ID Books

[ScubaSteve]

I am interested in learning more about the fish I swim alongside (and others of course) and a simple "Fish ID" search came up with an astounding number of options. I am asking you what books you preferred so I can try to make an educated decision based on input from others.

I live in Canada so I do a lot of cold water diving (southern ontario fresh water) but also do a lot of Caribbean diving and hope to make it to the other hemisphere soon so name your book regardless of location.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I have this set and love it. By set I mean I have the "Reef Fish" "Reef Creature" and "Reef Coral" books.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I use this one and this one for local fresh water fish.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[covediver]

I concur with ber rabbit. I have done offshore surveys and find the books by Paul Humann to be the best. They seem to be a fixture on every boat I have been on that had room for a fish ID guide. Alternatively, I also use Amazon.com: Fishes of the Pacific Coast: Alaska to Peru, Including the Gulf of California and the Galapagos Islands: Gar Goodson: Books useful because of where I like to dive (eastern pacific)

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I just put a pre-order in for this one and ordered the one Covediver mentioned to beef up my library. I'm a sucker for fish ID books
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[vladimir]

I have all the Humann books, the Allen, Steene book, and a few others. But if you travel with a Windows PC this is a better option:

Reef Fish Identification, - Interactive 2008 Edition DVD from LeisurePro.com

It's a searchable database of fish in the Caribbean, including drawings, photos, videos, taxonomic, morphologic, habitat, and behavioral information on DVD.

 

[b1gcountry]

I like the Humann/DeLoach books as well. I also like the book Reef Life for a general overview (something the ID books lack).

I've also noticed that the freshwater fish ID books are geared more towards fishermen than divers.

Tom

 

[ScubaSteve]

There has been some great advice given here. Thanks to all and I look forward to more if others have things to add. I plan to have my purchases made before my October trip to Bonaire so I still have time for more advice. Thanks again