Bettas | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert J. Ph.d. Goldstein
Brand: Barrons Books
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 650726
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 96
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 6.5 x 0.2
Legal Disclaimer: New York State residents are responsible for state sales tax not added by Amazon.
MPN: BAR1653
ISBN: 0764116533
Dewey Decimal Number: 639.377
UPC: 027011016530
EAN: 9780764116537
ASIN: 0764116533
Publication Date: May 1, 2001
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Product Description
Aquarium hobbyists add brilliant color to their tanks when they introduce Bettas to their community of freshwater fish. Here is detailed information on Betta varieties and how to care for them. Books in the Complete Pet Owner's Manuals series present basic information about pets for new or soon-to-be owners. Advice and instruction covers feeding, housing, health care, training, grooming, protection against hazards, and more. Texts emphasize pet care basics and are easy for all readers to understand, but most titles also present facts that even experienced pet owners and breeders will find new and useful. All books in this series are filled with high quality full-color photos and instructive line art. Table of Contents: Introduction Characteristics of the Genus Bubblenesting Bettas Mouthbrooding Bettas Tanks for Siamese Fighting Fish Foods and Feeding Common Diseases and Treatments Breeding Bettas Large-Scale Production Betta Genetics INFORMATION Betta Club Web Sites International Betta Congress Other Major Clubs and Sources Index Paperback / 96 Pages / 6 1/2 x 7 7/8 / 2001
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
Beautiful to look at. Useful? Not so much. August 5, 2008
The subtitle of this book is very misleading. This is not a "complete pet owner's manual" at all. It's a very attractive book that contains some interesting background and technical information and truly gorgeous pictures. What it does not contain is the practical information I need to know how to prepare a suitable home for the betta I'm planning to get or care for him properly once he's here. The information about various foods is helpful, and I can see where the chapter on diseases will be nice to have on hand, but I don't need 28 pages on other betta species and 20 pages on breeding and genetics (out of a book that only has 95 pages, total, counting the index). What I do need is more more than 4 pages on basic practicalities like tanks, filters, heaters, and so on. I will keep this book as a reference, but I'm going to have to buy another one to tell me how to actually care for my betta.
I'm giving it three stars, because it's not a bad book, for what it is. It's just not the practical guide for betta owners that the title implies.
 Nice looking, with very in-depth betta fancier info, but not for beginners in spite of the title July 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Barrons's addition to the betta-care genre looks very nice, starting with a gorgeous closeup of a red male carrying the butterfly trait, right on the cover. Like most betta books, however, the emphasis is information for the breeding hobbyist, not for the basic pet owner - in spite of the title.
The smallish book (95 pages) is divided into roughly three sections.
The first is invaluable for anyone interested in learning about all the "Other" species of bettas...wild bettas, mouthbrooding bettas, fighting strains, bettas from Thailand, bettas from Maylasia. Did you know there were hundreds of bettas besides the popular Betta Splendens we all know so well? Some are pretty and some are drab, but all are within the overriding Genus of Betta. This is interesting background information for the advanced betta fancier, but is certainly more information than the beginning betta owner will need.
Since this section, like the entire book, is chocked full of pictures, it is worth browsing. It really corners the market on betta species info!
The middle section provides some beginner's information on betta tanks, feeding and disease treatment. The live food section is the most informative and has useful pictures. It's only a few pages, however and does not discuss in-depth info on actually developing live cultures. This section is useful for someone looking to figure out what the betta-acceptable various live foods are - how brine shrimp differs from daphnia, tubifex works, fruit flies, and so on.
The disease section differentiates between environmental, chemical and infectious maladies, which I appreciated. Their treatment information focused on using available antibiotics and such, which I usually find to be overkill for the properly observant betta-keeper.
Section three is all about the breeding, large-scale betta production and Punnet Square betta genetics. Honestly, this is also beyond the scale of the beginner, using terms like homozygous and phenotype. For anyone interested in figuring out how to plot dominant betta colors, this would be a good start, though.
I would recommend this book to intermediate and advanced betta owners seeking breeding information, and for those wishing to study the expanded lineage of the Betta Genus.
A beginner would appreciate the gorgeous photos, though! Some award-winning bettas with glorious and unusual colors are showcased. Often, pictures like this are enough to take a betta fancier to the level of hobbyist.
 OK for Breeders, not for casual pet owners July 15, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I agree with the other reviewers. This book is great for breeders and it is interesting, but holds little educational value for someone who just wants to improve the life of their betta pet. I was disappointed.
Not for the average pet owner January 19, 2005
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is definetly not for begginers. It has a lot of technical information that is virtually useless to to the begginer and average pet owner. I'm sure I would give it a 5 star rating if I were a breeder, but I'm not. Save your money and look for another book if you are a begginer to keeping Bettas.
lots of info but not practical November 27, 2004
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
While this book is labled the "complete pet owner's manual" it does not deal with the practicalities of owning a betta. As a person who is a new owner looking for the basics, this book was too academic and had too much infomation. I did enjoy reading the history behind the betta fish and that was about it. This book is great for someone looking to breed and keep and sell bettas, but for us humble pet owners it does not give the needed basic information for daily care.
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