Guppies, Mollies, and Platys: Everything about Purchase, Care, Nutrition and Behavior (Complete Pet Owner's Manual Series) »

(back cover)
Information and advice to help you take good care of your Guppies, Mollies, and Platys

Typical Guppies, Mollies, and Platys: their origins, life cycles, traits, and more

Expert advice: feeding, tank maintenance, and general care

Appreciating aquarium fish: identifying varieties and observing their behavior

Step-by-step directions for daily care

Informative checklists and sidebars

Filled with handsome full-color photos

(picture caption)
Observing these fish in your home aquarium is invariably a fascinating and rewarding experience.

Introduction
Introducing Four Families     6
Tip: Coming to Grips with the Results of Live Birth     6
Lifestyle     7
Information on Breeding Forms     8
Tip: Recognizing Early- and Late-Maturing Males     11
A Little Information About Heredity     12
Breeding for Color     12
Sperm Storage     13
Live-bearer Portraits     14
Questions and Answers     18
Questions About Lifestyle and Breeding Forms
Acclimation Program
Selection and Purchase     34
Quarantine     34
Health Check: How to Recognize a Healthy Fish     35
Combinations of Fish     36
Checklist: Proper Acclimation     36
Behavior Interpreter     38
Courtship Displays and Reproduction     40
Tip: What to Do with the Offspring?     40
The Birth of the Young     41
Tip: Preventing Unwanted Offspring     42
Questions and Answers     44
Questions About Purchase and Socialization
Appropriate Accommodations
A Comfortable Aquarium     22
The Right Aquarium     22
Checklist: Basic Equipment     23
Tip: Paying Attention to Safety     24
Water Quality     26
The Nitrogen Cycle     27
Tip: How to Measure Water Quality     27
Setting up the Aquarium     28
Decoration     28
Plants in the Aquarium     29
Questions and Answers     30
Questions About Technical Details and Setup
Overall Health Program
What Live-bearers Eat     48
Healthy with the Proper Care     50
Checking the Water     50
Checklist: Taking Care of Fish     51
When You Need to Act     52
Problems Due to Living Conditions     52
Immediate First Aid in an Emergency     53
The Most Common Diseases     54
Chart: Recognizing and Treating Diseases     55
Questions and Answers     56
Questions on Care and Diseases
Appendix
Index     58
Addresses, Literature     60
Author     61
Copyright     61
My Live-bearers     62
10 Tips for Success     64
Guaranteed Comfort for Guppies and Their Cohorts