Re: Pufferfish books
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 9:53 am
A big +1 to the prior posts of J-P, Corvus' and Pufferpunk's.
Books are published with aim of maximizing appeal to as broad an audience as possible, otherwise it will not be successful (make money) and thus will not stay in print . It is a Catch-22. The latest and best info is never in texts. It is in articles and notes among those in that field of interest.
Too many hobbyists forget the massive differences in life in the wild and in captivity. The average fish born in the wild is little more than a small morsel in a food chain. The average fish purchased in the hobby has very longer life. That is reality. Wild conditions and wild life expectancies have little to do with what can be done in captivity.
I do not do confetti tanks or Noah's Ark tanks. I do systems of linked tanks to maximize captive survival and where possible to attempt captive breeding. My setups have little application for hobbyists running or two "community" tanks and none at all for folks running MFK-style glass-walled septic tanks. The most I can offer most hobbyists is some articles which may help them some concepts of captive husbandry. A non-trivial percentage of my tank systems are DIY research projects. That is not at all what the average hobbyist wants or even has any interest in seeing.
Books are published with aim of maximizing appeal to as broad an audience as possible, otherwise it will not be successful (make money) and thus will not stay in print . It is a Catch-22. The latest and best info is never in texts. It is in articles and notes among those in that field of interest.
Too many hobbyists forget the massive differences in life in the wild and in captivity. The average fish born in the wild is little more than a small morsel in a food chain. The average fish purchased in the hobby has very longer life. That is reality. Wild conditions and wild life expectancies have little to do with what can be done in captivity.
I do not do confetti tanks or Noah's Ark tanks. I do systems of linked tanks to maximize captive survival and where possible to attempt captive breeding. My setups have little application for hobbyists running or two "community" tanks and none at all for folks running MFK-style glass-walled septic tanks. The most I can offer most hobbyists is some articles which may help them some concepts of captive husbandry. A non-trivial percentage of my tank systems are DIY research projects. That is not at all what the average hobbyist wants or even has any interest in seeing.