Reef and Field Guide Books

[LittleOne]

I'm just getting into this field and want to start "exploring" or what not. I need some suggestions on some coral reef/ocean/Florida and Caribbean field guide books. Thanks!

 

[Charlie99]

Amazon.com: Paul Humann: Books

Get the complete set of books by Paul Humann, including the Reef Fish Behavior book. They set the standard for fish and coral ID books.

 

[trigfunctions]

Buy them (and other stuff) directly from Paul Humann's organization and help support the Reef!

Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) | Diving That Counts

 

[drbill]

What they said... I use his books when I travel to that region and his fish book here off the Left Coast.

I find that no field guide I've ever used is 100% "complete" so I generally keep several for each region I dive but Humann's are the best.

 

[covediver]

I agree, Paul's gudie is the best.

 

[deborahdelamar]

REEF has recently released a home-study CD of their basic ID course on Caribbean fish. I took the course live, so don't know how well the CD teaches but it should show you how to ID the 50 most commonly seen fish by family characteristics (which will help later when you see an unknown fish) and understand which fishes are exceptions to the mold. See the REEF store for more info. It's at Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) | Diving That Counts

Another great item, if you don't want to pack those heavy books and do travel with a laptop, is the REEF/Reefnet Fish ID DVD. It has some nice features -- search capability, videos that show how fish move, customizable quizzes, plus multiple photos of most species including many juveniles. Available from the same source.

 

[Charlie99]

I took the course live, so don't know how well the CD teaches but it should show you how to ID the 50 most commonly seen fish by family characteristics (which will help later when you see an unknown fish)

I found that the Humann books for the Caribbean helped immensely with my ability to ID fish in Hawaii. There are some good ID books for Hawaii, but they are very hard to use at the beginning. The fish outlines and the organization of the the Humann book really helped me get a handle on the most basic ID of "butteryfly vs. parrotfish vs grouper, etc."

Another great item, if you don't want to pack those heavy books and do travel with a laptop, is the REEF/Reefnet Fish ID DVD.

I'm a big fan of the 24 page waterproof books. Very little text, but it has photos of the most common fish. I have it in my gearbag and often use it during the SI when people are describing a fish they saw. Since it's waterproof it's convenient to use while dripping wet right after getting back on the boat. It doesn't work as a standalone book -- it really is just a companion tool for someone that already is familiar with the main Humann book.

 

[John_B]

Agree with all of the above recommendations.

One more is Idaz Greenberg's 64 page "Guide to Corals and Fishes" which you can pick up pretty inexpensively. One nice thing is it has side by side pictures of adults and juveniles where the juveniles have different markings (angelfish, damselfish, butterflyfish).

I've noticed that some of the fish ID cards confuse the yellowtail damselfish with the rock beauty. I'm no ichthyologist, but it does make me wonder what else they got wrong...

 

[SkipperJohn]

you people are killing me... I just spent over $140 on books! (Actually I mean "thanks". I love this stuff and cant wait to go through my pictures now and identify everything!)