General / Angling / Aquarium / Fisheries

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General / Angling / Aquarium / Fisheries


Angling






Handbook of Fishes of the Atlantic Seaboard
by Bill Ackerman, illustrated by Richard F. Deckert.  1951
The American Publishing Company, Washington, DC, 144 pp., color plates, black and white drawings, hard cover in dust jacket


This book is essentially an angling book (generally, I don’t have many pure angling books in my collection), by somebody who was apparently a master angler.  It has a tall, narrow format – perhaps designed to fit easily in a pocket (?).  Marine (and a few freshwater) fishes are covered.  The order of presentation is definitely not taxonomic - I don’t see the pattern, but perhaps it makes sense to the angling crowd.  The species accounts contain some descriptive details, plus information on habits, diet and seasonality.  The color paintings are a little flat and stylized, but attractive (and again, as I’ve said before, they are far better than anything I can do).  The acknowledgments contain many names that are unfamiliar to me - apparently other anglers and angling authors, although he does thank Fran(cesca) LaMonte (American Museum of Natural History) for assistance with the scientific details.
One interesting feature of this little volume is sticker on the front end sheet from Bob Kleiser’s Sport Shop, West Palm Beach Florida.  Bookstores sometimes used to stamp or apply small stickers to books they sold.  It adds a little history to the volume.  I searched a bit on-line and found that Bob Klieser’s Sport shop (125 Datura Street) was a fixture of West Palm Beach from the 1930s to the 1990s.  The building today is occupied by a restaurant (Avocado Grill).









A Dictionary of Fishes - 5th Edition
by Rube Allyn, illustrated by Christopher Clark and Erland Larson.  1957
St. Petersburg, Fla.: Great Outdoors Association, 1957. 100 p. ; 28 cm.  Soft cover

Rube Allyn seems to have loved fishing – and through that gained a deep appreciation of fishes.  There appear to be a number of editions or versions of this book, which illustrates and describes 100s of species of fishes.  The presentation is basic and directed towards the angler and fish enthusiast.  I can picture this magazine-like work on the rack in a coastal bait shop.  The ordering is odd to say the least.  Sharks lead off (that’s normal), but as we get into bony fishes, we have sections entitled “Sand Digging Fish” or “Fish That Like Wrecks” or “Piscatorial Dynamite.”  Most are marine, a few are freshwater and some cetaceans are also included.  Even the coelacanth (Latimeria) finds a place here.  Some fishes are illustrated with photographs, other drawings.











Game fish of the South and how to catch them
by Louis S Caine.  1935.

Houghton Mifflin Co. 1935.  First Edition, cloth covered boards (issued with dust jacket), 259 pages, illus.

A vintage angling book that details 84 freshwater and marine game fishes found in the Southern States or off their coasts – most discussed being marine fishes.  The details offered are fairly brief and directed towards the angler.  This species appear randomly ordered. Pen-and-ink drawings are provided as well. The book ends with a lengthy section of baits and reels and such.  I’ve found a picture on the internet that shows this book with a tan dust jacket (lacking on my copy).  My copy is worn and soiled having all the appearance of being well read and well used.

Guide to the marine sport fishes of Atlantic Canada and New England
by Brian W. Coad.  1992

Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992. xiii, 307 pp., illus.; 23 cm. Paperback

ISBN 0-8020-6798-0

About 70 species are discussed in the book. Included are the species (‘bait’ and sport fishes) that are of interest to marine anglers in the northwestern Atlantic.  The introductory matter is long and full of information of interest to the angler.  The species accounts include standard information on identification and distribution, as well as details in the fishery.  There are shaded area maps; the illustrations of fishes are largely drawn from various older works (all are black and white).

Sportsman's Guide to Game Fish 
by Byron W. Dalrymple, illustrated by Douglass Allen.  1968
New York, World Pub. Co. xvi + 480 pp. illus. in black and white and color.  Cloth covered boards in dust jacket
Library of Congress No. 68-31228

This book is (as the title clearly states) is aimed at the angler, a nice compact guide.  The introduction is brief, and the main text is divided into two sections, freshwater fishes and saltwater fishes.  Within those sections the fishes are not arranged in any order that I can discern – perhaps by popularity (Micropterus salmoides is the first in the freshwater section).  The latin binomial is given and some discussion of different taxa and classification may be included, but generally, this is an angler’s book.  The text covers the biology of each fish that would be of primary interest to the angler.  Most species are illustrated in half-tone drawings, these are a little flat but well-done.  And subset are illustrated in color; these are not as satisfying as the half-tones, but that could be due to the quality of reproduction.
And it should be “fishes” not “fish” in the title.

Sports Afield Know Your Fish

by Tom Dolan. 1960

New York: Sports Afield / Hearst Corporation. 1960 (1960), 26 pp. (un-numbered), illus.

This is a very basic booklet of North American game fishes built primarily around the illustrations by author Tom Dolan.  Species are presented family by family with the illustrations (color paintings) and sketchy information about each.  The illustrations are accurate, but somewhat stylized or cartoony.

 

 










Trout fishing in Southern California - Instructions for the beginner
by Donald H. Fry, Jr.  1938
California Fish and Game, Vol. 24 (2): 84-117, illus. with drawings and photographs (black and white).  Soft bound reprint.

Well, I don’t have many angling titles in my collection – but here is a nice little period piece.  This booklet a lot of detailed and somewhat chatty advice on the methods and gear of trout fishes.  There are drawings of knots and such, and photographs of trout habitat (no fish pictures or maps).  The title is Trout Fishing in Southern California, but there seems to be little specific to this region, other than a list of SoCal trout streams on the last page.










The Blue Book of Fresh Water Fish
by Joe Godfrey, Jr., illustrated by Gordon Ertz.  1939
Racine, Wisconsin,Whitman Publishing Company, 62 pp., illus. in color and black and white.  Glossy pictorial boards

This is a small pocket book of North American game fishes.  It opens with chapters on angling technique.  About 50 species are covered.  Inclusion is heavy towards salmonids and the text generally is geared towards the interests of anglers.  The color plates are adequate.  It’s small format means it tucks easily into a pocket or tackle box.







Game fish of the Rocky Mountains:  a guide to identification and habitat
by Michel Pijoan, illustrations by the author.  1985
Flagstaff, Ariz.: Northland Press, ix + 68 pp., illus. in black and white and color, map.  Soft cover
ISBN 0-87358-372-8

Here’s a book written by a life-long angler for anglers.  A general introduction to fishes is followed by species accounts - heavy on salmonids.  Basic biology of each species is presented –aimed at the general reader/angler.  Fishes are illustrated with half-tone paintings and color paintings by the author.  These are nicely executed.






