# Some Useful Books for Beginners



## soulsigma (May 28, 2009)

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Some Useful Books for Beginners
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There is plenty to learn when starting to keep marines, so reading a good book or two is an excellent place to start.
Here is a selection of books to start you off. There are many others, but remember ideas are evolving all the time so make sure you get a modern book.

These are books that the New Member Help team have read and found useful:

Aquarium 


The Conscientious Marine Aquarist - Robert M Fenner 2001 (original 1998)
A good guide to setting up (occasionally slightly dated) and a useful section on fish and corals
Natural Reef Aquariums - John H Tullock 2001
Using live rock and live sand as part of a natural filtration system


Your First Marine Aquarium (A Complete Pet Owner's Manual) - John Tullock 1998
Inexpensive, and a useful first book
The Reef Aquarium volume three: Science, Art, and Technology - Delbeek & Spung 2005
A new book covering the latest techniques of reef keeping.
This may or may not suit you as a first book, but definitely one to read at some point.
Reef Secrets - Nilsen & Fossa 2002
Starting right, selecting stock, biotope techniques. Contains a guide, with pictures, to corals, invertebrates, & fish

Fish & Invert reference


Marine Fishes - Scott W Michael 2001
An excellent small guide to aquarium fish and their care requirements
Marine Invertebrates - Ronald L Shimek 2004
An excellent small guide to aquarium corals, shrimps, snails etc
Reef Aquarium Fishes - Scott W Michael 2006
His latest small guide to aquarium fish and their care requirements - with some new-to-the-hobby species

Corals


Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry and Natural History - Eric H Borneman 2004 (original 2001)
The best coral book. Coral care and identification. Get it
Corals: Quick Reference Guide - Julian Sprung 1999
A good guide to corals, complete with a placement guide (lighting needs, water flow, aggressiveness, hardiness)

Inverts


Reef invertebrates - Calfo & Fenner 2003
A guide to selection, care and compatibility of a broad variety of invertebrates
Invertebrates: Quick Ref Guide - Julian Sprung 2001
Covers all those other inverts - sponges, slugs, crabs, urchins, stars etc



There is plenty to learn when starting to keep marines, so reading a good book or two is an excellent place to start.
Here is a selection of books to start you off. There are many others, but remember ideas are evolving all the time so make sure you get a modern book.

These are books that the New Member Help team have read and found useful:

Aquarium


The Conscientious Marine Aquarist - Robert M Fenner 2001 (original 1998)
A good guide to setting up (occasionally slightly dated) and a useful section on fish and corals
Natural Reef Aquariums - John H Tullock 2001
Using live rock and live sand as part of a natural filtration system


Your First Marine Aquarium (A Complete Pet Owner's Manual) - John Tullock 1998
Inexpensive, and a useful first book
The Reef Aquarium volume three: Science, Art, and Technology - Delbeek & Spung 2005
A new book covering the latest techniques of reef keeping.
This may or may not suit you as a first book, but definitely one to read at some point.
Reef Secrets - Nilsen & Fossa 2002
Starting right, selecting stock, biotope techniques. Contains a guide, with pictures, to corals, invertebrates, & fish

Fish & Invert reference


Marine Fishes - Scott W Michael 2001
An excellent small guide to aquarium fish and their care requirements
Marine Invertebrates - Ronald L Shimek 2004
An excellent small guide to aquarium corals, shrimps, snails etc
Reef Aquarium Fishes - Scott W Michael 2006
His latest small guide to aquarium fish and their care requirements - with some new-to-the-hobby species

Corals


Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry and Natural History - Eric H Borneman 2004 (original 2001)
The best coral book. Coral care and identification. Get it
Corals: Quick Reference Guide - Julian Sprung 1999
A good guide to corals, complete with a placement guide (lighting needs, water flow, aggressiveness, hardiness)

Inverts


Reef invertebrates - Calfo & Fenner 2003
A guide to selection, care and compatibility of a broad variety of invertebrates
Invertebrates: Quick Ref Guide - Julian Sprung 2001
Covers all those other inverts - sponges, slugs, crabs, urchins, stars etc


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## marlenez (Jun 27, 2009)

If you are an iPhone user I have written an app called Invertebrate Pocket Reference (which will be sponsored by our forum in its next update) and am finishing up a Marine Fish Reference which will be followed by a Coral app as well. It's an easy way to keep info with you when you are at your local fish store.


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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

All great info. Anyone still reading Thiel nowadays?


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## JIM (May 27, 2009)

*Outstanding, in keeping with an already great site, Bravo*


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## salth2o (Aug 3, 2009)

Fenner should be a required read as far as I am concerned!


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

> Fenner should be a required read as far as I am concerned!


I whole heartedly agree. This is one book thats well worth the cost and should always be close at hand. It does a very good job of provinding a general over veiw from A-Z.

As for corals...anything by Calfro and Bornemen is well worth the read!!!


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## phil_pl (Apr 10, 2009)

soulsigma said:


> The Conscientious Marine Aquarist - Robert M Fenner 2001 (original 1998)


i have this one VERY GOOD
nice pictures too


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