Best Fish book

[ReefHound]

Interactive only if you have a PC. It is not interactive on the Mac. On a mac you can see the video clips but all the interactive part is gone. I know because I bought it and now do not use it. Same with dive computers. I can download but the software that comes with them is often useless.

---------- Post added March 10th, 2015 at 09:18 PM ----------

Interesting list.

No blue chromis? In the Keys I see them every dive. Must be less common elsewhere.

I see blue chromis everywhere in the Caribbean. There are a lot of very commonly seen fishes not in that top 10 list. Ocean trigger, Atlantic spade, barracuda, french angel, blue angel, etc. Perhaps the next 10 are right there at 70% as well.

Sorry the Reefnet dvd isn't your ideal solution. No one solution fits every need. I also use an app on my iphone called Fishes: Greater Caribbean. It's nowhere near as good but the best solution is the one at hand. I'm not taking my PC or a nice book on a dive boat except maybe a liveaboard.

 

[stevep4444]

How is this better than Humann and Deloach, if overload is the issue?

The op asked for the best guide for identifying marine species while diving in Roatan and mentioned nothing about any "overload issue" or not wanting the best comprehensive guide for the reef.

Here is the best guide for marine life while diving on Roatan.

http://www.caribbeanreeflife.com

 

[Kharon]

I have a mask mounted camera that automatically turns on at about 15 feet and records everything I see on a dive. Afterwards, at my leisure, I can repeatedly view any fish I saw and can peruse Humann De Loach to my hearts content. That said, I sometimes come up short due to color variations that are not noted. Comes to mind a coney that was white with black spots not the common color. Scuba Board solved that one for me.

While I'm in the water I'm more interested in the awe that is inspired, rather than counting fish. An example is a fish that I knew I had never seen before while snorkeling on St. John. I just caught a fleeting glance of it. I was way more interested in seeing it again than knowing what it was so I hovered, dove, turned upside down peering into where it went. Later I ID'ed it as an Indigo Hamlet. Couldn't have cared less what it was at the time.

 

[Steve_C]

I agree with many of the above. On a given dive I will see some old friends and if I see a new one I will try to snap a photo. May or may not turn out. Then later on shore I will try to see if I can identify one or two new ones. I have the big book at home. Have my computer back nice and dry in the hotel room. Depending on conditions the travel guide may be in hotel room or in the car. In the water is for looking at stuff. I do find that over the years, the experience of having looked up earlier stuff does make me a little better looker, unfortunately no better looking though. :-(

 

[tursiops]

No blue chromis? In the Keys I see them every dive. Must be less common elsewhere.

The REEF database shows them as very common in the Keys, Bahamas, northeastern Caribbean, considerably less common in PR and the western Caribbean, kind of middle common in the southern Caribbean.

 

[Kharon]

The REEF database shows them as very common in the Keys, Bahamas, northeastern Caribbean, considerably less common in PR and the western Caribbean, kind of middle common in the southern Caribbean.

Hey - I didn't say they were rare - just that I had never seen one before. Maybe I just wasn't looking in the right direstion or at the right depth.

... the experience of having looked up earlier stuff does make me a little better looker, unfortunately no better looking though. :-(

Steve, I gave up worrying about what I looked like once I realized that Goldie Hawn wasn't ever going to be interested in jumping my bones. That's what freedom is.

 

[tursiops]

Hey - I didn't say they were rare - just that I had never seen one before. Maybe I just wasn't looking in the right direstion or at the right depth.

My response was not to you.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[Doc]

....I gave up worrying about what I looked like once I realized that Goldie Hawn wasn't ever going to be interested in jumping my bones. That's what freedom is.

If you've seen those with and without makeup photos, you might now have a shot.

 

[drewmeister_sd]

I also like this one: Caribbean Reef Life - Caribbean Reef Life - a field guide for Caribbean diving and fish identification

My dive buddy/wife and I own a copy. It is very well organized and easy to find whatever creature you are looking up. Awesome book!

 

[CajunDiva]

Caribbean Reef Life - Caribbean Reef Life - a field guide for Caribbean diving and fish identification

Carribean Reef Life of the Bay Islands is what you are looking for.

I purchased this book as a result of Steve's recommendation. I couldn't be happier...it's a GREAT book for the Bay Islands