Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)
Hi,
John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.
I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.
With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.
I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.
If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.
I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.
I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.
Thank you
Darragh Sherwin
Fish Atlas
- zale (Mark carroll)
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I know you can get any info on the net (or from you guys) but like a quick reference and besides when I'm lying in bed the monitor hurts my legs after a while.

I was looking at DR. AXELROD'S MINI-ATLAS, I couldn't warrant the price of the full atlas, she'd kill me.
What do ye think. :?:
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- platty252 (Darren Dalton)
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This will give you a picture of each species, scientific name, common name, habitat, sexual difference, breeding, water conditions, feeding, social behavior etc,
It will only give you a quick run down of info so you would have to look elsewhere for more detailed info.
I think it is better and a lot smaller in size than Axelrods Atlas. Cheaper too.
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- zale (Mark carroll)
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This will give you a picture of each species, scientific name, common name, habitat, sexual difference, breeding, water conditions, feeding, social behavior etc,
Thanks Darren, yea that's all I'm looking for if I do need more detailed info I'll just ask the "GURUS" on this forum

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- Anthony (Anthony)
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I don`t know if there is a newer version because most of the Cichlid genus has changed.
Tropical guide to Aquarium fish by Interpet is an excellent beginners/experts book. Then go for a species book.
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- KenS (Ken Simpson)
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Regards,
Ken.
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- apistodiscus (apistodiscus)
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cichlid genera change more often than most people change their underwear. I have lost count of the revision 'Cichlasoma' went through over the years and I'm tired of learning new names just to have to forget them when some ichtyologist gets the notion of renaming the whole lot again a month later....
Once somebody actually revises the mess that tetra nomenclature is we are in deep sh*t altogether because some other lab mouse will decided that it should be done aonther way and we get another set of new names.
Nomenclature is the anoraks best friend. Just look at the ram, it went from Apistogramma to Microgeophagus to Papilochromis (that name was already used for a beetle genera so it had to be withdrawn) to Mikrogeophagus (with a k not a c).
Apart from that I'd go for the Baensch Atlas for general reference. After that you are in specialist literature.
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- zale (Mark carroll)
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I also noticed the Axelrod Atlas was published in 1987 surely it has an updated version as the sites I was pricing it didn't have which Edition it was just published in 87.
Just curious about Axelrod, I am going to go with the forums recommendation on either Interpet or Baench
Score at the moment, Inter 2 Baench 2 8)
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- apistodiscus (apistodiscus)
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Axelrod is quite old and also not as concise as the Baensch Atlas.
I have all six Baensch books in German, actually don't know if the 6th one is available in English yet. Excellent genral information in it.
What kind of fish to you need information on? Somebody on the forum will surely be able to recommend a specialist book
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- zale (Mark carroll)
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I don't really need another specialist book, I will have 3 tanks 1 with S.A. cichlids, 1 with crayfish and I also have a community tank so need a general fish book from Acanthophthalmus kuhli to Zebra danios without the chapters "choosing your tank size" or "how to introduce your fish" just 1 on fish. Is the baench just on fish or do all general books have those chapters at the start.
Thanks Mark
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- apistodiscus (apistodiscus)
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However, there are 6 seperate volumes with more information on each fish and also on plants. I think so far 5 have been translated into English. The 1st volume has a general introduction to fishkeeping but probably nothing in it you haven't heard before.
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- zale (Mark carroll)
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I think I'll be going with Baench so. If their German they must be Good. 8)
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- apistodiscus (apistodiscus)
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- platty252 (Darren Dalton)
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But if you really wanted the Axelrod Atlas third edition which i think was the last one translated to English i can sell it to you cheep' ish. Just dont ask will i post it. Postage would cost the earth. BIG BOOK.
Holger i think Baensch's atlas 3 was the last one translated to English.
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- zale (Mark carroll)
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