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Aquarium and Natural History Books

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I got this book when I was in my early twenties and before that I didn't know aquascaping was a thing. I'd never seen an aquarium like it. I was obssessed. Now in my mid forties I'm finally making my own.

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The photos are on glossy paper so it's hard to photograph but these were the two tanks that I loved the most.

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I got this book when I was in my early twenties and before that I didn't know aquascaping was a thing. I'd never seen an aquarium like it. I was obssessed. Now in my mid forties I'm finally making my own.

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The photos are on glossy paper so it's hard to photograph but these were the two tanks that I loved the most.

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Now that's a nice international book!! :) Japanese authors, translated into English and Dutch art painter Pieter Mondriaan on the cover... :thumbup:
How did they come up with that idea? I never saw the connection... Aquarium - Cubism probably?
 
Now that's a nice international book!! :) Japanese authors, translated into English and Dutch art painter Pieter Mondriaan on the cover... :thumbup:
How did they come up with that idea? I never saw the connection... Aquarium - Cubism probably?
I suspect they were trying to make it feel "modern" and make it stand out from the normal aquarium books you got at the time. It must have worked because I was drawn to it in the fish shop and bought it 😄
 
How many pages are there? @Thea B
I saw this one on amazon a while ago for a really cheap price, and have been thinking about ordering this one since I’m into old nature aquascape.
 
How many pages are there? @Thea B
I saw this one on amazon a while ago for a really cheap price, and have been thinking about ordering this one since I’m into old nature aquascape.
It's 128 pages so not a big thick book but it's got some really nice tanks and it details everything in them including a planting plan. It's interesting to see what has changed and what has stayed the same so if you see it for cheap It's worth getting. The photo's are well done. Each chapter is a different geographical area.

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View attachment 193298
I got this book when I was in my early twenties and before that I didn't know aquascaping was a thing. I'd never seen an aquarium like it. I was obssessed. Now in my mid forties I'm finally making my own.

View attachment 193299
The photos are on glossy paper so it's hard to photograph but these were the two tanks that I loved the most.

View attachment 193300
Haha, that’s another of my recent purchases. I can recommend it @Nont and very responsibly priced too. A great little book with some great info and images.
Now that's a nice international book!! :) Japanese authors, translated into English and Dutch art painter Pieter Mondriaan on the cover... :thumbup:
How did they come up with that idea? I never saw the connection... Aquarium - Cubism probably?
I was wondering about that too Marcel. I think you’re probably right and it is eye catching too @Thea B.
 
Haha, that’s another of my recent purchases. I can recommend it @Nont and very responsibly priced too. A great little book with some great info and images.

I was wondering about that too Marcel. I think you’re probably right and it is eye catching too @Thea B.

Doing an ISBN search only reveals 2 translations, at least I assume the original edition is Japanese. That is English and Spanish, the latter has a dull light green cover.
There is definitively some psychological sales perspective behind that artistic cover... But why Mondriaan in the first place and why only for the English version that beats me totally, I actually never really knew that this painter had so much if any international fame. :) Seamingly he did...
 
Here's my latest addition.
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The books a bit dated but I still enjoy reading it.
I think once you start buying these books it soon becomes addictive, and based on the feedback of the last couple of posts I've just ordered The Natural Aquarium at a bargin price of £3.24.
 
Always wanted a copy of this, but was expensive. Found it new at a very reasonable price. Great reference book with good quality images and straightforward info on taxonomy, breeding, lifecycle etc. At 1211 pages it’s a bit of a doorstop.

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My most recent additions, still waiting for a couple in the post. If you’d like some inside pictures let me know 👍

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Aquarium plants is a lovely book. I read piranhas in the aquarium and it’s become one of my favourites, the author is so very passionate about them and it’s infectious! The book got me excited by them 😅

I’ve been after a big axelrod book for ages, and one popped up for 30£ on eBay and I thought why not. It’s so so good, but heavy. Obviously very out of date but still so many fish in it. Only criticism is that it has hundreds of pages decorated to colour morphs.

I haven’t got much through any of the others, but I will in time.
 
Getting earache off the Mrs now for buying yet another book.
"In 50 years these books will be worth something" I proclaim, "this is our daughters inheritance." Trust me she replies, they'll have gone in the skip long before then!

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So far only had a quick flick through and stumbled on this nugget of info that I wasn't aware of, apparently the genus name Anubias is derived from Anubis, the Egyptian god of the afterlife.
 
I used to have that book, I can’t remember why, but I didn’t keep it 😅
 
So I've promised the wife and myself this is the last book for a while.

Didn't quite manage to get the 1935 1st edition of Exotic Aquarium Fishes, but did find a 1955 copy in decent condition and cheap.
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It really is a great insight in how fish keeping was all those years ago, one particular section on dealing with leaks using a handful of earth was most informative.
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I suppose keeping fish in 1935 days would have been a could you afford it issue. A tank as a luxury and most people keeping them in anything available old biscuit barrels etc l have heard the story of heaters broken glass and aquarists sealing them in old medicine bottles .Quite a risk !
 
Didn't quite manage to get the 1935 1st edition of Exotic Aquarium Fishes
You mean you didn't want to spring £235 for the costs of a first edition? Me neither. If anyone else is after a copy make sure it's published by Innes Pub. Co, and is at least the 19th edition or earlier. Later editions were printed by other publishers when Innes failed to renew the copyright, and are not as good.

Meanwhile, Dr Herbert Axelrod was up to his usual skulduggery and ignored Innes copyright and published a TFH version. Innes took him to court and won but was only awarded $1. However, after Innes didn't renew the copyright Dr H Axelrod dove straight back in and printed another version. Again neither are as good as the original.

 
Picked this up at the weekend.
I have a liking for how things were done In the 1950s and 1960s.
This book even describes how to make a metal framed tank with glass, slate, and putty.
I've been tempted to build a metal framed tank for some time.
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It has one suggested layout. Makes me want to plant it out!
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Unfortunately, fish keeping equipment from before the 1960s, or even 1970s, seems pretty much extinct now apart from hi Flo pumps.

Unbelievably, this book looks to ha e cost the equivalent of £85 when new!
 
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