Looking for more information? These are publications with which I am personally familiar and recommend. I encourage you to support these publications. The web is great and fulfills a valuable function, but you can't beat a beautiful photograph in a high-quality magazine or book.

To obtain these items please contact the various publishers.

• Highly Recommended Books
• List of Cichlid Books
• Magazines and Videos

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Highly Recommended Books

People sometimes ask me to recommend a book about cichlids, particularly for information on how to keep cichlids in an aquarium. Here are several books that I regularly use and highly recommend.

Loiselle, P.V. (1994) The Cichlid Aquarium (Revised and Expanded Edition). TetraPress, Blacksburg, VA. ISBN 1-56465-146-0

This book has very thorough coverage of all aspects of cichlids. The writing style is a little dry and encyclopedic and I don't much care for the way it is typeset, but you can't beat this book for a comprehensive introduction to cichlids.

 

 

Sands, D. (1994) Tetra's Popular Guide to Tropical Cichlids. TetraPress, Blacksburg, VA ISBN 1-56465-147-9

When I go to a fish meeting, I often take this little book because it almost fits in a pocket and covers many cichlids. It is really just three books glued together, the first is Paul Loiselle's book on African Cichlids, the second is David Sands' book on Central American cichlids and the third is Wayne Leibel's book on South American cichlids.

 

 

Conkel, D. (1993) Cichlids of North and Central America. TFH, Neptune City, New Jersey.

Fabulous color photos of the cichlids of Central America. The extra-large format and printing process make this book the one I turn to for the best photos.

 

 

 

 

There are a few key academic books that will get you started, if you are interested in learning more about the science of cichlids.

Barlow, G.W. (2000) The Cichlid Fishes: Nature's Grand Experiment in Evolution. Perseus Publishing, Cambridge.

An excellent book to give you an incredible appreciation for the true wonder of cichlid fishes. A must read.

 

 

 

 

Coleman, R.M., Editor (2001) Cichlid Research: State of the Art Special volume of the Journal of Aquariculture and Aquatic Sciences, Parkville, Missouri.

Twenty five papers devoted to many aspects of recent research on cichlid fishes. An excellent place to find out what the current state of the art is in cichlid research.

 

 

Keenleyside, M.H.A. (1991) Cichlid Fishes: Behaviour, ecology and evolution. Chapman & Hall, New York. ISBN 0-412-32200-5.

This is an excellent book consisting of 14 chapters contributed by various experts in cichlid research. It covers such topics as cichlid phylogenetics, ecology, speciation, genetics, morphology, feeding, mating systems, parental care, behaviour communication, sexual selection, and fisheries issues.

 

 

There are several key books that ichthyologists (people who study fishes) use to help them keep track of which fish is which. These are not pictoral books, and many readers would consider these books quite "dry", but they are indispensible for understanding fish relationships. These should be available in most university libraries.

Eschmeyer, W.N. (1998) Catalog of Fishes California Academy of Sciences, San Franciso.

The definitive work listing the known genera and species of fishes in the world. Comes in three volumes. Dull as dish-water, but an indispensible source of information.

 

 

 

Nelson, J.S. (2006) Fishes of the World (Fourth Edition). Wiley & Sons, New York

Provides a reasonably modern classification of fishes. Many experts will disagree with particular aspects of how the fishes are arranged, but this book provides the jumping-off point for other discussions and covers all fishes.

 

 

 

Nelson, J.S. et al. (2004) Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada (Sixth Edition). American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29.

Exactly as the title suggests this is a listing of the "accepted" common names for fishes found in North America. While there are strict rules for scientific names, common names vary widely. For example, the bluegill sunfish might be called a dozen different things depending on where you are. The purpose of this book is to standardize these names so that people in different parts of the country can talk to each other without speaking Latin.