Through the Fish's Eye - an angler's guide to gamefish behavior
by Mark Sosin.  1973
New York, Harper & Row, 249 pp., black and white text figs., color photographs.  Hard cover in dust jacket
Library of Congress No. 72-97172

Anglers seek to coax a fish into taking their baited hook - there-in lies the challenge of angling.  Angling is something that was, in my mind growing up, an essential part of any camping trip, but as I matured, it became something for which I found I lacked the patience (I still have my tackle box, but I don’t think anything in it has see action since the 70s).  All that aside, this book, co-written by an angler and a fisheries biologist/ichthyologist, offers insight into fish biology and behavior with content (as the title suggests) aimed at the angler.  A nice introduction to basic ichthyology and fish biology.  And a nicely presented book.
And look at the dust jacket with its cool 70s graphics and very 70s font selection.













Marine Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast from Alaska to the Equator
by Lionel Albert Walford.  1937
Berkeley: University of California Press, xxix + 205, text figs., 69 plates (many in color), map.  Cloth covered boards in dust jacket

A classic here, this is an early work in the genre of ocean big game fishes, bridging the gap between angling and scientific literature.  Introductory material is limited (and includes a map of the west coast).  The fishes included are the larger species of interest to anglers ... mackerels, croakers, salmon, etc.  A small number are illustrated with text figures.  Many more are found illustrated with photographs (freshly caught specimens) in the plate gallery.  Some are black and white, most are in color.  Identification keys are included.  The species accounts contain information on identification and general biology.  Also included is information angling, fisheries and various details on scientific/classification.  The original price, as printed on the dust jacket, was $5.00 (I imagine that was pretty pricey in the depression).












Northeast Coast Fishing Manual (in Chinese)
 by Lin Yutang.  1985
Taiwan: Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation Northeast Coast National Scenic Area Administration Department, 140 pp., illus in color, soft cover

This book is all in Chinese (which I don’t read)....it does appear to be an angling guide to the north eastern most tip of Taiwan.  There are habitat pictures, drawings of angling apparatus, and then a guide to what I assume are the common or sought fishes of the region, with angling tips.  It affords my bookshelf a nice exotic feel...but if it where in English, I probably would have passed on it (I generally don’t collect angling books).










Le black bass ou achigan - ses Moeurs, ses Pêches.
by Raoul Renault.  1951
Paris, Bornemann,. 62 pp. illus. in black and white.  Soft cover

This is an angling book – something that is rare in my collection (with the exception of some antique volumes).  I found it in a small bookshop in Brussels and the introduction is what sold me on it (also it was less than $1).  In the introduction our author bemoans the fact that French authorities refer to members of the genus Micropterus (the topic of this book) as “basses,” when in traditional European usage “basses” are marine fishes.  In any case, Renault goes on to feed the basic American stereotype of arrogant French people by complaining that it is the Americans' fault that we call this fish a “bass,” when it clearly is not.  He suggests instead we use the French Canadian name achigan.  I don’t thing he got far with this.
All this aside, the book is mainly a guide to bass angling, something that fills volumes of American angling literature.











The Game Fishes of New England and Southeastern Canada
by Peter Thompson. (text and illustrations)  1980.
Camden, Me.: Down East. xviii + 296 pp., illus. mostly in color, maps.  Pictorial boards; issued without dust jacket?
ISBN 89272-063-8

The title pretty much covers this one.  Marine and freshwater fishes with potential as game are presented (in taxonomic order).  A color painting of each is presented (these are a little flat, but nice (far better than I can do)), with various details on the biology and sport value of the species given.  Some accounts run for a few pages, other just a page.  Each species is given a shaded area range map.  I generally don’t buy pure angling books, but I will grab attractive guides such as this, usually at used book stores, or perhaps on ebay.  This one has a little history – it bears a nice Christmas gift inscription, wife to husband.
Of the dozen or so copies of this book I can find offered on-line, each is is listed as "no dust jacket."  I'm guessing it didn't come with one.










Sport fishes of Western Canada and some others.  Second Edition.
by Francis Cecil Whitehouse.  1945
Vancouver, B. C., published by the author, Second Edition 129 pp., illus.  Hard cover in dust jacket


This little book approaches the game fishes of western Canada with the perspective of a seasoned and dedicated angler.  He discusses the common sport fishes - mostly salmonids.  Some what of a purist, he places high value on native species and wild stocks.  In his introduction he rails against the introduction of exotic species, summing up, “The errors of the past are behind us: to err in future is inexcusable.  Later he writes with some ill-will about introduced black basses (Micropterus) - heresy in some circles.  I was liking his approach, thinking, ‘here we have a naturalist-angler’ and then I reached the section on “public enemies.”  First on the list is the sqauwfish, Ptychocheilus grandis (caption on his photograph, “a valueless, predatory species”).  This is a native species, but preys upon the ‘more desirable’ game fish.  We biologists refer to this as the natural order of things.  The volume has a short section on marine fishes and an essay on “Trout depletion and remedy.”

I don’t have a copy of the first edition, so can’t comment on it.

Fisheries

Largemouth bass in Ridge Lake, Coles County, Illinois
by George William Bennett.  1954
Bulletin Illinois Natural History Survey 26(2): 219-276, illus. Urbana, 1954.

Large mouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is a highly valued and much sought game fish in much of North America, so much so that the species has been widely stocked and often transplanted to artificial or non-native habitats.  Ridge Lake is a small impoundment in Illinois that was artificially stocked with bass, and in ensuing years the bass population and the population of humans who angled for them were extensively studied with detailed statistics and surveys.  This report is the result – a bunch of basic, old fashioned fishery statistics – and, I imagine, a useful case-study on how a study like this could be conducted.  The best statistic is $8.66/pound of bass.  That is the estimated cost to the angler fishing this lake in 1949.  The work is illustrated with numerous tables, graphs and photographs (including a few of happy anglers and their (less happy) strings of bass – one wonders if they ever knew that they were thus immortalized).  My copy bears the hand stamp of Oklahoma fishery researcher Dale Toetz.

A manual of fish-culture, based on the methods of the United States commission of fish and fisheries, revised edition
by John J. Brice.  1900
Washington, Govt. print. off., 1900, 340 pp., text figs., 1 color pl., 62 + xviii black and white pls, 2 folding charts.  Cloth covered boards

This an interesting glimpse into applied ichthyology and fisheries of the late 19th century.  There are sections the different species employed in fishery culture.  There are diagrams of hatcheries and fishery gear.  Lobsters, oysters and frogs are included.  There are many plates of fishes (the ol’ U.S. Fish Commission images) and a colored plate of the brook trout.  And a nice series of plates on oyster development (embryology).  I image this volume on the shelf of hatcheries across the country and in the hands of rural folk managing ponds or stream on their land.

