Complete Encyclopedia of the Saltwater Aquarium

Dr. Patrick W. Colgan is the director of Research and Natural Lands at
the Royal Botanical Gardens.

Saltwater aquaria have risen in popularity over the past few years, and
from this book one can see why.

The first of the six parts deals with the marine environment. The
community dynamics and behaviour among the coral are well described and
illustrated. Because invertebrates are included, cleaning symbioses and
clownfish living amid their host anemones can be discussed. What is a
marine fish is treated with great detail, and, dealing with the
invertebrates, representatives of diverse phyla are considered, with
such details as zooxanthellae included. Under collecting and
conservation, the IUCN World Conservation Congress and the controversial
use of poisons are laudably emphasized.

The second part deals with actually setting up the aquarium. Options
are discussed as are stocking levels, the expense of equipment, and
selecting a tank. Issues of temperature control and lighting are
explored thoroughly, even to the power spectra of lights. Aquatic issues
include simulating sea water, pH, the nitrogen cycle, protein skimming,
ultraviolet sterilization, and actually creating the habitat. Successive
photographs document set-up and special problems (such as filter-feeding
species in filtered aquaria).

The third part, which focuses on the care of fish and invertebrates,
covers foods (of which there is a great variety), regular maintenance,
testing for various compounds, breeding and rearing, and basic health
care, once again with helpful step-by-step descriptions.

Part 4 presents the tropical marine fish, with the account of each
species specifying distribution, length, diet and feeding, behaviour in
the aquarium, and any incompatibility with invertebrates.

Part 5 reviews the amazing array of invertebrates available, while Part
6 looks at cold-water marine aquaria. Two appendixes provide information
on marine algae available and, most usefully, species to avoid and why.

The detailed text is very clear (although one may quibble over a very
non-Darwinian “all is harmony”) and the photographs are superb. It
is good to see aquarists including invertebrates in their tanks for both
attractiveness and education. For anyone interested in marine aquaria,
this is the book.