# good books or sites to learn about aquascaping?



## syrianrue (Oct 28, 2009)

anyone know any good sites or web sites for learning aquascaping? the techniques, and perhaps the different aquarium plants?


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

Here are two aquascaping sites.

http://aquascapingworld.com/

http://www.aquajournal.net/


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Takashi Amano's Nature Aquarium World books are excellent sources of inspiration if you can find them. This is a great place too: http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?main_page=afa_portfolio


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## syrianrue (Oct 28, 2009)

thank you guys so much!
and which book is best for aquatic plants?


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

syrianrue said:


> thank you guys so much!
> and which book is best for aquatic plants?


I put this list together a few years ago. You can usually find most of these books at Big Al's and Amazon, but it will pay to shop around at different places. FishBookStore.com has a large selection too. http://fishbookstore.com/ 

I hope this helps you. 

Aquarium Plants (Hardcover) by Christel Kasselmann (Author), Ulf Kotlenga (Translator) 
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Plan...0352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-2 

Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist (Hardcover) by Diana L. Walstad (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Ecology-Planted-Aquarium-Practical-Scientific/dp/0967377307 

Tropica Aquarium Plants Catalogue, Expanded Second Edition (Spiral-bound) by Holger Windelov (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Plan...352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315984&sr=1-26 

Aquarium Plants: The Practical Guide (Hardcover) 
by Pabloo Tepoot (Author), Ian Tepoot (Editor), Judy Leiby (Illustrator) 
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Plan...0352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-8

Planted Aquariums: Creation and Maintenance (Hardcover) 
by Christel Kasselmann (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Planted-Aquar...0352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176679817&sr=1-5

Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants (Hardcover) by Peter Hiscock (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-...0352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-1 

Aquarium Plant Paradise (Hardcover) by Takashi Amano (Author) 
This is a very good book that has a lot of "how to" info. 
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Plan...352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-12 

The Aquatic Gardener: Journal of the Aquatic Gardeners Association
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/

Nature Aquarium World Volume 1 (Natural Aquarium World) (Hardcover) by Takashi Amano 
{Strangely, this one isn't listed on the USA site. It's on the UK site though.} 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nature-Aquarium-World-Bk-Natural/dp/0793800897 

Nature Aquarium World Volume 2 (Hardcover) by Takashi Amano (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Aquari...352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-16 

Nature Aquarium World: Book 3 (Hardcover) by Takashi Amano (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Aquari...352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176315280&sr=1-18 

A Barry James book was my first plant book. It's little but it sure helped me to get started. 
A Fishkeeper's Guide to Aquarium Plants: A Superbly Illustrated Guide to Growing Healthy Aquarium Plants, Featuring over 60 Species (Hardcover) by Barry James (Author) 
http://www.amazon.com/Fishkeepers-G...0352607?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176324425&sr=1-1 

There's many small paperback books published by Barron’s that have good info and they are fairly cheap.

Aquarium Plants Manual by Ines Scherumann: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18297/si1382330/cl0/barronsaquariumplantsmanual

Plants for Your Aquarium by Wolfgang Gula: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18297/si1382339/cl0/barronsplantsforyouraquarium

I saw this one listed at the AGA site but I haven't looked at it. It looks good.
The Aquarium Plant Handbook
New from Oriental Aquarium, this 185-page full color book is more than double the size of Oriental's two previous "catalog" books, features new photographs and text descriptions of most aquarium plants, and an introduction by Takashi Amano. A great value for a reference book! 
$25 (AGA members) 
$30 (non-members) 
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/bookstore.html

The Simple Guide to Planted Aquariums (Simple Guide to...) (Paperback) by Terry Ann Barber and Rhonda Wilson
http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Guide-...2209518?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181398471&sr=1-1

The Natural Aquarium: How to Imitate Nature in Your Home (Hardcover) by S. Yoshino 
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18297/si1381647/cl0/thenaturalaquarium

Barron’s Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature by Peter Hiscock
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...87/cl0/barronsaquariumdesignsinspiredbynature

The Book of Water Plants
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18297/si1381317/cl0/thebookofwaterplants

"Aquarium and Pond Plants of the World, Edition 2.0" is a free CD from the USDA. It has info for over 140 plants with 1200 photographs and drawings.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/g...2-aquarium-pond-plants-world-edition-2-a.html

Fact Sheet: http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/a...Plants/Media/Html/Other/browse_taxa_list.html

Here is a helpful article from TheKrib.com:
Water Plants 101: A basic Introduction to the physiology and ecology of aquatic plants
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/phisio.html


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

here is a pretty good site to get you started
http://freshaquarium.about.com/library/weekly/aa122203a.htm


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## Echinodorus (Dec 5, 2008)

WOW !!!
Lef C... if you want to understand about the biochemistry and plant biology and individual requirements of different species (not aquascape pics or definition), choosing to get only 1 or 2 of those books to begin with, what would them to be?

Thanks for the list!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Echinodorus said:


> if you want to understand about the biochemistry and plant biology


For this, I would pick up a botany or a biochemistry textbook instead. You can get into fairly in depth about plant biochemistry.



Echinodorus said:


> and individual requirements of different species (not aquascape pics or definition)


The Kasselman (Translated by Kotlenga) and Windelov would probably be your best bet here.


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

Echinodorus said:


> WOW !!!
> Lef C... if you want to understand about the biochemistry and plant biology and individual requirements of different species (not aquascape pics or definition), choosing to get only 1 or 2 of those books to begin with, what would them to be?
> 
> Thanks for the list!


Try the first 7 books in the list.The list is somewhat listed in order.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Rather than a general botany book, I would look for a plant physiology text to learn about the specific biochemical mechanisms going on.


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## Echinodorus (Dec 5, 2008)

Wel, thanks a lot Darkblade48, LeftC and Phil!


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

I left out one of my very favorites in my list. It is always a treat to get this very informative booklet in the mail.
The Aquatic Gardener journal of the Aquatic Gardeners Association
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/


Here is a helpful article from TheKrib.com:
Water Plants 101: A basic Introduction to the physiology and ecology of aquatic plants
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/phisio.html


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