Re: D.C. books (was Re: )

[Frauley Elson <fraulels@videotron.ca>]

Brian Berggoetz wrote:
> 
> Is Linke & Staecks' dwarf cichlid book already out of date?  Or does the
> new books just have more species and are the new books going to be out
> of date in 5 years?  Are we close to the end of the new apisto species?
> curiously,  bb
>
Brian,
It all depends. It could be said that Romer's book is 'out of date'.
Things are changing so fast. There are so many Apistogramma sp.
designations out there that any book is 'out of date' as it travels to
the printer.
Problem one is naming the fish and providing a cursory overview on how
to keep it. problem two is that as all these new species are identified,
at least with a temporary designation (or two, or five, as the case may
be) we still have to keep them to truly learn. I've had sp pimentel
spawn in tapwater, an unlikely development - a search of the literature
shows the fish has been known for a few years, but not a lot is known
about it. There are dozens of species like that. I've seen mendezi spawn
in tap. i wouldn't have predicted that.
The good news is books like these are extremely valuable. I recomend
Linke and Staeck to all - it is a great book.
The only "apisto' book that is out of date (IMHO) is Richter, simply
because he talks about breeding agas, and then says that for all other
apistos, do the same thing. That kind of blanket statement doesn't work.
But Linke and the others, with their detailed info on each species, are
very good books. To me, Linke is the essential Apisto book.
As to whether we're close to the end of finding new species - I doubt
it. I see no slowdown in new imports. If we destroy the rainforest,
yeah, we're close to the end. But right now, a lot of new species and/or
distinctive looking populations of catalogued species are coming in. I
personally am finding it hard to keep track. There's so much.
-Gary


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