La pêche de l’Anguille dans l’Est du Canada
by J. G. Eales
Office des recherces sur les pêcheries du Canada, Ottawa. 1972. Bulletin 166, 89 pp., 1 color plate, 42 text figures. Soft bound.

This is a detailed overview of the biology and fisheries of Anguilla rostrata in eastern Canada, including discussion of natural history and ecology, harvesting techniques and levels of exploitation.

Anguilla rostrata is an interesting beast, formerly widespread in North American basins draining into the Atlantic. Human impacts (pollution, diversions, impoundments, etc.) on flowing water in the eastern and central portions of North America has severely impacted eel populations. I remember once seeing a ‘field guide’ to antique American tools. The author noted that eel gathering implements often confused their finders in old barns or sheds across the Great Plaines, as they were found FAR from any stream or river that supports eels in anyone’s memory. Perhaps, eels not be a staple of, at least, Anglophone North Americans, they have not been afforded the attention and conservation efforts as, for example, salmon.

I also like the fact that a report on eel biology is authored by a person named Eales.









The Distinguishing Features of Fish
The Fishmongers’ Company London. 1958

London, Fishmonger's Hall, 1958. 95 + iv pp. illus. in color. 26 cm. Faux leather covered boards

Here’s a odd piece, or at least a rather specializedd one.  It’s a photo guide to fishes that would likely appear in fish markets in the UK.  There’s an introduction that covers the history of fishmongery in Britain (back to the 12th Century), and discussion of the how’s and why’s of identifying market fishes (or “fish” as the title goes).  The fishes are ordered roughly in taxonomic order, on one page are color photographs of two species of market fishes, and on the facing page are identifying features.  About 70 fishes are covered, with about a dozen crustaceans and molluscs as well.  A couple odd features – the introduction (about 20 pages) is unpaginated and the index (at the end) is numbered with Roman numerals (?!).  My copy does not have a dust jacket – I don’t know if it came with one.

The Open Sea:  Its Natural History - Part II - Fish and Fisheries
by Sir Alister Clavering Hardy.  1959 (third impression 1970)
Boston, Houghton Mifflin. xiv + 322 pp., text figures, black and white color plates, maps.  Cloth covered board in dust jacket.
ISBN 0-00-213165-X

This  volume 37 in The New Naturalist Series from Great Britain.  I am not extremely familiar with these, except to note that they are sought enough that some of the volumes (Freshwater Fishes of the British Isles, for example) have asking prices of over $1000.  I was in a natural history bookshop in the UK and was methodically working down the shelves of fish books examining titles, conditions and prices.  Unfamiliar with this series, I pulled from the shelf Freshwater Fishes of the British Isles, did a double take on the price, and quickly and carefully replaced the book on the shelf.  The dealer had been watching and as I paid for the book I could afford, he said with a smile, "I was watching to see your reaction to The New Naturalist book."  I just checked his online catalog; 15+ years later he still has the copy.  This particular volume is part II of the open sea (part one being on plankton), and covers various aspects of sea fisheries.  There are sections on diversity, basic biology and ecology, exploitation and conservation.  While the majority of the book is on fishes, there is also coverage of selected invertebrates, and marine reptiles and mammals.  The tome is extensively illustrated with text figures, black and white and 16 color plates.  Books of this series are aimed at the educated, lay person.  A glance at the various titles on the back of the dust jacket reveals a very broad selection of topics.





The fisheries and fishery industries of the United States
by G. Brown Goode.  1884
Washington, Govt. Print. Off., 1884-87. Misc. Document of the U.S. Senate, 1881-1882, Vol. 6, No. 124, part 1.  2 Volumes:  Text Volume, 895 pp., Plate Volume, 277 pls.

The United State was just about 100 years old, when this fishery survey was initiated.  George B. Goode of the United State Fish Commission joined with the U. S. Census bureau to gather, analyze and present a description of American fishery resources.  There are two separate volumes, the first contains the text, the second the plates.  The text is authored by a number of authorities and coverrs just about all creatures (marine and freshwater) that are exploited and could be considered fishery resources – mammals, fishes and various invertebrates (crustaceans, “worms,” radiates, Porifers).  Detailed text gathers existing literature and observations.  In the plate volume the creatures are illustrated.  Most of the fish illustrations were rendered by H. L. Todd.  These are excellent and accurate drawings.  They are copyright free being presented in a Government publication and were very widely used to illustrate works on American fishes in ensuing decades and continue to be utilized to this day.  I believe this work is their first appearance.  Another notable one would be Jordan and Evermann’s Catalog... (1896-1900).  In my copy of this work the two volumes were bound in to one very thick and unwieldy tome.   More often, this work is encountered as 2 separate volumes (with the text volume being easier to find and cheaper than the plate volume).  A example of one of the fish plates is shown above.







Miscellaneous / Hard to Classify

Wonderful Fishes of Sea and Stream

No author listed.

Morse Bros. Wonder Book No. 2. Morse Bros., Canton, Mass. 1898. 22 pp., 10 color plates. Softcover.

This odd little book appears to be an advertising premium for the Morse Brothers who manufactured and sold stove polish (an ad for their Rising Sun Stove Polish is found on the back of this book).

The book contains odd, interesting and not entirely accurate information about fishes, such as a carp can live to be 500 years old.  The color plates are very cool, dramatic and garishly colored.

A nice period piece of late19th Century Americana.

Sekai dai hakubutsu zukan = Atlas anima, Vol. 2:  Fishes
by Hiroshi Aramata.  1989

Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1989 Vol. 2,: 531 pp., ill. (some col.) ; 27 cm.  Cloth covered boards in dust jacket
ISBN 582-51822-2

This book is in Japanese, with just about the only non-Japanese characters being the ISBN number and Latin taxonomic names.  It’s a book of classic fish illustration.  There are other books of scientific or zoological illustration out there, but this one is unusual in that the illustrations, drawn from many, many works, are presented in taxonomic order in a survey of fishes.  Generally, books of illustration showcase certain artists or expeditions, often presenting the illustrations as art, rather than scientific illustration.  Having written all that, I have to add that I don’t read Japanese (at all), so I can’t offer much as to the content.  The volume is of very high quality production, on glossy paper with sharp and vibrant reproduction of the illustrations.  There is even a book mark ribbon bound in – like you see in Bibles (and finer Japanese books).










