Opinion on these books?

[Lnb]

I pretty new to dwarf apistos and wonder if these are good books for now and future referencing. I don't need something that is really (intense) technical ........ meaning will I read a paragraph and go "huh?". I'm not new to fish keeping. Just new to apistos.

South American Dwarf Cichlids (vol 1) by HJ Mayland

South American Cichlids II by Ulrich Glaser

Aqualog Extra: The Latest Apistogramma by Dieter Bork

 

[Evan]

South American Dwarf Cichlids (vol 1) by HJ Mayland

I have not read this book. I just ordered it. I've heard nothing but good about it.

South American Cichlids II by Ulrich Glaser

I wouldn't call this a book so much as an identification guide. It almost exclusively pictures. Also, if you want an identification guide I think the DATZ book is quite a bit better. The pictures in the DATZ book are better.

Aqualog Extra: The Latest Apistogramma by Dieter Bork

If cichlids II is an identification guide than this is an identification pamphlet. It is quite good for what it is but it only covers a small subset of the known apistogramma.

Some other books you should consider.
In print:
Die Buntbarsche Amerikas by Koslowski- There was an english translation of it floating around at one point. I am not sure if it is still available. A good book though...excellent descriptions.

South American Dwarf Cichlids by Datz - This is the best of the identification guide style books. Lots and lots of pictures.

Out of print:
Dwarf Cichlids by Linke & Staek - A bit out of date but still filled with good information.

Mergus cichlid atlas I by Romer - This is bible for me. A treasure trove of info is presented in this little volume.

 

[red]

We have this book

''Aqualog Extra: The Latest Apistogramma by Dieter Bork''

It is mostly pictures of males/females of a variety of species. No paragraphs of info or anything like that. Just very basic requirements in the form of symbols with a legend to refer to at the back of the book.

 

[chris1932]

Datz and cichild atlases are both good books. Pictures in the CA 1-2 arent the best but the info is solid.

 

[Mike Wise]

For the beginner, I usually recommend Römer's Cichlid Atlas 1. Forget volume 2; it definitely is not worth the money. Nearly all of the fish in it are in other books under other names.

The Mayland & Bork SA Dwarf Cichlids is ok, but I think the older English version of Linke & Staeck's Dwarf Cichlids has better information.

The Glasers' book SA Cichlids II is not good; at least 10 - 20% of the fish are misidentified.

None of the above books is very complete since they are over 10 years old. You won't find some of the more recently discovered & popular apisto species in them.

Bork's Aqualog Extra is an interesting book. Basically it is a suppliment for the Glasers' SACII. It contains some oddball apistos that you won't see in the hobby.

My preferences are:
For information, Koslowski's 2002 book, Die Buntbarsche Amerikas 2: Apistogramma & Co is the best. It is printed in German, but a separate English translation of the text is available. It is amazingly complete, specieswise, for its age. It contains a wealth of information gleaned from the best apisto-people in the world, but can be a bit technical. It probably isn't the perfect 'beginners' book. Still, with a little effort anyone can understand it.

For pictures and accurate IDs, the DATZ book seems to be the best out there, although it has only minor detailed information on each species.

 

[Lnb]

Thanks for the input!

I hate spending $$ on books and then find out they're useless or have inaccurate info.

 

[chris1932]

I know the feeling, I have a few books that are lemons.

My go tos are

Blehers book on Discus
South American Eartheaters by Thomas Weidner
Ian Fullers Cory book
Any Datz book
Martin Thoenes Hillstream Loach book
Cichlid Atlas 1-2 Baensch

I wish there was a good book on wild angels.

 

[apistobob]

There are really not too many choices for good books. I agree with all of what has been said so far. I have all of the books and often find myself consulting three or four on any given topic.

Here is my page of dwarf cichlid book reviews. www.dwarfcichlid.com/Book_reviews.php

All of us are waiting for the promised revised edition of Romer's Vol I but there is no telling when this might be published.

Bob