Fish ID Books?

[nwflyboy]

It's time for me and my wife to stop referring to the critters that we see on our dives with our own creative but technically inaccurate names ("there's a, um, some kind of a jack...that's a mickey mouse fish over there behind the 'have-a-nice-day' nudibranch...").

We've seen the fish ID books in the dive shops/resorts and I guess we should have bought some of them by now (even though when I tell my wife that I saw a mint-chocolate-chip nudie she knows exactly what I mean).

Recommendations for specific books and where the best place to get them might be?

We dive Indo-Pacific waters (when we can....sigh....) and the Caribbean, too so we probably need several.

Thanks.

 

[TV Mark]

Check out the Reef Creatures, Reef Fish, and Reef Coral books by Ned Deloach and Paul
Humann. I found them at my dive shop.

 

[BoltSnap]

But we'd love to hear more about your special marine life names please.

 

[schaffld]

2nd vote for the Humann, Deloach, et al Reef Fish/Creature Identification books. They have ones specifically for the Tropical Pacific.

If diving in the Indo-Pacific includes the Philippines and vicinity, there is a great website called Marine Iconography of the Philippines at

Marine Iconography of the Philippine Archipelago | Poppe-Images

The benefit of the website for me is that it often has several photos of different individuals which can show the colour variations in a single species (very helpful when trying to identify wrasses)

Another website I like to use specifically for nudibranchs is The Sea Slug Forum at

The Sea Slug Forum - Home Page

Good luck with your critter identification

 

[GoAnywherePhoto]

Check out the Reef Creatures, Reef Fish, and Reef Coral books by Ned Deloach and Paul
Humann. I found them at my dive shop.

Another vote for these books. very thourough with good photos of various stages and colorateions for most fish.

 

[gypsyjim]

I bought Reef Fish of the Caribbean, in both hard cover, and then later on disc. The disk program allows quick and simple searches using such categories as shape, size, color, habitat, fin shape or placement, etc. One or more of these observations can be plugged into the computer, to quickly narrow the possible matches. VERY easy to use!

I have the disk copied to a memory stick that we take on our trips with us, and can do quick research after a dive, on our lap top. The publishers suggested I try the memory stick, a few years ago, as they were working on that idea as a new product they hoped to be able to release soon. It is my "fish stick" that I always bring on Caribbean trips.

 

[Kupu]

Agree, best fish books for Indo-Pacific and Caribbean are by Ned Deloach and Paul Humann. Can find these at some dive shops, got mine used on Amazon.

For nudibranch ID around Indo-Pacific go for Neville Coleman books, best for me is Nudibranchs Encyclopedia. Probably need to order this from his website, but worth it if you are really into slugs. Also, my favorite online nudi ID site is NudiPixel... if you don't want to put alot of cash into books, check out NudiPixel and scan thru the photos from the various countries.

 

[covediver]

Humann guides are the best. I also like Divers and Snorkelers Guide to the Fishes and Sea Life of the Caribbean, Florida, Bahamas, and Bermuda by F. Joseph Stokes and Gar Goodson's Fishes of the Pacific Coast (not quite Indo-pacific, more eastern to northern pacific) as more compact field guides.