Fish of the World - A collection of 19th-Century Paintings
by Hiroshi Aramata.  1990
Portland House, New York.  279 pp., illus. in color.  Cloth covered boards in dust jacket
ISBN 0-517-03048-9

This may or may not be an English version of the above.  It contains many of the same paintings and they are presented in much the same order.  However, the Japanese version has some drawings not present in the version.  Many of the paintings in the Japanese version are show on their complete leaves, while those in the English version are cropped and the fish images shown isolated.  I’m guessing the English version is an abridged version of the Japanese one.  Whatever the case, it’s a beautiful collection of classic ichthyologial illustration.  Art in the service of science as it were.

Fish Face
by David Doubilet.  2007
Phaidon Press (2007), 408 pages, illustrated with color photographs, thick soft cover
ISBN 978-0-7148-4757-3

What can one say about a book called Fish Face?  It’s full of photographs of the faces of fishes - really no text behind the introduction.  Most fish are portrayed singly; usually just the face, not the entire animal.  A few non-fishes – crustaceans, a sea turtle, nautilus – are thrown in for good measure.  All creatures shown are marine.  The fishes are identified by an English vernacular name, with no binomials or other scientific names.  Next to the name is the geographic origin of the animal. Lots of pretty pictures – one can scan the volume and appreciate the diversity of nature, the skill of the photographer, the varied adaptations of sea life.  A little bit of ecology creeps in here or there, as in a shot of a fish face with a cleaner shrimp hard at work extracting parasites.  A technical critique...some photographs span the entire spread of an open page (many do not), which makes viewing and appreciating the photograph difficult without spreading the book and breaking or weakening the spine –which I would expect would give way eventually after much or careless use.  Nature as Art.










Hiroshige: A Shoal of Fishes (A Studio book)

by Ando Hiroshige, introduction by Bryan Holme.  1981

Metropolitan Museum of Art (1981), Hardcover. Accordion style book in slipcase

ISBN 0-670-37262-5

I don’t have a lot of art books.  This is one.  Some classic Japanese fish illustrations with accompanying poems.  The fishes pictured are food species, and they are portrayed laid out, somewhat as a chef might see them.  The illustrator, Ando Hioshige (1797 - 1858), was a renowned Japanese artist.  A series of his sea life paintings with accompanying poems was carefully reproduced in this volume.  The fish paintings are a little stylized but generally quite identifiable.  Some paintings portray crustaceans.  At the back of the volume the animals portrayed are identified with Latin binomials and brief mention of their seasonality.  Likewise, the poems are translated - "The red bream glows in the sea like a small sunset over water." There you go. The book is published on heavy paper in an accordion arrangement between cloth boards, and comes slipcased. This book is of very limited technical interest – but I like fish books, so I have it. However, some dealers demand (request?) a higher price than one (I) might expect, suggesting it is of interest to the art book crowd. It certainly is not uncommon on Ebay or ABE.

Aquariums:  Windows to Nature
by L. R. Taylor.  1993
New York: Prentice Hall General Reference, xxii +168 pp, illus. in color.  Cloth covered boards in dust
jacket

Not really a fish book, this is an appreciation to the public aquarium (and the plural of aquarium is not aquariums, but aquaria).  There are sections on the planning and functioning of these institutions, how they are operated and bits about the inhabitants.  An appendix includes a directory of world Aquaria.  Profusely illustrated with color photographs.












The Philippine Journal of Science:  Ichthyological papers, from volume 3, 1908, through volume 87, no. 1, 1958
T.F.H. Publications - Smithsonian Press. 1969.  3 vols., not paginated, illus. in black and white and cloth.  Cloth covered boards, no dust jacket issued..

In the1960s TFH Publications and the Smithsonian Press reprinted a number of classic ichthyological publications.  In the days before pdf files and internet access to literature, many older or narrowly distributed works could be difficult for researches to access.  This set presents nearly 100 ichthyology papers culled from the pages of the Philippine Journal of Science (1908-1958).  There are papers by Seale, Oshima, Roxas, Herre, De Beaufort and others.  The papers cover a variety of topics on marine and freshwater fishes of the region.  Many are illustrated with black and white plates.  Some had color plates, which are reproduced here in color, all gathered at the end of volume three.







General / Textbooks or Overviews






The World of Fish
by Franco De Carli.  1978
New York: Gallery Books, 256 pp.,  illus. in color, cloth covered boards in dust jacket
ISBN 0-8317-9553-0

This was originally published in Italian in 1975 (Il Mondo dei Pesci).  This is not a guide or picture book of fish diversity, it’s a survey of fish biology.  There are sections on fossil history, anatomy and physiology, behavior and reproduction, ecology and management/conservation.  There color photographs, drawings or photographs on nearly every page.  The presentation of fish biology in basic terms (an example - the osmotic challenges of freshwater vs. marine fishes) is useful.













Traité de zoologie - Tome XIII - Agnathes et Poissons - anatomie, systématique biologie
edited by Pierre Paul Grassé.  1958
Paris, Masson, 1958, illus. 26 cm
First Volume - pages 1 - 924 ., figures 1 - 624, a few in color
Second Volume - pages 926 - 1812, figures 625 - 1307, some in color
Third Volume - 1813 - 2758, figures 1308 - 1889, some in color

These three heavy volumes deal with fishes; they are part of a series of 17 tomes covering the animal kingdom – a true Treatise on Zoology.  They were produced with the assistance of dozens of specialists.  In the fish volumes, just about all aspects of fish biology are covered...anatomy, development, ecology, physiology, evolution, diversity.  The sections on anatomy are detailed and its especially nice to have so much breadth in this topic gathered in one place (when I refer to the volumes, I always find myself wishing my French were stronger....). This work is heavily illustrated with black and white drawings and some photographs, and an occasional color plate or 2 or 3 color anatomical drawing.  Encyclopedic in scope, it’s a shame we don’t have something similar in English...the closet equivalent I can think of is Libby Hyman’s series on The Invertebrates.  Although 50+ years old now, this is an extremely useful work and I was very pleased when I finally found an affordable set (another ebay find, if I remember correctly).  Some years before, I remember finding a set in a natural history bookshop in Paris. I visited the books several times over several days – and finally passed on them (in favor of a number of other ichthyological works).  It's also worth noting that these volumes are solid and well crafted.

The Bashford Dean Memorial volume : Archaic fishes - bound in 2 volumes
by Eugene Willis Gudger (ed.). 1930 - 1942

New York : Published by order of the trustees, 1930-1942, 8 articles bound in 2 volumes. 802 pp., text figs and plates.

