A must own for any serious aquarist

Handbook of Fish Diseases is a wonderfully prepared book. The pages are printed on high quality glossy paper showing spectacularly detailed photos and microscope images. The first 50 pages contain a detailed flow chart to facilitate diagnosing of illnesses, as well as treatment(s) available. The author cites multiple treatments when available, as well as advises which one will be best suited to your application. For example, the author will state treatment A is most effective, but risky for plants/certain kinds of specified fish, etc.; treatment B is safer for these situations, and so on and so forth. I personally love the fact that I have choices in treatments and methods, which the author clearly explains in detail.
After the flow charts, the author goes into a chapter on fish anatomy, primarily from the view of an autopsy. This section boasts fantastic photos and illustrations that will take the novice right up to the intermediate level almost immediately. If you are one that seeks knowledge and understanding of fish diseases, the author provides information that will bring you to the expert level in short order.
The author next introduces separate chapters on Viral and Bacterial Diseases, Fungal and Algal Diseases, Pathogenic Protozoa, Worm Diseases, Arthropods, and Diseases Not Caused by Specific Pathogenic Organisms. Don't worry if you have no clue as to what those mean, the author quickly brings you to a complete understanding of those things.
The chapter on Treatment of Diseased Fish gives an in depth explanation of the different treatment methods available, as well as detailed instructions for mixing of treatment medications and chemicals. Each method is given an alphanumeric code by the author. These codes are referenced throughout the text, allowing the author to include tons of detailed information, without repetitive inclusions. Very efficient indeed!
The author includes a chapter on Microscopy in the Diagnosis of Fish Diseases. The first line of this chapter reads "The most important tool for diagnosing fish diseases is the microscope." The author goes into microscope selection information, magnifications, etc. If you're new to microscopes, this chapter will quickly make you feel comfortable. This chapter alone is worth buying the book. No where else have I found such a complete guide to using a microscope for aquarists. You will love learning how to prepare slides, collect specimins from your fish, stain, make permanent slides, using measurment, and making custom easy to make components that you can use with your microscope that will increase it's capabilities. The author has detailed lists of items that will help you, such as petri dishes, forceps, etc. The author lists chemicals and the quantities needed to perform slide preparation and to preserve specimins. The author discusses camera attachments to microscopes, what information should be included on your permanent slides, and descriptions of film types to guide you along your learning path.
The last chapter is entitled Pharmacopoeia, and includes names of chemicals and treatment medications, their many synonyms, how they are used, chemical compositions, sources to purchase, and so much more. If the microscopy section wasn't enough to purchase this book, this section contains a alphabetical listing with descriptions that should be enough to purchase this book.
The Handbook of Fish Diseases is one of the most asthetically pleasing, as well as most informative books on this topic I have encountered to date. When asked to recommend good reference material on this topic, I recommend this book. Not only will this book help you with any problems that you are aware of concerning the health of your fish, this book will show you how to look for things your fish could possibly be infected with. Certainly you will find some surprises that you didn't even know were problematic! No more will you be plaqued with 'why did my fish die' or 'why is this treatment not working?'. This book will show you how to use a microscope to find it!

[Saturday, August 09, 2008]

Great Resource

I am very happy with this book, it helped me with a few things I was a little shaky on. It's well worth the money for adding to your library if you enjoy caring for your fish.

[Thursday, March 27, 2008]

Fish Disease Book

While this book was very detailed in the descriptions of the diseases, most of the diagnoses seemed to depend on autopsy of the victim after death. It also seemed that a microscope would be required to get full use from the book. I am not sorry that I bought the book, but I would not recommend it to most people looking for a reference on curing sick tropical fish.

[Saturday, September 29, 2007]

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