Killifish books
Thuan Nguyen
A few people who are interested in killifish have asked
for general information about them. In response, I'm reposting
this article. If you have specific questions about killies,
you might get answers faster from the killifish mailing list,
kil...@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
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A Brief Review of Killifish Books
by Oleg Kiselev and Thuan Nguyen
We hope that this article will give you an idea of what
kind of English-language killifish books are available
today. The comments about the books are only our opinions.
We included our comments to help you decide which books to
get, because no single book can meet all your interests.
The books are arranged from oldest to newest. Please
note that older books are more likely to have outdated
information about the names of the fishes. Also note that
the information on the ease of maintenance and method of
breeding varies. A species that one author considers "easy"
might turn out to be quite difficult for most of us. The
classification of annual or non-annual is also misleading at
times, because some non-annual killie eggs can take months
to develop and some annual eggs can hatch after only 6 weeks
of incubation.
The book prices vary depending on where you get the
books, so you might want to shop around. We have bought
these books at tropical fish stores, new and used book
stores, and through mail-order aquarium book dealers, (such
as The Aquatic Book Shop (916) 622-7547).
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"AKA's Beginner's Guide" , by Alan Markis & Roger Langton
Target audience: Beginners
Price: $2.50
Where to find it: Available directly from the AKA
Details: 44 pages; black and white photos; copyright
1964, 1974, 1986 (Revised) by the AKA
COMMENTS: This is an excellent beginner's book that
contains basic information on killifish maintenance,
feeding, breeding, disease prevention and treatment, and
exchanges by mail. There are few illustrations, but they do
show the representative shapes of many groups of killifish,
e.g. Aphyosemion, Cynolebias, Epiplatys, etc.
"Rivulins of the Old World" , by Jorgen Scheel
Target audience: Intermediate to advanced
Price: about $30 (used copy)
Where to find it: It's out of print. Try used-books
stores or mail-order book dealers
Details: 480 pages; black & white and color photos,
plus line drawings; copyright 1968, 1975 by TFH.
COMMENTS: This book was the standard reference for
identifying killifish back when it was new. I think that
it's still a good reference text today. Scheel briefly
described the maintenance, feeding & breeding of old world
killifish, then proceeded to discuss how the species differ
from each other in detail. He wrote about the scale and
pigment patterns, chromosome number and shape, hemoglobin
patterns, and the results of hybrid crossing experiments
between different species. Next, he reviewed the known
information about each old world killifish--some new species
were described and many old species reclassified. All of
this information is definitely worth having if you're a
serious killifish breeder.
"KILLIFISH: Their care and breeding" , by Anthony Terceira
Target audience: Beginner to intermediate
Price: $5-10
Where to find it: It's out of print. Try fish stores,
used-books stores, or mail-order book dealers
Details: 140 pages; black & white photos plus a few
color plates; copyright 1974 by Pisces Publishing Corp
and distributed by Kordon Corp.
COMMENTS: This book is difficult to find nowadays, but
it's worth getting. There are excellent sections on general
killifish maintenance, feeding and breeding, as well as
detailed species descriptions covering most known groups of
killifish and an extensive bibliography.
"Enjoy your KILLIFISH" , by Bruce Turner & John Pafenyk
Target Audience: Beginners
Price: 50 cents to $2
Where to find it: It's out of print. Try fish stores,
used-books stores, or mail-order book dealers.
Details: 32 pages; color photos; copyright The Pet
Library LTD and distributed by Hartz Mountain Pet
Supplies Ltd. in Canada
COMMENTS: This book is really just a brief introduction to
the hobby and assumes that the reader is primarily
interested in *keeping* killifish, not *breeding* them.
Breeding is discussed but not stressed.
"Success with KILLIFISH" , by Edward Warner
Target Audience: Beginner
Price: $5
Where to find it: Available directly from Ed Warner
Details: 48 pages; color photos; copyright 1977 by
Palmetto Publishing Co.
COMMENTS: A basic guide to keeping and breeding killifish.
It's more general than the "AKA's Beginners' Guide", and the
photos are somewhat limited. Ed Warner does explain his
methods in a simple and easy to remember manner. He also
wrote a detailed section on culturing live foods.
"Aquarium Encyclopedia of tropical freshwater fish" , edited
by J. D. Van Ramshorst
Target Audience: All levels
Price: $10-20
Where to find it: Fish stores, new & used book stores
Details: 392 pages; color photos; copyright 1978 by
Elsevier Publishing and distributed by HPBooks Inc.
COMMENTS: This book has a nice section on killifish (pages
258-300), especially Aphyosemion's. It has good color
photos but sketchy information about general maintenance and
breeding. The species listing is not comprehensive and some
details are outdated.
"The Natural History of Native Fishes in the Death Valley System"
by David Soltz & Robert Naiman
Target Audience: All levels
Price: ??
Where to find it: Borrow it from the library or order it directly
from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
(ask for Science Series 30:1-76).
Details: 75 pages; black & white and color photos,
plus line drawings; copyright 1978 by Soltz & Naiman.