With works such as this cause problems with my carefully considered system of categories of fish books, in that it could be classed in multiple groups.  What we have here is tribute of sorts.  When Bashford Dean died, he left numerous unfinished projects, with data gathered or drawings rendered.  A group of his colleagues gathered this material completed projects or used it a foundation for further research.  The papers in these volumes are the result.  We have a fossil fish paper, a hagfish paper and a number of chondrichthians.  This is great, detailed work, carefully crafted and beautifully illustrated. The series opens with William K. Gregory’s biography and appreciation of Dean.  The papers were issues over about 14 years – my set is bound in two volumes.  The individual numbes were bound in stiff wrappers.







Guide to the New York Aquarium
by Charles Haskins Townsend (director)
New York Zoological Society, New York. 1919. 170 pp., numerous black and white photographs and drawings. Pictorial boards. 13 x 20 cm.

A description of the New York Aquarium is followed by accounts of its numerous denizens from lampreys to marine and aquatic mammals, with some invertebrates thrown in for good measure. One or two photographs on each page.

A section on aquarium keeping is included as well. An interesting period piece, it details aquarium management from the perspective of the ‘balanced aquarium.’ In the absence of heaters, aeration and powered filtration, one had precious few other options.







Freshwater fishes Sixty photographs from life
by Walford B. Johnson (text) and Stanley Johnson (photographs).  1906
London Gowans & Gray 1906, 69 pp., illus., stiff boards

This small volume, probably intended for children, is No. 6 in a series called Gowan’s Nature Books.  The book is basically about 65 pages of black and white photographs of freshwater fishes.  This fishing are all portrayed in a largely bare aquarium, with springs of aquatic grass as background.  The photographs are quite nice...cleanly focused and well-light.  One can easily visualize individual scales and other fine detail. Several pages of text finish the volume.  Produced in Europe, native and non-native species are portrayed (including a seemingly inordinate number of carp).  The stiff boards were covered in a paper cover; on my copy the paper covering is dark and quite brittle.  A color drawing of Perca graces the cover.

A Guide to the Study of Fishes
by David Starr Jordan.  1905
New York, H. Holt and Company, 1905. 2 vols. col. fronts., illus. 26 cm.  Green cloth covered boards.
Vol. 1. xvi + 634 pp., 427 text figs., color frontispiece
Vol. 2. xvii + 599 pp., 507 text figs., color frontispiece

A story that comes down to us through Carl Hubbs is that Dr. Jordan, then President of Stanford University, dictated this book to his secretary from memory – such was his command of ichthyology.  Apocryphal?  Who’s to say at this point?

In any case, what we have here is an enormous store of information all filtered through Dr. Jordan’s deep grasp and appreciation of fishes.  This is a masterpiece - from a man who still had about 25 years left in his career.
Volume 1 details the basic biology of fishes - anatomy (internal and external), reproduction and embryology, behavior, biogeography, fisheries, history of ichthyology, evolution, and the diversity of fishes through the Dipnoi (lungfishes).  The volume is thoroughly illustrated with photographs and drawings pulled from a variety of works.  Volume 2 continues the survey of diversity – from ganoid fishes to angler fishes.
Although 100 years old, there is certainly much to be learned though perusal of these volumes.  And it’s just fun to get close to Dr. Jordan through reading his work.
I don't know if this work came with dust jackets - no set I've seen has them.



Fishes
by David Starr Jordan.  1907 and 1925

New York, D. Appleton and company, 1907. v-xv, 789 pp. col. front., illus., col. plates.  Green, decorated cloth covered boards.

New York, D. Appleton and company, 1925. v-xv, 773 pp. col. front., illus., col. plates.  Green cloth covered boards.

From the prefatory notice: “In this volume the writer has tried to compress all that an educated man is likely to know, or care to know, about fishes.”  This is in a way an abridged or culled edition of Jordan’s Guide to the Study of Fishes (1905).  There is an introduction to fish biology and then the diversity section.  Scattered through are 17 chromolightographic plates.  Many are derived from Jordan and Seale’s Fishes of Somoa (1906), others from Jordan and Evermann’s (1902) American Food and Game Fishes, plus the two from the original Guide ...
Also from the Prefatory notice: [This volume’s] special message is....to lovers of nature and to those to whom a fish is something more than a fish – an organism fresh from the mint of creation, with the history of its ancestors compressed in its structure and habits.”  What a nice summing up of ichthyology.
There is a first edition (1907) and a revised edition (1925, pictured here) of this work.  I can only find a few differences between the two editions.  The first edition has decorated, cloth covered boards (they are plain green in the second).  The title page and copy right pages reflect the different editions, and the preface is reworked in the second, but largely the same.  I find no differences in the text, perhaps there are editorial or typographical changes, but nothing that alters the pagination even in the slightest (that I can find).  At the very end, the first edition contains a Classification of Fishes.  This is omitted from the second and is reflected in the different number of pages.
The second edition (at least some copies - perhaps there was a deluxe issuing) were issued with a colored dust jacket and slip case.  My copy lacks these.  I’ve never seen a dust jacket for the first edition.





The Book of Fishes - Game Fishes, Food Fishes, Shellfish and Curious Citizens of American Ocean Shores, Lakes and Rivers
by John Oliver La Gorce (editor).  1924

Washington, D.C.: The National Geographic Society, 1924, 243 pp. : illus. some col.; 26 cm. Hardcover, decorated faux leather covered boards; no dust jacket (that I’ve seen).

This appears to be a collection of several articles from National Geographic Magazine.  I can conform that articles bearing the same titles and authorship as at least some of the sections in this book appear in the Magazine.  The sections, by noted ichthyologists, aquarium curators or fishery researcherrs of the day, cover topics such as freshwater fishes, Gulf Stream fishes and North Atlantic species.  In most, the focus is on fisheries or angling, and there are many photographs of dead fishes – hooked, prepared or waiting to be prepared.  As often seen in works of this periods, we have fishes presented as part of “nature’s bounty,” something for humans to exploit.  A number of excellent color plates by Hashime Murayama fill out the volume.  These and the distinctive cover decoration give this volume an appear over many other contemporary and similar books (sellers on ebay often try to garner high prices – I’m not sure if they get them).  This book is one of a series (dogs, horses, birds, etc.), and was updated and offered in several more editions (reviews of those will be offered as I come to them).

Fish-watching and photography
by Kendall McDonald (with Tony Baverstock, Colin Doeg, Geoff Harwood, John Lythgoe, Peter Scoones, Philip Smith.  1972

New York, Scribner. 1972. ix + 270 p. illus. (part col.) 22 cm.  Hardcover in dust jacket

ISBN 684-13656-2
Basically, we have here a photographic giude to common fishes of the North Sea and Mediterranean, with some visits to tropical waters, with an overall UK orientation.  The behavior and biology of a number of species is discussed along with diving and viewing and photographing them.  Readers are likely to find the section on techniques and equipment a bit dated (I’m still trying to find a place to develop a couple rolls of Kodachrome slide film ...).








