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Livebearers: Understanding Guppies, Mollies, Swordtails and Others (Fish Keeping Made Easy) Hardcover – November 1, 2003

by David Alderton (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 77 ratings
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Livebearers focuses on four families of fish which contain many of the most attractive and popular species in the tropical fish hobby today, including guppies, mollies, swordtails, and platies. The families include Goodeidae (Mexican livebearers), Anablepidae (four-eyes and others), Poeciliidae (guppies and others); and Hemirhamphidae (halfbeaks). Author David Alderton explains that hobbyists have applied the term livebearer to these four families for convenience even though there are fourteen families in the wild that reproduce by bearing live young. The chapter “Where in the World?” focuses on the natural history of these families, their distribution, and lifestyles. Hobbyists looking to begin an aquarium of livebearers or to expand their existing communities will find useful information in the chapter called “The Different Groups,” in which Alderton discusses age considerations, health matters, and sex. The chapter also describes the four families and the most common genus/species of each. Included are sixteen representatives of the Family Goodeidae (e.g., Allodontichth, Characodon, and Skiffia), three genus of the Family Anablepidae (Anableps, Jenynsia, and Oxyzgonectes), twenty-six representatives of the Family Poeciliidae (e.g., Belonesox, Fiexipenis, and Limia); and three genus of the Family Hemirhamphidae (Dermogenys, Hemirhamphodon, and Namorhamphus).

This colorful, user-friendly guide offers basic information on the anatomical characteristics, housing options, required aquarium equipment for livebearers as well as their feeding habits and food requirements (greenstuff, carotene-rich foods, live foods, meat, etc.). The breeding habits of livebearers have ensured their popularity with hobbyists, and the chapter on reproduction describes the various breeding habits of livebearers and outlines successful breeding strategies for interested hobbyists. In the chapter on health care, the author offers solid advice about caring for livebearers to maximize their lifespan in captivity, which is typically only a few years. He also gives information on signs of illness and some basic diseases that can be treated by the fish keeper.

The final chapter offers photographs and distribution maps for sixteen popular livebearers of all four families, including information on size, physical description, natural habitat and behavior, and required aquarium conditions. The author’s livebearer hit parade includes the butterfly goodeid, rainbow goodeid, black-finned goodea, four-eyed fish, guppy (millions fish), black molly, sailfin molly, swordtail, platy (moonfish), mosquito fish (dwarf and large), humpbacked (black-barred) limia, black-bellied limia, pike livebearer (piketop minnow), knife (Alfaro’s) livebearer, and wrestling halfbeak. Resources, glossary, and index included.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    144 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    CompanionHouse Books
  4. Publication date
    November 1, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    193199319X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1931993197
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Author and freelance journalist David Alderton is an international best-selling authority on pet care and natural history, with his book sales totaling millions worldwide, in over thirty languages. Having originally trained as a veterinary surgeon, David decided to focus his interests on writing about animals and their care in his final year of study. David s work has won awards in the US from the Cat Writers Association of America and the Maxwell Medal from the Dog Writers Association of America, as well as being nominated for the Sir Peter Kent Conservation Book Prize. David has also worked as a consultant for the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council based in Washington, D.C. He lives in Brighton, UK.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CompanionHouse Books; 0144th edition (November 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 193199319X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1931993197
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 77 ratings

About the author

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David Alderton

David Alderton

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David Alderton, MA (Cantab.) grew up in a home surrounded by pets and originally trained to be a vet until an allergic dermatitis forced a change of career in his final year of study. Since then, David has used his experience, knowledge and passion for the subject to concentrate on writing about animals and the natural world.

David also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and has recently set up the website www.petinfoclub.com while his blog can be found at www.davidalderton.com His books have currently sold some 6.5 million copies worldwide and are available in 30 languages. He has won various awards for his work, including the Maxwell Medallion from the Dog Writers' Association of America, and he is well-known as a columnist on various newspapers and magazines, as well as being the editor of "Practical Reptile Keeping" magazine.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
77 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

ISIS P.
5.0 out of 5 stars You wanna keep fish the right way and keep it simple? BUY THIS!
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2024
Verified Purchase
Great information source, this helped me to be sure I am doing things right in my livebearer aquarium! Also has interesting data about all the species. I like how this book analyzes even their anatomy so you can choose and understand how they eat.
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Rita Labens
5.0 out of 5 stars Just what we needed.
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
Just enough info for us as beginners. Easy to read.
One person found this helpful
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dankeith
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy enough for children to understand.
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2023
Verified Purchase
Granddaughter learned how to care for her guppies and is excited about all the new information.
One person found this helpful
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Cindy
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
Good read
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Jeckunev
4.0 out of 5 stars Outdated but still relevant
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2024
Verified Purchase
First thing's first, this book was written in 2004. There are some oddities because of this, especially regarding under-gravel filters. This book touts them like it's some new cool thing, but nobody really uses them much anymore.
Secondly, if you were looking for a guppy book, this probably isn't for you. This book covers ALL livebearers, and dang, are there many. A large portion of this book is how to identify different types of livebearers. This goes way beyond just guppies.
Thirdly, this is not casual reading. It's fairly scientific. There's a lot about the biology and anatomy of livebearers, fin shapes, taxonomy, and reproduction.
All in all, I felt like I definitely learned something. The care section was very detailed, especially the part about infections and health. Worth a read if you are truly fascinated by livebearer fish!
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Maria Morris
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2019
Verified Purchase
This book was very helpful, it was very informative helped me with my guppies. It helped me understand my fish better. When I got my first guppies I didn't have this book and they all died. This time I got this book and read all about the guppies and found out what I did wrong, this time I did what the book said and not only are they still alive they are actually breeding I'm soo very happy with this book.
2 people found this helpful
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Roland From Orlando
5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
Really brings back my early days of raising fish!
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Joseph R. Negron-Muniz
5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative.
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2021
Verified Purchase
Overall good and very informative.
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Top reviews from other countries

Carol hurst
5.0 out of 5 stars Happy good Service
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
It’s a very good book 📗5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on December 24, 2016
Verified Purchase
great
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Deborah
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on April 18, 2016
Verified Purchase
Excellent book.
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philip
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2015
Verified Purchase
a good read and informative book
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NFradinho
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2012
Verified Purchase
When I ordered this book I was not expecting the amount of new information I learn. It gave me a new insight on livebearers. 5 star book!
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