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Brief Review of Killifish Books
by Oleg Kiselev, Thuan Nguyen and Richard SextonWe hope that this article will give you an idea of what kind of English-language killifish books are available today. The comments about the books are only our opinions. We included our comments to help you decide which books to get, because no single book can meet all your interests.
The books are arranged from oldest to newest. Please note that the older a book is, the more likely it is to have outdated information, most of which involves the names. New species are discovered yearly and old species are continually being lumped together or split up into separate subspecies. Please note also that the information on the ease of maintenance and method of breeding also varies. Some authors classify fish as "easy, medium, or difficult". This might be misleading, because what one author considers "easy" might turn out to be quite difficult for most of us. The classification of annual or non-annual is also misleading at times, because some non-annual killie eggs can take months to develop and some annual eggs can hatch after only 6 weeks of incubation.
The book prices vary, depending on where you get the books, so you might want to shop around. We have bought these books at tropical fish stores, new and used book stores, and through mail-order aquarium book dealers. There are two good sources of these books online: Jim Forsheys Aquatic Book Store (Seahorses.COM) and Amazon.COM
Amazon.com is the largest online retailer of mostly new books and will accept online transactions with your credit card. The Aquatic Book Shop deals exclusively with books concerning fish, reptiles and amphibians and have the largest supply of used books and magazines.
Books Reviewed
- AKA's Beginner's Guide, by Alan Markis & Roger Langton
- Rivulins of the Old World, by Jorgen Scheel
- Killifish: Their care and breeding, by Dr. Anthony Terceira
- Enjoy Your Killifish, by Bruce Turner & John Pafenyk
- Success with Killifish, by Edward Warner
- Aquarium Encyclopedia of Tropical Freshwater Fish edited by Dr. J. D. Van Ramshorst
- The Natural History of Native Fishes in the Death Valley System, by David Soltz & Robert Naiman
- Breeding Killifishes, by Marshall Ostrow
- Nothobranchius, by Dr. R. A. Jubb
- Killifish Master Index of the AKA, by Dr. Kenneth Lazara
- Colour Atlas of Cyprinodonts of the Rain Forests of Tropical Africa, by A. C. Radda & E. P urzl
- Atlas of Killifishes of the Old World, by Jorgen Scheel
- Killifish, by Steffen Hellner
- Faszination Killifische: die "Aphyosemion cameronense"- Gruppe by Norbert Dadaniak, Richard Lutje and Wolfgang Eberl
AKA's Beginner's Guide
by Alan Markis & Roger Langton
: Beginners
Price: $2.50
Where to find it: Available directly from the AKADetails: 44 pages; black and white photos; copyright 1964, 1974, 1986 (Revised) by the AKA
COMMENTS: This is an excellent beginner's book that contains basic information on killifish maintenance, feeding, breeding, disease prevention and treatment, and exchanges by mail. There are few illustrations, but they do show the representative shapes of many groups of killifish, e.g. large and small Aphyosemions, Cynolebias, Epiplatys , etc.
by Jorgen Scheel
Rivulins of the Old World
Target audience: Intermediate to advanced
Price: about $30 (used copy)
Where to find it: It's out of print. Try used-books
stores or mail-order book dealers or The Aquatic Book ShopDetails: 480 pages; black & white and color photos, plus line drawings; copyright 1968, 1975 by TFH.
COMMENTS: This book was the standard reference for identifying killifish back when it was new. I think that it's still a good reference text today. Scheel briefly described the maintenance, feeding & breeding of old world killifish, then proceeds to discuss how the species differ from each other in detail. He wrote about the scale and pigment patterns, chromosome number and shape, hemoglobin patterns, and the results of hybrid crossing experiments between different species. Next, he reviewed the known information about each old world killifish--some new species were described and many old species reclassified. All of this information is definitely worth having if you're a serious killifish breeder. While this book only briefly discusses how to keep and breed killies, the pictures alone are worth many times the price.
by Dr. Anthony C. Terceira
Killifish: Their care and breeding
Target audience: Beginner to intermediate
Price: $5-10
Where to find it: It's out of print. Try fish stores,
used-books stores, or mail-order book dealersDetails: 140 pages; black & white photos plus a few color plates; copyright 1974 by Pisces Publishing Corp and distributed by Kordon Corp.