The Story of Fish Life
by W. P. Pycraft.  1901.
London, G. Newnes, limited, 1901. 210 pp., illus. Hardcover, decorated blue boards.

This small format book is fun.  It contains a very readable accounting of the biology of fishes – drawn from the authorities of the day.  In the preface the author writes of getting much guidance directly from Albert Günther of the British Museum.  This book does not contain a lengthy or even abbreviated taxonomic survey as such.  Books of this type generally seem to contain such as survey, even if it is focused geographically.  Offered are chapters entitled: “How Fishes Breathe,” “Heads and Tails,” “How Fishes Feed,” etc.  A chapter entitled “Pedigrees” discusses fish diversity in an evolutionary sense, bringing into play fossils as well as living species.  The final chapter, “Puzzles and Patriarchs” discusses unresolved issues in fish evolution and genealogy.  A discussion on lampreys and hagfishes presents the long discarded view that they represent degenerate bony fishes (bony fishes that have lost their scales, teeth, jaws, fins, etc.).  The perspective that jawless fishes represent a primitive anatomy – one found BEFORE the evolution of jaws is mentioned almost in passing.  There are 17 text illustrations. This attractive little book, in decorated blue boards, was part of a series, entitled “The Library of Useful Stories.”




Elements of herpetology and of ichthyology
by William Samuel Waithman Ruschenberger.  1845
Philadelphia, Grigg & Elliot, 1845. 145 pp., illus. 19 cm. hardcover

The full title of this small volume is Elements of herpetology and of ichthyology prepared for the use of schools and colleges.  It’s a textbook with a very orderly arrangement of numbered sections, each with a series of study questions for the reader/student to test him or herself.  The reptile section includes what we known classify as amphibians (as was typical for the day).  Fishes are divided into bony fishes and cartilaginous fishes (including jawless fishes).

This volume is written very much in the tradition of Natural Theology – the idea that the wonderful Creation that surrounds us is a reflection of a benevolent and generous Creator.  The intricacies and marvelous patterns that Natural Historians expose are to be seen as a reflection of the mind of the Creator. Genesis 1:31 - “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good..”  In this tradition, nature was there to provide to human kind, to provide physical resources or moral lessons.  But it was all good.

While any concept of organic evolutionary is not part of this world view, a view of the hierarch of life does appear in the very final paragraph.  Here, the author draws a line from the “most wonderful of animal creatures” – humans – down through reptiles, and the various types of fishes to the bottom of the animal creatures – jawless fishes.  At each level the Creator endows the animals with anatomy and physiology appropriate for their lot in life.  Not exactly an (expressly stated) evolutionary phylogeny, but the bones are there.
This volume is one of a series on Creation.



How Fishes Live
by Peter James Palmer Whitehead.  1977
London: Elsevier-Phaidon, 160 pp., illus in color and black and white, maps.  Pictorial boards in identical dust jacket
ISBN 0 86136-895-9

Ainsi Vivent les Poissons
 by Peter James Palmer Whitehead.  1976
Paris; Elsevier Séquoia, 160 pp., illus in color and black and white, maps.  Cloth covered boards in dust jacket
ISBN 2-8003-0178-3

This is volume 3 in from multi-volume series on different groups of animals (I haven’t seen the others).  It’s essentially a text book on ichthyology for the general reader.  A number of fairly complex aspects of fish biology (respiration, anatomy, waste elimination, reproduction, buoyancy, etc.) are covered effectively, but with a level that should be accessible to an interested reader.  The book is extensively illustrated with diagrams, drawings and photographs.  The French language edition appears to be identical (except for the language).  Peter Whitehead (1930-1992) was in ichthyologist long associated with the British Museum of Natural History.





Stanford Ichthyological Bulletin - 1938 - 1967
Palo Alto, Calif. Natural History Museum of Standford University

The SIB was founded at Stanford University by George Myers and his colleagues.  It’s goal was to publish taxonomic and morphological papers on fishes.  Many of the papers published were longer than some regular journals were keen on taking.  I expect this was, in part, a niche the founders were wishing to fill.  The first paper (Vol. 1, No. 1) is a lengthy paper by Margaret Storey on the clupeoid genus Harengula.  Lots of useful ichthyology published over 30 years.
My set is (in part) the bound set from the personal library of G. S. Myers.

Aquarium Fishes



Petit atlas des poissons Poissons des eaux douces - Fascicule III: espèces françaises (Nouvelle édition)
by Fernand Angel.  1948
Paris: N. Boubée, 137 pp, text figures, black and white and color plates.  Soft cover

Petit atlas des poissons Poissons des eaux douces - Fascicule IV: espèces exotiques et d'ornement
by Fernand Angel.  1946
Paris: N. Boubée, 129 pp., text figures, color plates.  Soft cover

Atlas des poissons Poissons des eaux douces Fascicule IV: espèces exotiques et d'ornement Aquariophile
by Fernand Angel.  1949
Paris, N. Boubée (impr. de G. Lang),. 179 pp : text figures and color plates.  Soft cover

These books are from a series of 4 volumes called the “Petit Atlaas” or later “Atlas des Vertebrates,” all by Fernand Angel, and illustrated by him.  Shown are two editions of freshwater aquarium fish volume  (darker color is the 1949 edition).  Another volume covers the freshwater fishes of France; the other two (which I don’t) have cover marine fishes.  These are written for the general reader.  They are well-illustrated with black and write drawings, and color plates, which portray a group of species in sem-natural poses.  The aquarium fish book includes Amia calva and Lepisosteus sp., a couple of fishes that one doesn’t often associate with the home aquarium.  The color plates on the covers are tipped in.
