COMMENTS: Good information on the native killifishes of
Death Valley, especially the genus Cyprinodon and
Empetrichthys. The drawings and photos are nice, but the
real treasure is the background information. You can learn
how the desert fishes got where they are today, how they
cope with extremes in temperature and salinity, tiny
habitats, and competition with introduced pests such as
Gambusia affinis. There are also detailed descriptions of
each native species, its habitat and behavior.
"BREEDING KILLIFISHES" , by Marshall Ostrow
Target Audience: Beginner to low intermediate
Price: $2.50 to $9
Where to find it: Tropical fish stores, used-books stores,
or mail order from aquarium book dealers.
Details: 93 pages; black & white and color photos;
copyright 1981 by TFH. ISBN 0-87666-540-7
COMMENTS: This book is a solid introduction to breeding
killifish, but other than a few pretty pictures there is
little species discussion or description, though there is
some discussion of biotope and nutrition.
"NOTHOBRANCHIUS" , by R. A. Jubb
Target Audience: Intermediate to Advanced
Price: $2.50 to $9
Where to find it: Tropical fish stores, used-books stores,
or mail order from aquarium book dealers.
Details: 61 pages; black & white and color photos;
copyright 1981 by TFH. ISBN 0-8766-534-2
COMMENTS: R. A. Jubb (pronounced "Yubb") put into his book
much of what was known about Nothobranchius in 1981. There
are detailed and exact descriptions of species. A must-have
for those who keep Nothobranchius, especially for the low
average price of about $6.
"Killifish Master Index of the AKA" , by Kenneth Lazara
Target Audience: All levels
Price: $7.50 plus shipping
Where to find it: Order from the AKA publications committee
Details: 295 pages; no illustrations; third edition
is copyright in 1984 by Kenneth Lazara.
COMMENTS: This book is just what its name says--it's an
index of known species of killifish. For each species, Ken
Lazara lists the correct spelling of the name, the
synonymous names, the known articles in the scientific
literature about the species, and some breeding information.
(I believe that the first and second editions of the "KMI"
lack references to the scientific literature.)
"Colour Atlas of Cyprinodonts of the Rain Forests of Tropical Africa"
by A. C. Radda & E. Purzl
Target Audience: Intermediate to advanced
Price: $50-60
Where to find it: mail-order aquarium book dealers
Details: 160 pages; color photos; copyright 1987 by
O. Hoffmann-Verlag.
COMMENTS: This book includes only the rain forest killies,
thus members of the genus Nothobranchius and many members of
the genus Aphyosemion are not included. For each species
described, there is usually a beautiful color photo, a map
showing the locations where the species has been found, and
details about the biotope, about related and syntopic
species, meristics, etc. This book is not really meant for
the beginner because it contains little information about
maintenance & breeding.
"Atlas of KILLIFISHES of the Old World" , by Jorgen Scheel
Target Audience: All levels
Price: $60-100
Where to find it: Fish stores or mail-order aquarium
book dealers.
Details: 448 pages; over 600 color photos; copyright
1990 by TFH. ISBN 0-86622-668-0
COMMENTS: This is the largest compendium of old world
species of killifishes. Scheel's previous book, "Rivulins
of the Old World", became a standard reference text for
killi identification. Scheel spent many years trying to
establish which species were related, which species were
identical, which populations of the same species should be
elevated to the species status, etc. Numerous maps of fish
distribution and the chromosome karyotype charts provide
material for independent verifications of Scheel's
conclusions. The pictorial and verbal descriptions of
species make the identification easier than ever. The
numerous color plates are well worth the $100 retail price,
much less the discount price that you get from book dealers.
*This book is a must-have!* If you keep fish, it will
convince you to breed killies; if you are a killi breeder,
you know what I am talking about; if you are a yuppy, it
makes an awesome coffee table book.
"Killifish: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual", by Steffen Hellner
Target Audience: All levels, but excellent for beginners
Price: $4.95 retail
Where to get it: Fish stores, book stores, mail-order
aquarium book dealers.
Details: 71 pages; color photos and line drawings;
English translation copyright 1990 by Barron's
Educational Series, Inc. ISBN 0-8120-4475-4.
Distributed by Barron's through normal book stores and
pet shops.
COMMENTS: Hellner is a killifish fanatic and he knows what
he is talking about. This book has it all: how to buy
killies (what to look for and what to avoid), how to keep
them, their behavior, how to spawn them, how to make
spawning mops and containers for peat divers, how to set up
the tank, how to ship the fish, how to raise the fry, even
how to kill the fish in the most humane way possible. The
species section is brief and does not list the more rare or
unusual killifish, but it's enough to get someone started
and convince someone who has never seen a killifish that
these are just the fish to get into (especially if you look
at the photo of Aphyosemion ogoense pyrophore RPC 18 on page
63 -- what a *magnificent* fish!) This is a gem of a book
for the price and is a good buy even if you will never keep
killies.
Oleg Kiselev
>"AKA's Beginner's Guide" , by Alan Markis & Roger Langton
It is free with the "Beginner's Introduction Package" when you join AKA.
For all the services AKA provides, it is well worth the $19.50/yr.
--
DISCLAMMER: I speak for myself only, unless explicitly indicated otherwise.
Oleg Kiselev ol...@veritas.com
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