COMMENTS: This book is difficult to find nowadays, but it's worth getting. Aside from good sections on general killifish maintenance, feeding and breeding, there are also detailed species descriptions covering most known groups of killifish and an extensive bibliography.
Enjoy Your Killifish
by Bruce Turner & John PafenykTarget Audience: Beginners
Price: 50 cents to $2
Where to find it: It's out of print. Try fish stores,
used-books stores, or mail-order book dealers.Details: 32 pages; color photos; The Pet Library LTD and distributed by Hartz Mountain Pet Supplies Ltd. in Canada
COMMENTS: Unlike the AKA's Beginner's Guide, this book is a sketchy introduction to the hobby and assumes that the reader is primarily interested in keeping killifish, not breeding them. Breeding is discussed but not stressed.
by Edward Warner
Success with Killifish
Target Audience: Beginner
Price: $5
Where to find it: Available directly from Ed WarnerDetails: 48 pages; color photos; copyright 1977 by Palmetto Publishing Co.
COMMENTS: This book is a basic guide to keeping and breeding killifish. It's not as detailed as the AKA's Beginners' Guide , nor does it have good photos. Ed Warner does explain his methods in a simple and easy to remember manner. He also has a detailed section on culturing live foods.
Aquarium Encyclopedia of Tropical Freshwater Fish
edited by Dr. J. D. Van RamshorstTarget Audience: All levels
Price: $10-20
Where to find it: Fish stores, new & used book storesDetails: 392 pages; color photos; copyright 1978 by Elsevier Publishing and distributed by HPBooks Inc.
COMMENTS: This book has a nice section on killifish (pages 258-300), especially Aphyosemion 's. It has good color photos and information about general maintenance and breeding. The weak points are that only a few species were listed and some details are now outdated.
The Natural History of Native Fishes in the Death Valley System
by David Soltz & Robert NaimanTarget Audience: All levels
Price: ??
Where to find it: Borrow it from the library or order it from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.Details: 75 pages; black & white and color photos, plus line drawings; copyright 1978 by Soltz & Naiman; distributed by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (ask for Science Series 30:1-76).
COMMENTS: Good information on the native killifishes of Death Valley, especially the genuses Cyprinodon and Empetrichthys. The drawings and photos are nice, but the real treasure is the background information. You can learn how the desert fishes got where they are today, how they cope with extremes in temperature and salinity, tiny habitats, and competition with introduced pests such as Gambusia affinis. There are also detailed descriptions of each native species, its habitat and behavior.
Breeding Killifishes
by Marshall OstrowTarget Audience: Beginner to low intermediate
Price: $2.50 to $9
Where to find it: Tropical fish stores, used-books stores, or mail order from aquarium book dealers.Details: 93 pages; black & white and color photos; copyright 1981 by TFH.
COMMENTS: This book is a solid introduction to breeding killifish, but other than a few pretty pictures there is little species discussion or description, though there is some discussion of biotope and nutrition.
Nothobranchius
by Dr. R. A. JubbTarget Audience: Intermediate to Advanced
Price: $2.50 to $9
Where to find it: Tropical fish stores, used-books stores, or mail order from aquarium book dealers.Details: 61 pages; black & white and color photos; copyright 1981 by TFH.
COMMENTS: Dr. Jubb (pronounced "Yubb") put into his book most of what was known about Nothobranchius in 1981. There are detailed and exact descriptions of species. A must-have for those who keep Nothobranchius , especially for the low average price of about $6.
Killifish Master Index of the AKA
by Dr. Kenneth LazaraTarget Audience: All levels
Price: $7.50 plus shipping
Where to find it: Order from the AKA publications committeeDetails: 295 pages; no illustrations; third edition was copyrighted in 1984 by Kenneth Lazara.
COMMENTS: This book is just what its name says--it's an index of known species of killifish. For each species, Ken Lazara lists the correct spelling of the name, all the synonymous names, all the known articles in the scientific literature about the species, and some breeding information.
