|
|
 |
Nature Aquarium World by Takashi Amano. Published by TFH 1996. 193 pages, hardcover. This is the book which introduced Japanese style of Aquascaping to many people. The author is the photographer/ artist who assembles the most beautiful planted aquariums mixing in plants with rocks and driftwood in a visually balanced composition that is appealing to the human eye and comforting to the fish. This volume also has some details on topics such as attaching plants to rocks and driftwood, layout concepts and composition, scene design, tools, lighting, substrate, and has many interesting stories which the author has experienced. This book can be found usually for around $20.00US. |
 |
Nature Aquarium World volume 2 by Takashi Amano. Published by TFH 1997. 180 pages, hardcover. This is book follows up on the first volume with more photos of beautifully aquascaped aquarium tanks ranging in capacity from 1 liter to 120 liters (about a quart to 50 gallons). As before, the author is the photographer and provides some insight and commentary on each of the aquascapes along with some thoughts on a few landscape photos from his travels. This volume does include details from each aquascape (size, lighting, substrate, plants, and fish, etc... but there isn't any "how to" (that was covered in the first volume). This book can be found usually for around $27.00US. |
 |
Nature Aquarium World volume 3 by Takashi Amano. Published by TFH 1997. 120 pages, hardcover. This is the third book in the series. In Japan, both volume 2 and 3 were released as a single volume (and they left the page numbers the same in the US version). The aquascaped aquarium tanks in this book range in size from 180 liters to 4,950 liters (about 50 gallons to 5,000 gallons). There is one interesting series of photos of one particular tank that shows the progress over a year in 3 month intervals. The last section of the book has some photographs of plants and algae magnified 100-400 times for a "Aquarium Minium World" view. This book can be found usually for around $20.00US. |
back to top
 |
Aquarium Plant Paradise by Takashi Amano. Published by TFH 1997. 64 pages, hardcover. This book has some good "how to" information regarding Amano's aquascapes. Included are diagrams on positioning plants, driftwood, and rocks for visual appeal, 12 steps involved in setting up/ aquascaping a 90cm aquarium, a section on lighting and CO2, a section on foreground plants, the use of red plants to draw attention, and a section on maintenance. This book does have some typos and grammer errors (probably from translation), but overall, there is some good (perhaps not as detailed as some would like) information here. Usually for around $35.00US. |
 |
The Natural Aquarium: How to Imitate Nature in Your Home by Satoshi Yoshino and Doshin Kobayashi. Published by TFH 1996. 128 pages, hardcover. This book is translated from the original Japanese version. This book shows 21 different aquarium tanks aquascaped to match a specific biotope. Geograph areas covered are Central and South America, southeast Asia, and East and West Africa. There isn't much information provided on maintenance of either fish or plants, but there are several nice photos for each of the tanks. This book can be found usually for around $17.00US. |
back to top
 |
Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist by CAPE's own Diana L. Walstad. Published by Echinodorus Publishing - 2nd edition 2003, 194 pages, hard cover. Unlike the majority of books out there, this book is NOT to identify various species of aquatic plants nor is it filled with photos of aquascapes. Instead, Diana has offered (in scientific details with approximately 40 tables and 50 charts) a book on what plants need to grow. She covers the results of her experiments and provides the data on the effects of water chemistry, kH, pH, iron, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, lighting, CO2, etc... on plant growth. She also covers her "low tech" approach using soil in the substrate. Usually priced at $35.00US. |
 |
A Fishkeeper's Guide to Aquarium Plants by Barry James, published by Tetra Press 1984, 120 pages, hard cover. This book is very good for beginners. It covers over 60 species of popular aquarium plants arranged by scientific name and has detailed information covering lighting, substrate, pH, temperature, size, propagation of each species and includes a color photo of each plant. Also included are chapters on topics such as 'water and fertilization', 'filtration', heating and lighting', 'aquascaping', and 'problems with algea'. This book is available via mailorder, on-line stores, bookstores, and some aquarium shops. It usually sells for under $10.00US. |
 |
Tropica Aquarium Plants Catalogue. Published by Tropica Aquarium Plants, Denmark, 96 pages, softcover, spiral bound. Their website database features a few more plants not included in printed catalogue (maybe they will revise the printed catalogue soon?) as well as some on-line articles. This catalogue has 150 species of plants arranged by scientific name, it gives detailed information about each plant - family, native region, size, lighting requirements, ease of demands, speed of growth, etc... Also included is a chapter on the "behind the scenes" - tissue culture, emersed growth, plants grown on roots, etc... This is available at many on-line aquarium shops, as well as from the Tropica website (usually around $15.00US). |
 |
Aquarium Plants: The Practical Guide by Pablo Tepoot. Published by New Life Publications 1998, 216 pages, hardcover. This book has very nice closeup photos of approximately 334 individual plants (some plants are show twice - emersed and submerged forms) arranged by scientific name. The rest of the information is very brief - the amount of lighting required, foreground, middle or background, temperature, hardiness, if the plant is a true aquatic, the location where the plant is from, and reproduction method. There is some brief information about substrate and layout. This is available at many on-line aquarium shops, as well as from the New Life website (usually around $49.00US). |
 |
Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants by Peter Hiscock. Published by Barron's Educational Series 2003, 208 pages, hardcover. Fully illustrated with more than 250 color photos and graphics. Two main sections: Practical and Plant Profiles. The Practical section covers topics such as The natural biology of plants, Water quality and filtration, Choosing substrates, Selecting plants, Planting techniques, Lighting, Feeding, Propagation, Essential maintenance, Aquascaping, Populating with fish. The Profile section provides profiles for about 150 popular aquarium plants. Around $27.00US at on-line shops. |
