Books for the SW beginner

[ncbuckeye]

Are there any books that you have used or know of that would be great to have on hand when i start my SW in the future?
I've seen someone recomend The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Paletta.

[spudbuds]

I'd recommend checking out the saltwater section of Dave's Book List.

Of the books he listed, I personally have:

• The New Marine Aquarium; Step-by-Step Setup and Stocking Guide, by Michael S. Paletta - Great beginners book.
• Natural Reef Aquariums, by John H. Tullock - Also a great beginner's book. Similar to the first one.
• The Marine Fish Health and Feeding Handbook, by Bob Goemans - Very good book. The sections on feeding and disease are particularly helpful. It's also laid out in a way that makes it a good cover-to-cover read as well as a reference later.
• A Pocket Expert Guide to Marine Fishes: 500 Essential to Know Aquarium Species, by Scott W. Michael - A great book for a quick reference. I used it extensively when determining my stocking list.
• A Pocket Expert Guide to Marine Invertebrates: 500 Essential to Know Aquarium Species, by Ronald L. Shimek - Similar to above, but covers corals, snails, crabs, and many other types of inverts.
• Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry and Natural History, by Eric H. Borneman and J.E.N. Veron - Very detailed information on about any coral you'd want to keep. I reference it regularly and use it when determining if I can provide for a coral I'm interested in.

- Bill

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

A Pocket Expert Guide to Marine Fishes: 500 Essential to Know Aquarium Species, by Scott W. Michael - A great book for a quick reference. I used it extensively when determining my stocking list.

This is definitely a great book, just be careful of his minimum tanks sizes, they are a little on the small side. I usually add at least one or 2 standard sizes to his recommendations on most things.

[Rue]

I have several of the newer beginner books...they're all okay - but none really stood out as superb...

My favourite advanced books are those by Borneman and also by Julian Sprung.

Stay away from relying on the older ones as your main reference source though. I buy them used and some have great info., but the hobby's changed so much a lot of the information is outdated...