Colour Atlas of Cyprinodonts of the Rain Forests of Tropical Africa
by A. C. Radda & E. P urzlTarget Audience: Intermediate to advanced
Price: $50-60
Where to find it: mail-order aquarium book dealersDetails: 160 pages; color photos; copyright 1987 by O. Hoffmann-Verlag.
COMMENTS: This book includes only the rain forest killies, thus members of the genus Nothobranchius and many members of the Aphyosemion are not included. For each species described, there is usually a beautiful color photo, a map showing the locations where the species has been found, and details about the biotope, about related and syntopic species, meristics, etc. This book is not really meant for the beginner because it contains little information about maintenance & breeding.
by Jorgen Scheel
Atlas of Killifishes of the Old World
Target Audience: All levels
Price: US $100
Where to find it:Amazon.com, Fish stores or mail-order aquarium book dealers.Details: 448 pages; over 600 color photos; copyright 1990 by TFH
COMMENTS: This is the largest compendium of old world species of killifishes. Scheel's previous book, Rivulins of the Old World , became a standard reference text for killi identification. Scheel spent many years trying to establish which species were related, which species were identical, which populations of the same species should be elevated to the species status, etc. Numerous maps of fish distribution and the chromosome karyotype charts provide material for independent verifications of Scheel's conclusions. The pictorial and verbal descriptions of species make the identification easier than ever. The numerous color plates are well worth the $100 retail price, much less the discount price that you get from book dealers. This book is a must-have! If you keep fish, it will convince you to breed killies; if you are a killi breeder, you know what I am talking about; if you are a yuppy, it makes an awesome coffee table book.
by Steffen Hellner
Killifish
Target Audience: All levels, but excellent for beginners
Price: $4.95 retail
Where to get it:Amazon.com Fish stores, book stores, mail-order aquarium book dealers (ISBN 0-8120-4475-4)Details: 71 pages; color photos and line drawings;
English translation copyright 1990 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
Distributed by Barron's through normal book stores and pet shops.COMMENTS: Hellner is a killifish fanatic and he knows what he is talking about. This book has it all: how to buy killies (what to look for and what to avoid), how to keep them, their behavior, how to spawn them, how to make spawning mops and containers for peat divers, how to set up the tank, how to ship the fish, how to raise the fry, even how to kill the fish in the most humane way possible. The species section is brief and does not list the more rare or unusual killifish, but it's enough to get someone started and convince someone who has never seen a killifish that these are just the fish to get into (especially if you look at the photo of Aphyosemion ogoense pyrophore RPC-18 on page 63 -- what a magnificent fish!) This is a gem of a book for the price and is a good buy even if you will never keep killies.
by Norbert Dadaniak, Richard Lutje and Wolfgang Eberl
Faszination Killifische: die "Aphyosemion cameronense"- Gruppe
Target Audience: Naturalists, advanced hobbyists, cameronense specialists
Price: $100 US
Where to get it: Sold exclusively through the AKADetails: 479 pages; color photos and line drawings;
English translation xerox copy comes with the bookCOMMENTS: This is an utterly amazing book for several reasons. It's made how books are supposed to be made, bound in blue leather, edged in gold, and the highest quality paper and printing is used; the color photos, of which there are many, have no better anywhere. The book is a limited edition of 1000 and each copy is hand signed by the authors - it's truly a work of art and certainly represents a labor of love, not a commercial venture. The book is entirely in German. When you buy the book you recive a looseleaf English translation, although having had the book for several years and not knowing German, I found it was still well worth the money. Illustrated is what has to be every known form of cameronense and related species and while there are several books that attempt to index all Killifish species, this book is unique in that is catalogs all populations of a single species. Aphyosemion cameronse is not a well known fish and until you look through this book you may have no idea of the number of populaitons or morphological diversity of this fish. There are forms one would not intuitively recognize as cameronense. In addition much space is given to care, breeding and examples of how serious killifans arrange racks of tanks, clever home made filter techniques, live food and so forth. The terra typica of these fishes is also covered in some detail and photos of plants and bugs are most welcome. This is a serious and expensive book, but well worth twice the price.
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