 |
Aquarium Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature by Peter Hiscock. Published by Barron's Educational Series 2003, 208 pages, hardcover. Fully illustrated with more than 450 color photos and illustrations. This book goes over the basics of several natural biotopes and how one can approximate such an environment in the home aquarium. The author covers the substrates, plants, and fish from about 20 different locations, such as Central American River, Flooded Amazon Forest, Congo Whitewater River, Lake Malawi , Southeast Asian Stream, Mangrove Swamp. It also covers the basics of water cycle, decorations, plants, substrates, etc... Around $27.00US at on-line shops. |
 |
Planted Aquariums Creation and Maintenance by Christel Kasselmann. Published by Krieger Publishing 2005, 162 pages, hardcover. Translated from the popular German edition by Valerie Haecky. This book has chapters focusing on: Growth (including lighting, substrate, and water parameters), Choosing the Right Plants, Setting up Planted Aquariums (layouts, background, forground, arranging plant rows), Caring for Plant Aquariums (proper fertilization, water changes, cleaning the filter), Trouble with Algae, and overview of Aquarium Plants. Around $35.00US at on-line shops. |
 |
Aquarium Plants by Christel Kasselmann. Published by Krieger Publishing 2002, 520 pages, hardcover. Translated from the popular German edition, this revised edition describes the temperature, water, fertilizer, and light needs of more than 300 aquarium plants. Ecological factors, flower biology and morphology, and reproduction methods receive detailed coverage. This book contains 525 color photographs with nearly all plants depicted with fully developed submerged foliage and many are also shown in their emersed state. This is a really nice reference book on aquarium plants and each plant species receiving at least a page with a photograph and detailed descriptions. Around $69.00US at on-line shops. |
 |
Echinodorus: the most beloved/ popular aquarium plant by Christel Kasselmann. Published by Dähne Verlag 2001, 174 pages, hardcover. In German. If you are like me and have echinodorus (sword) plants as your favorites, this book is for you - it's even better if you can understand German. Kasselmann covers over 100 different species and varieties of sword plants - both the natural species as well as the new European hybrids and mutations. This book also has many excellent photos of the sword plants in their natural habitat and their flowers. This book isn't widely available in the US, but it's priced around $25.00 in Germany. |
 |
The Aquatic Gardener, the journal of the Aquatic Gardeners Association. Published quarterly. In color since April 2002. Typically around 40 pages. Recently, within each issue is an article written by Takashi Amano (with photos) translated into English by
Ms Tomoko Schum. Other articles generally cover science, newer species of aquatic plants, visits to growers/ nurseries/ shops, collecting plants in the wild, and reports from the annual conventions (as well as photos from the annual aquascaping contest). Single back issues are $6.00US each and can be purchased at the AGA Bookstore. |
 |
Aquajournal. Published by Aqua Design Amano. Usually around 55 pages. This is probably the best magazine for people who love the Japanese style of aquascaping. Unfortunately the English edition didn't last past 6 issues, but the Japanese edition is still being produced. Practically every topic has been covered in the past issues; such as 'pruning', 'specialized aquascapes for specific fish', 'layout & design using rocks or driftwood', specific issues dealing with specific plant families, ADA dealership profile, and each issue also includes a Questions and Answers section. Priced around $5.00US. |
 |
Do! Aqua Published by Aqua Design Amano. This was a small magazine consisting of 35 pages of photographs and articles, focusing specifically on Amano's ADA brand products and "how to" use them properly. Past issues had covered pruning and planting with the ADA tools, setting up the ADA Superjet Filter, using the ADA CO2 equipment, a contest using the ADA premade rocks, and using the ADA light fixtures (height relative to intensity, types of lights, etc...). Written in Japanese. Not sure if this is still being published, but it was a bargain at $1.00US per issue. |
 |
Suikei Published by Aqua Design Amano. This was a larger magazine consisting of 130 pages of photographs and articles, showing many natural scenes as well as several of the aquariums which Amano has setup. The second issue highlighted visits to Chinese and Japanese gardens, some wooded areas (showing driftwood with plants), and an article on a man-made Biotope Project. The third issue has several photos from one of Amano's trips to the Amazon River. This magazine shows how nature inspires aquascaping. Written in Japanese. Not sure if this is still being published, but it was about $15.00US per issue. |
 |
Aquarium World Magazine Published by Azoo. Usually around 190 pages. It's produced in Taiwan and each issue focuses on one or two specific topics - these can include either specific freshwater fish, (ie. guppies, discus, or arrowana), or marine fish, or aquascaping, etc... It's written entirely in Chinese, so if you can't read the characters, you will just have to look at the photos (and they are nice). There are also a lot of Azoo advertisements, but also ads for other companies as well. This magazine is also available in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore at their aquarium shops and it sells for roughly $10.00US per issue. |
 |
Planted Aquarium Magazine Published by David Gomberg . This was a small magazine consisting of around 40 pages of photographs and articles. It was a first effort to make a color magazine in English focusing on the aquatic plant hobby. Although there was strong support at first, the decreasing sales and increasing costs were reasons cited why it ceased being published. The first issue came out in March 2000 and the final issue came out in November 2001. Some issues covered Anubias plants, Cryptocorynes, Echinodorus tenellus, Riccia, mosses, planted discus aquariums, and the Siamese algae eaters. Currently, some of the back issues are available at AGA Bookstore. |
|
