's a huge leap, so I definitely want to be prepared and do it right.

I agree, specially in the videos where she talks about breeding!

I am going to have to check her out. I've never heard of her.

I think you will really be intrigued by the science involved with a planted tank. There can be a bunch of chemistry that will either fascinate or terrify. When I see an of a planted aquarium that I like I read that journal to find out what is working. They are all different

That's what I'm excited about! The science, that is. I'm a pharmacist, so I really want to dive deep into the chemistry and microbiology and biology of it all. I use these things every day, but I never imagined how they contribute to the complexity of this little ecosystem we can build in an aquarium.

 

Not a general fish-keeping book, but for those who love discus this book is one of the best.


For general reference Dr. Axelrod's Freshwater Aquarium Fishes is timeless.

 

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I haven't delved too deeply into this site yet, but from what I've read, it's quite good.

 

My plan is to go from my first tank (a 20 gallon unplanted) to a 75 or 100 gallon planted tank. To me, that's a huge leap, so I definitely want to be prepared and do it right.



I am going to have to check her out. I've never heard of her.



That's what I'm excited about! The science, that is. I'm a pharmacist, so I really want to dive deep into the chemistry and microbiology and biology of it all. I use these things every day, but I never imagined how they contribute to the complexity of this little ecosystem we can build in an aquarium.

After a bit we may need to pick your brain

 

Hi y'all, Im starting my job with the DEC this weekend and unfortunately/ fortunately at my job I may go hours at a time with no interaction/ duties to preform. So to fill the time I would love some books to read! What are your favorite books? What are the books you feel everyone should read at least once? I would love to hear from you!

 

I've always liked fiction books. If you don't mind really long books, the Dark Tower series by Stephen King is really good. Is there a specific genre you're looking for?

 

The best series I've ever read are Dragons in our Midst, Oracles of Fire, and Children of the Bard. If you're interested in reading them, they are all part of a larger plot so read each series in order.

 

probably the best books ive read that you can put and pick up without getting annoyed are terry pratchetts diskworld series.

edit. i should say too annoyed because someone interrupting you when your reading is always annoying

 

The Mouse That Roared by Leonard Wibberley is a relaxing and funny book to read, even though it has nothing to do with mice.

 

I've always liked fiction books. If you don't mind really long books, the Dark Tower series by Stephen King is really good. Is there a specific genre you're looking for?

I love fiction- especially sci-fi, but I also love reading just about every other genre too. I like books with really engaging plots and beautiful storytelling usually- I really like books that pull you in and make you think. I'm a philosophy major so I also love reading philosophical books and plays and essays- Albert Camus is my favorite writer. My all time favorite book is The 13th tale, if that helps.

 

The lord of the flies.
All of the Harry Potter books.
The Hobbit,lord of the rings series.

probably the best books ive read that you can put and pick up without getting annoyed are terry pratchetts diskworld series.

edit. i should say too annoyed because someone interrupting you when your reading is always annoying

Being interrupted while reading drives me insane.

 

The lord of the flies.
All of the Harry Potter books.
The Hobbit,lord of the rings series.


Being interrupted while reading drives me insane.

Unfortunately I've already read all of those, Thank you though!!!

 

The lord of the flies.
All of the Harry Potter books.
The Hobbit,lord of the rings series.


Being interrupted while reading drives me insane.

ill pass on harry potter if you plagiarized as much in school as she did writting that you would get kicked out. the lord of the rings was ok but i was never a fan of the hobbit.

 

If you like science fiction David Weber is by far my favorite author. He hasn't written many short books, but they're all good. Most of his work is pure science fiction, leaning toward military, but his War God series is pure fantasy.

He's probably best known for his Honor Harrington series. He's a little unusual in that the main characters in at least two of his series are female.

 

I love fiction- especially sci-fi, but I also love reading just about every other genre too. I like books with really engaging plots and beautiful storytelling usually- I really like books that pull you in and make you think. I'm a philosophy major so I also love reading philosophical books and plays and essays- Albert Camus is my favorite writer. My all time favorite book is The 13th tale, if that helps.

Did you ever read The Stranger by Albert Camus? I really liked that book for some reason.

Also, I've never read it myself, but have you tried the Dune series? it's supposed to be the pinnacle of science fiction

 

Also, I've never read it myself, but have you tried the Dune series? it's supposed to be the pinnacle of science fiction

I read it many years ago. I've been reading science fiction for over 40 years and like a wide variety of stuff, but I wasn't crazy about it. Different people have different tastes.

 

I have quite a few 25 year old Aquarium magazines from raffle prices in my local club . It’s hilarious to read articles by a young George Farmer quoting the inch per gallon rule. A lot of the advertising is fascinating .
As part of my membership my club has an on line edition of Amazonas Magazine. That’s a good read as well.