Exotic Tropical Fishes - bound edition
by Herbert R. Axelrod, Cliff W. Emmens, Duncan Sculthorpe, William Vorderwinkler and Neal Pronek.  1962
Jersey City, T.F.H. Publications, hardbound edition, illus. in color and black and white, pictorial boards, issued without a dust jacket
Exotic Tropical Fishes - looseleaf edition
by Herbert R. Axelrod, Cliff W. Emmens, Duncan Sculthorpe, William Vorderwinkler and Neal Pronek.  1962
Jersey City, T.F.H. Publications,  illus. in black and white and color, bound in 3-ring binder

This book came out in two versions.  One was a traditionally hard bound volume (dark cover shown here).  The other was issued bound in a 3-ring loose leaf binder (lighter cover shown here).  The loose leaf edition was updated by new pages issued regularly.  These new pages were bound within each issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine, or they could be purchased in supplement books.  The pages were numbed to be inserted into one’s existing volume.  I would guess the plan was to mimic the success of a similar German production, Die Aquarienfische in Wort und Bild by Holly, Meinken and Rachow (1940 et seq.).  As near as I can tell by comparing my copies, the hard bound edition and the as issued loose leaf edition were identical down to the oddly numbered pages.  The loose leaf edition does have a title sheet inserted that describes the functioning of that edition.  TFH stopped issuing supplements in the 1980s, I believe.  If you are trying to complete a volume, the supplement books show up on ebay and abe books.  I’ve also seen them still hiding on the book racks of tropical fish stores (at least those that have been in business many years).
Opening chapters cover aquarium maintenance in theory and practice...it’s interesting to have a look at what was considered modern and proper in the USA in the late 1950s/early 1960s.  There is a section on tropical fish culture and one on aquarium plants.  The body of the book is a species-by-species run through commonly held aquarium fishes.  Each is illustrated with a color photograph.  Basic care information is given, as well as any interesting details on history or breeding.  There’s an index at the end, although this must have become quickly out-dated as one added supplements.
n expanded edition of the loose-leaf version was issued later.

Gouramis and other labyrinth fishes:  everything about natural history, purchase, health, care, breeding, and species identification
by Gary Elson and Oliver Lucanus. 2002
Hauppauge, NY : Barron's, 95 p., illus.

I generally don’t include aquarium book in my collection unless their topics intersect with my research interests, they are antique or otherwise unusual, or for some reason they appeal to me on the particular day I run across them.  I have MANY books on anabantoids – in many languages. This one is fairly typical; its not trying to be an exhaustive accounting of the diversity of the group, but rather just what the title says, a guide for the keeper and enthusiast.  The information is basic and sound. There are many colored photographs. With the large number of newly described species in the paste 25 years, its hard to keep up with some of the genera (Betta and Parosphromenus, for examples).  Some recent scientific work, such as that on African anabantids is included.





Pet Library's Advanced Aquarist Guide
by Feroze N. Ghadially.  1969
London, Pet Library, 282 pp. illus., glossy pictorial boards.  No dust jacket

Dr. Ghadially gives us a compact, well-illustrated and thorough to aquarium fish keeping – at least as done in Europe in the late 1960s.  He opens with chapters on the ecology of an aquarium (cycles and such) and on the anatomy and physiology of fishes.  Coming from his background in cell biology, he sections on genetics and physiology are more detailed than in many such books.  The species sections are pretty standard, nicely illustrated with color paintings or photographs.  In the 70s when this book was new, it would have offered an alternative to the very heavy TFH presence in the American aquarium hobby.





Anabantoids, gouramis and related fishes
by Robert J. Goldstein.  1971.
Neptune, NJ: T.F.H. Publications.  1971. 157 pp., illus. ; 21 cm. Softbound.

This is one of the first fish books I ever bought when I was 12 or 13 and keeping aquarium fishes.  My copy is well work and in some places annotated with penciled notes.  I poured over it again and again, learning the scientific names of all the species illustrated.  The book summarizes what the Suborder Anabantoidei – which is defined to exclude some groups often now included within the suborder (i.e., Luciocephalidae, Channidae, Badidae).  The arrangement is taxonomic, attempting to, at least, list all known species. Details on biology, distribution, care and breeding are included where they were known. The book is lavishly illustrated in with color and black and white photographs, and some black and white drawings. The photograph on page 33 labeled Ctenopoma kingsleyae is clearly C. weeksii (at the time known as C. oxyrhynchum).  This book has been reissued at least a couple of times after its original publication with different covers; I once saw a hard bound copy at a pet shop...possibly from a later print run.



American aquarium fishes
by Robert J. Goldstein, with Robert W. Harper and Richard Edwards.  2000.
College Station, Tex.: Texas A&M University Press, 2000. xiii, 428 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm.

When the subject of native fishes (i.e., those from North America for me) is raised, one often hear aquarium folks compare our natives unfavorably to the colorful exotics from the tropics.  I’ve always viewed the lack of interest in native fishes from the aquarium realm as a two-edged sword.  On one hand, our natives face enough problems with habitat loss and degradation without dealing with unknowledgeable collectors/keepers; on the other - surely more familiarity with native fishes (beyond the handful of game species) would lead to greater appreciation and thus better stewardship.  This volume is one of several in recent years to tackle the subject of native fish keeping, and is the largest and most lavish.  In a work such as this I always want to see a very clearly worded discussion of the legalities and ethics of removing native fishes from their habitats AND the very serious issue of natives (and non-natives) being introduced to non-native habitats and regions.  These are present as appropriate. The author rightly points out, I think, that the native fish fancier is far less a threat than the developer’s bulldozer (etc.), but this does not free the native fish collector from practicing ethical collecting and following the regulations of local or federal agencies.  I once spoke to a aquarist at a tropical fish show about just these issues.  She had illegally taken individuals of an endangered species from their spring habitat – and moved them many states beyond their natural range.  I admonished her for this as politely as I could, to which she replied, “well, they are very happy in my fish room” – which is, of course, not the point.

I’ve kept a number of native fishes in university wet labs – both as part of research, and because it was just fun to keep them and observe them.  I always had the necessary permits and always practiced careful and conscientious collecting.  I think it is very helpful for ichthyologists to keep fishes – even if just occasionally – to help connect them with their study subjects as living units of natural history, and not just preserved specimens or (worse) bits of DNA to be run on gels.
But to the point - this book goes family-by-family listing species that are likely to be encountered and that might make good aquarium subjects.  The volume is very nicely produced and presented.  There are numerous black and white photographs and a gallery of color images.  Many of the shots are fishes in their natural habitats, which I particularly like to see.  And many of the photographs are the excellent work of William Roston.



Our Native Fishes - The Aquarium Hobbyist's Guide to Observing, Collecting, and Keeping Them:  North American Freshwater and Marine Fishes
by John R. Quinn.  1990
Woodstock, Vt.: Countryman Press, xiv + 242 pp., illus. in black and white, soft cover.
ISBN 0-88150-181-6

When many aquarists (and others) consider of native North American fishes, the think of drab, gray creatures or game fishes.  While it’s true that streams in Kansas aren’t populated by brightly colored tetras or cichlids, many of the 500 or so native North American fishes are fine candidates for aquarium keeping.  Many, such as darters and shiners, are colorful; others have interesting forms and behaviors.  I’ve always thought that greater interest in North American fishes would lead to great appreciation and care for them and their habitats.  The problem comes with inexperienced or careless people tromping through natural habitats, removing fishes from their habitats and injuring or killing others.  Habitats can be fragile; populations unable to withstand added pressure from enthusiasts.  The author of this volume lays out these issues clearly AND discusses the need and reasons for proper licences and collecting permits.  The need and rationale for required permits is important to emphasize and re-emphasize.  The main body of the text covers a large array of species, each with an illustration (drawing) and shaded area range map, and details on habitat, collecting and captive care.





