Reef Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific

Both avid divers, my boy friend and I wanted a book to help us identify all the different animals we see when we dive. There was only so much of: "blue fish with white and black stripes and yellow tipped pectoral fins" on Google that we could take. We live in the Philippines and, it being the "center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity", the amount of fish seen per dive is amazing though impossible to identify. So we wanted something that would give us the name of the animal, so that we could read more on them on our own. The most important criteria was that they were photographs and NOT illustrations. After reading the reviews on those available out there I decided on Reef Creatures and Reef Fish because it fit all our requirements. PROS: These books are the quickest way to identify the fish and critters in the Tropical Pacific. The photos are great, it makes identification easier. True, the amount of photographs can be "overwhelming"... especially if you are just browsing the book and not searching through it for something in particular. I do not fault the authors, the abundance and diversity of fish and creatures in this region IS overwhelming. But if you saw it and just need to put a name with the image in your head..this book will help you do that in a very organised way! Putting these books together must not have been easy but I am glad they did because it is very useful. In the two hours we spent browsing through the book, there were many "That's what it's called!" moments. CONS: The books are heavy. Not the most travel-friendly, especially now that there are weight restrictions on flights. If and when they are digitized and sold for the Kindle or iPad, I will definitely buy them again. But they are compact enough and complete enough to be the only ones you'll need to take with you on trips. Aside from the basic information, there is nothing too specific about the fish. Basically just the scientific name, size average, 2-3 sentences about their appearance and places to find them in. However, I expected this after reading the reviews and am still pleased because as soon as I identify the animal, I can research more on it myself. If you can purchase these book on the Internet, you can research the specifics on it too. OVER ALL: I would recommend these books to people who want to easily and quickly identify a fish or creature that they saw. If you want a book that is more in-depth, this is not the book for you. I give the two books 5-stars because they are exactly what I expected them to be and serve their purpose beautifully. Money well-spent.

I was living on the Sea of Cortez and bought this (before Humann came out with the Baja to Panama book). It would be a great guide in Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti, etc. but it's just about useless in Baja. If you are looking for good fish books for Baja, my choices (out of the dozen or so I own) are: Reef Fish Identification: Baja to Panama -- If I had to pick just one, this would be it. It's really designed for identification and some of the others are better to learn about the fish once you've identified it. Tons of color photos. Sea of Cortez Marine Animals: A Guide to the Common Fishes and Invertebrates Baja California to Panama -- A good compromise between identification and learning about the fish. Covers most of the common fish, but not as many as the above. Uses color photos. Reef Fishes of the Sea of Cortez: The Rocky-Shore Fishes of the Gulf of -- Best book to learn about the fish, but not as strong on ID. Covers a lot of fish. Some color photos, other B&W photos, many drawings. Fishes of the Pacific Coast: Alaska to Peru, Including the Gulf of California and the Galapagos Islands -- Inexpensive, pocket-sized book, color drawings, short info on each fish. Best book for edibility information.

The most thorough guide about fish identification in the region. Great images, very well organized. Every fish species is identified by name (english, latin), which fish species, groups and sub-groups it belongs. It has a short description of under every photo of distinguishing marks and how to recognize it. I really love that it gives you more pictures for each species depending on what sex, what life cycle (juvenile, adult/initial and adult/terminal), geographic markings variations and temporary color and/or markings phases (i.e. day/night). It also lists the geographic range of the species. Really, really detailed guide that helped me to properly identify hundreds of fish while diving in Thailand and Indonesia.

I like this book for many reasons. It seems to be the only one around that explains the fish of Okinawa, Japan in English. The pictures are fantastic/ couldn`t be better. It is sensibly organized. Each fish is explained in a little detail. I wish that there would have been a sentence under each picture (of which there are thousands) describing breeding, spawning and eating with more regularity, but having said that, the introduction to the chapter on each type of fish addressed this, so maybe that will turn out to be sufficient and also avoid repeating it under each and every picture and thus keep the book size down. I wish this book were on Kindle. Overall, a great book that will really help my enjoy scuba diving and snorkeling more in Okinawa and othter south Pacific and more areas.

Easy to find the fish that I see when we go snorkeling, I only wish it was completely waterproof so I could take it with me-underwater. The information is abbreviated so one has to do more research for specifics. The book itself is fun to look through even without trying to identify. Until I read the book, I did not know that so much sand is created by parrotfish eating coral. Fascinating! Thanks to the gentlemen for writing the book, they have enriched my life greatly.

A vital guide for either the informed recreation diver or the pacific coral reef student/researcher/worker. The ID photos are some of the best I've seen snd the information content is small but involving and useful. Interestingly, I found the simply drawn lined diagrams at the beginning of each section of particular use in order to help distinguish between the fish families so if when diving - the name of the species escapes you as it speedily swims by (easily done with most tropical fish with such diversity to be seen in life stages let alone between species) you may still be able to deduce the family to which it belongs with this book's help. A good investment should you be keen to improve your tropical fish ID.

Great book for fish ID / dive enthusiast. I saw many of these fish in Boracay Philippines.

Pour tous ceux qui veulent en savoir plus sur ce qu'ils ont vu lors de leurs plongées en Indonésie (entre autre). Ce livre est particulièrement bien fait et détaillé. Attention, comme son titre l'indique, l'ouvrage est en anglais !

Ottima enciclopedia sottomarina! Completa, colorata. Per gli amanti dei fondali buon suggerimento di acquisto, ritroverete molti pesci avvistati in viaggi in giro per il mondo.

海外で潜る事が多いのでログブックに英名で記載するのに重宝してます。