Re: plant references

[john wheeler <jcwheel76 at yahoo_com>]

Hey gang,

Adam Coffman asked about the value in these specific
titles for info on plant sepcies and care.

>>Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants - Peter Hiscock<<

I bought this book very recently. The info is a little
dated, and reads alot like the Barry James title TFH
released years ago. Mr. Hiscock's editors failed him
as there are *tons* of mistakes starting with the
first pic in the book mistaking C. balansea for A.
boivinaus-- It's downhill from there. A big part of
the mystery for new comers is proper identification,
and this book could casuse alot of problems.

The biggest issue I have with this book is the dated
info and the mistakes in the text to pictures
relationships. 

>>Aquarium Plants Catalogue - Holger Windelov<<

This was published alot longer than 3 years ago. This
is a classic-- one of TFH's first on the subject. The
pictures are colored drawings, but the info can be
usefull. It's inexpesive, so you may just wanna have
this one around. I wouldn't read to much into what
they suggest about growing conditions or requirements,
etc.

>>Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature - Peter
Hiscock<<

No info here-- I wasn't terribly impressed with his
other offering as I'm sure you can tell. It looks like
an answer to TFH's publications by master Amano by
Barron's. If you have any of Amano's offerings, you
can skip this one for now. I'd bet the farm it's short
on practical info for running your tank and long on
pics. 

>>Aquarium Plants - Christel Kasselmann, Ulf Kotlenga
(Translator), van 
Rroosdil Andre S. J. (Translator)<<

This is the newest title available to us and, I think,
the best. Get this one first. There is excellent info
on all aspects of *alot* of species and lots of
accurate/interesting pics. The "how to grow"
recommendations are a little dated, but I imagine
these things are like other science texts-- The minute
they come out, some of it is obsolete.


>>Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual
and Scientific 
Treatise for the Home Aquarist - Diana L. Walstad<<

Also a *must have*. There are no pretty pictures--
just no nonsense scientific data that can be applied
(in some form or another) to any planted aquarium.
It's a surprisingly easy read, and even offers a step
by step approach for creating a successful set-up--
albeit few use her approach.

What this book doesn't have is info on plant species.
Kasselman is the best there.

Honestly, I don't find any of the books available
complete. If you haven't already, the other part of
your education should come from reading at:

www.thekrib.com

This is the most comprehensive source of info on all
different aspects of this hobby that is available
today. Read carefully, though, as the info archived
there goes as far back as '94-'95 and alot has changed
since then. It's still nice to see how things evolved.

>>Any comments on these titles, or suggestions of
others are welcome.<<

Also, I like the Baensch aquarium atlases. They're a
surprising wealth of accurate info on different plant
species, and you get alot of fish species to look at
as well.

Best wishes,
John Wheeler



Thank you,
Adam Coffman



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