Pisces Guide to Watching Fishes: Understanding Coral Reef Fish Behavior (Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Great Barrier Reef)

If you are a diver or snorkeler then you will enjoy this wealth of information that will go along way to describe the intricate behaviors in this most complicated of habitats. If you are a reef aquarium hobbyist the you will learn why fish act the way they do. If you are a professional then you will appreciate the way that this book brings in the journal literature. There are 19 pages of bibliography, and although it might be a bit dated many of the articles are classics.


Going Beyond Identification   February 18, 2001
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

After I'd dived and snorkeled in the same spot more than a few times, I found myself wondering: what are those fish doing? Why are there such huge differences in what I see at 7AM from what I see at 5PM? Are those fish mating or fighting? While this book only begins to answer those questions--I'd love to see a newer edition with research since the early 90's--it does tell the careful observer what to look for, which adds greatly to the experience of diving and snorkeling. A caveat, however: if you don't already know the major fish families (such as parrotfish, surgeonfish, wrasses, butterflyfish, and so on), you'll find the book somewhat incomprehensible. I'd label this book as Step 2 in becoming a knowledgeable observer, with Step 1 as learning the fish families. (And for that, I'd get a regional guide for wherever you dive--the fish families are the same world-wide, although the species are not.) Note: while I criticize this book for being (slightly) out of date, that doesn't make the information useless--far from it.


A fascinating book about reef fish behavior for the layman.   February 28, 1999
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

We run charter yachts and take our guests snorkeling on reefs daily. I borrowed this book over 10 years ago, and still remember how incredibly interesting it was, not only for our own understanding of the ecosystem we enjoy so much, but also for the great information it gives us to share with our guests who are eager to learn about the beautiful reefs and the colorful fish they see. As another reviewer said, we can now go beyond just naming the fish we see and provide a broader explanation of their characteristics and behaviour. I'm thrilled to see the book back in print.


an invaluable volume for tropical divers and photographers   July 25, 1998
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I agree with the previous reviewers--an invaluable, scholarly, and readable work that discusses such interesting but poorly understood subjects such as why tropical fish tend to be brightly colored, how schooling fish swim in close coordination, and whether anemones benefit from their relationship with anemone fish. It's a shame that tropical dive operations haven't made this required reading for their dive students.