Aquarium Encyclopedia of Tropical Freshwater Fish
by J. D. van Ramshorst (editor), photographs by A. van den Nieuwenhuizen.  1978 (U.S. edition 1981)
Tucson, Ariz.: H.P. Books, 391 pp. : illus. in black and white and color.  Cloth covered boards in dust jacket, in slip case
ISBN 0-89586-132-1

This is a beautiful book, in the class of catch-all aquarium hobby books.  It opens with detailed chapters on all aspects of aquarium fish keeping (set up, maintenance, breeding, diseases, etc.).  Family-by-family taxonomic accounts fill much of the volume.  The species accounts focus on care and breeding, and are illustrated with the excellent color photographs of van den Nieuwenhuizen, and black and white drawings.  The book is written by a team of Dutch aquarium fish experts, and edited by van Ramshorst.  I can’t find reference to a Dutch language edition.  The 1978 edition appears to be a UK printing, and I found reference to a French language edition dated 1977.  If you are going to keep aquarium fishes, a book such as this is a must have.






Aquarium Fishes and Plants
by Karel Rataj and R. Zukal, illustrated by J. Malý.  1971 (reprinted 1972, 1973)
Hamlyn Publishing Group, 132 pp., illus. in color.  Cloth covered boards in dust jacket.

This pretty book was (I believe) originally published in Czech.  It’s really more of an art book showcasing Malý’s artwork, than an aquarium fish guide.  An introductory chapter presents some basic aquarium maintenance instructions.  About 60 full page plates for the majority of the volume.  Each portrays a popular aquarium fish and an aquarium plant.  The text opposite offers the basic of care and breeding/propagation of each.  My copy is from the library of the late Milton Curd.







North American Native Fishes for the Home Aquarium
by David M. Schleser.  1998
Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barron's, v + 169 pp, illus in black and white and color, soft cover
ISBN 0-88150-181-6

Many ichthyologists I know kept aquarium fish as a hobby when young.  This hobby is almost exclusively devoted to ‘tropical fishes’ (at least since the advent of reliable aquarium heaters).  Native North American fishes are usually overlooked at aquarium inhabitants.  They are considered drab and uninteresting compared to their tropical brethren.  Books such as this serve a small segment of the hobby that wish to explore creatures from closer to home.
I always look with some concern at this – many North American species and many habitats simply could not withstand intensive exploitation by the aquarium crowd.  People would damage sensitive habitats while collecting, they would over collect rare species, and spread fishes and fish diseases beyond their natural ranges.  Of corse, all this is happening now, but as far as I can see, not extensively.  I once met a native fish keeper at an aquarium society meeting.  She was gushing over a collecting trip she recently made and of the federally protected species she now kept in a home aquarium (obviously with no permits).  As gently as I could manage, I explained (chastised) the problems with her actions, but couldn’t seem to reach her.  “They are very happy in my care,” was her reply.
That being said, books like this give guidance and support to people in this area.  The first thing I want to see in a book or article on this topic is clear and prominent discussion of the ethics and legalities of collecting, transporting and keeping native fishes.  And those are present here, although I think more emphasis would be appropriate.
In terms of content, the introduction covers basic aquarium management and collecting techniques (and a section on permits).  The species accounts cover a variety of freshwater North American natives.  Basic information on biology and care is included.














Freshwater Fishes of the World
by Günther Sterba.  1966
Studio Vista, 877 pp. illus. in black and white and color,  maps.  Cloth covered boards in dust jacket.

This thick work was first published in German in 1959 as Süsswasserfische aus Aller Welt.  An English edition appeared in 1962 and this revised English edition in 1966.  The author here gives us an encyclopedic coverage of the topic.  Family by family, he details the basic biology and aquarium care.  There illustrations consist of black and white drawings and photographs, plus some color photographs.  Distribution maps at the family level are also provided.  This book can be viewed an abstracted summary of nearly 100 years of German aquarium keeping experience and literature.  My well-thumbed copy is water damaged....I expect a previous owner kept it too near his/her aquaria (or underneath them, a mistake I once made with some of my books).
It appears that TFH acquired rights to this and published there own version in two volumes in 1973.  I don't have a copy of this edition to compare.








Thompson's Guide to Freshwater Fishes:  how to identify the common freshwater fishes of North America, how to keep them in a home aquarium
by Peter Thompson.  1985
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, xi + 205 pp., color plates, maps, issued in soft cover and hard back
ISBN 0-395-37803-6 (soft cover); ISBN 0-395-31838-6 (hard cover)

Native fishes offer many opportunities to the aquarium keeper.  This book sets out the basics of collecting, handling and keeping native fishes.  A diversity survey (the taxonomic section) covers 113 fishes found in North American waters (including natives and a few non-natives) that might be encountered and suitable for aquarium keeping.  The basics of identification and biology are given, a shaded area range map is provided.  A gallery of color plates illustrate the species; these are by the author.  All the species covered are from the eastern North American fish fauna.  They are nice, but not exceptional.  In a book that encourages taking of native fishes I like to see careful attention given to the conservation and legal aspects of collecting natives.  I think this book could have emphasized these issues more clearly.  Surely, keeping these fishes would lead to greater appreciation, and greater appreciation would lead to greater attention to conservation and sound management.  However, many populations of natives could not endure much ‘interest’ from aquarium hobbyist (many could though).
Illustrated is my soft cover copy.





Bettas, Gouramis, and other Anabantoids:  labyrinth fishes of the world
by Jörg Vierke.  1988

Neptune, N.Y.: T.F.H. Publications, 1988. 192 p.: ill. (some col.) ; 22 cm. Pictorial Boards, no dust jacket.
ISBN 0-86622-897-7

This is the English translation of Vierke’s Labyrinthfische: Arten - Haltung – Zucht (1986), although the copyright page notes that the English translation is not literal and was “augmented.”  Vierke published widely on anabantoids in the 1970s and 80s, usually in the hobbyist press.  The present book summarizes extensive aquarium experience with these fishes, and on that level is useful.  When the author strays into the taxonomic and systematic realms, I think, he is on thinner ice.