Bettas

Rating:
Summary: Not for the average pet owner
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: Complete Betta pet owner's manual with vibrant full-page photos. Includes history, care, nutrition, handling and behavior. Chapter on Betta tanks.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't live up to subtitle "A Complete Pet Owner's Manual"
Review: Despite the subtitle, this book is very technical and has little information which is of use for the average person with a pet betta. There is a lot of information on breeding and the different types of bettas, which might be useful for a breeder. As a pet "owner", I found it unhelpful. You can find more information about keeping bettas as pets for free online.

Rating:
Summary: Not a beginner's book. More for a breeder...
Review: This book goes into great detail on the history and breeding techniques of bettas. It has a seperate chapter on Siamese fighting fish. It covers the basics on tank and food requirements. Compared to the other few betta books out there....this, I felt, was the best one for the money. After reading it, however, I still wanted more. Now I rely on tropical discussion boards for detailed information I need to care for my betta.

Rating:
Summary: absolutely useless marketing exercise
Review: This is a pretty book: lots of gorgeous color photos of gorgeous Siamese fighting fish ("Bettas") and glossy pages. That's its main, and only, selling point.

Unfortunately, the info contained is mainly academic filler which is badly organized so that it's difficult to skim through and find the more practical bits, such as: 1. how often and how much to feed these fish, 2. how a Betta would do if mixed in with other fish in a large aquarium (answer: badly), 3. how often the water should be changed if a Betta is kept in a small filtration-less container of 1 gallon or less, 4. most common types of commerical food and which ones are better, etc. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Thankfully, Petsmart has a liberal return policy...this one's going back pronto!

Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: This is one of the best Betta books currently on the market. Its a great guide for the beginning Betta keeper & is based upon years of experience. If you can only purchase 1 Betta book this should be it. If your interest grows then go to aquabid.com to see the latest in Betta developments. They are fantastic!

Rating:
Summary: A great source of information about bettas
Review: This wonderful book has heaps of information about the various bubblenesting and mouthbrooding betta species groups. It covers the selection of bettas, their housing (the 2001 edition has a chapter on Tanks for Bettas), feeding, breeding, genetics (covering stuff like Betta Genes and the Punnet Square), as well as the prevention, identification and treatment of common betta diseases (environmental, chemical and infectious). It is indeed a great source of in depth information about bettas and a complete pet owner's manual.

Rating:
Summary: lots of info but not practical
Review: 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.