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awsome betta book
This is one of the best betta books you can find out there. I always loved bettas, To me they are one of the most beautyful fishes out there. I got this book to learn more about them because i was so interested in them. This book taught me alot about them that i didnt know. So if your into these little guys defenatly get this book.
[Friday, September 19, 2008]
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Beautiful to look at. Useful? Not so much.
The subtitle of this book is very misleading. This is not a "complete pet owner's manual" at all. It's a very attractive book that contains some interesting background and technical information and truly gorgeous pictures. What it does not contain is the practical information I need to know how to prepare a suitable home for the betta I'm planning to get or care for him properly once he's here. The information about various foods is helpful, and I can see where the chapter on diseases will be nice to have on hand, but I don't need 28 pages on other betta species and 20 pages on breeding and genetics (out of a book that only has 95 pages, total, counting the index). What I do need is more more than 4 pages on basic practicalities like tanks, filters, heaters, and so on. I will keep this book as a reference, but I'm going to have to buy another one to tell me how to actually care for my betta.
I'm giving it three stars, because it's not a bad book, for what it is. It's just not the practical guide for betta owners that the title implies.
[Tuesday, August 05, 2008]
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Nice looking, with very in-depth betta fancier info, but not for beginners in spite of the title
Barrons's addition to the betta-care genre looks very nice, starting with a gorgeous closeup of a red male carrying the butterfly trait, right on the cover. Like most betta books, however, the emphasis is information for the breeding hobbyist, not for the basic pet owner - in spite of the title.
The smallish book (95 pages) is divided into roughly three sections.
The first is invaluable for anyone interested in learning about all the "Other" species of bettas...wild bettas, mouthbrooding bettas, fighting strains, bettas from Thailand, bettas from Maylasia. Did you know there were hundreds of bettas besides the popular Betta Splendens we all know so well? Some are pretty and some are drab, but all are within the overriding Genus of Betta. This is interesting background information for the advanced betta fancier, but is certainly more information than the beginning betta owner will need.
Since this section, like the entire book, is chocked full of pictures, it is worth browsing. It really corners the market on betta species info!
The middle section provides some beginner's information on betta tanks, feeding and disease treatment. The live food section is the most informative and has useful pictures. It's only a few pages, however and does not discuss in-depth info on actually developing live cultures. This section is useful for someone looking to figure out what the betta-acceptable various live foods are - how brine shrimp differs from daphnia, tubifex works, fruit flies, and so on.
The disease section differentiates between environmental, chemical and infectious maladies, which I appreciated. Their treatment information focused on using available antibiotics and such, which I usually find to be overkill for the properly observant betta-keeper.
Section three is all about the breeding, large-scale betta production and Punnet Square betta genetics. Honestly, this is also beyond the scale of the beginner, using terms like homozygous and phenotype. For anyone interested in figuring out how to plot dominant betta colors, this would be a good start, though.
I would recommend this book to intermediate and advanced betta owners seeking breeding information, and for those wishing to study the expanded lineage of the Betta Genus.
A beginner would appreciate the gorgeous photos, though! Some award-winning bettas with glorious and unusual colors are showcased. Often, pictures like this are enough to take a betta fancier to the level of hobbyist.
[Saturday, July 05, 2008]
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