internet age- more current fish data?

[Flareside]

Just curious...

Im sure there are many of us here who have been in the hobby prior to the internet becoming as big a resource as it is today. Forums are a huge resource with regard to keeping up to date on some of the latest species as well as some of the most current equipment reviews and spawning practices shared by other members and enthusiasts.

That said, I discarded much of my "library" of old fish magazines years ago. Not saying I discarded my hard cover books however.

Just curious how many out there still seek or rely on old or out of print fish magazines such as Tropical Fish Hobbyist or Cichlid News?

[fischfan13]

I actually have an old Fish Encyclopedia from the early 70's that I look thru.
What I find so amazing is that when I used to look thru this book over 30 years ago I used to say "If I only had a bigger tank"...some things never change.

[Flareside]

I find that the hardcover books are still useful identifying certain species and are cool to have at an auction for quick reference when viewing fry of a species you are unfamiliar with.
Also interesting to see how species have sometimes been reclassified over the years.

I never really had much interest in keeping the mags though, lots of advertisements and articles about fish I have no interest in ever keeping

[joe_jaskot]

I have a good sized collection of fish magazines. Mostly FAMA (Fresh and Marine Aquariums), TFH (Tropical Fish Hobbyist), and Aquarium Fish. I occasionally look through them. Lots of pictures and articles of interest. A lot of what was written years ago is still valid today. There is a lot of misinformation and mislabeled pictures on the internet. Anyone can post whatever they want on most forums and websites. Some of the information is accurate, some is not. Much of what is in magazines is accurate. Many old timers and now deceased hobbyists wrote some good informative articles. It is also nice to see what products are still around after all these years.

[Haplee]

I have a lot of hard cover books that I refer to often and I subscribe to Cichlid News. I also use the internet, mostly because it is quick. Sometimnes I wish I would have saved some of the old books and mags that I discarded . I would like to have my old ACA buntbarche bulletins from the 70's back.They were made of stone in those days of course
,very heavy.The internet is great but I still like to browse thru my books.

[Zippo]

Books are your friend.:) I like alot of you have seen a LOT of garbage info when it comes to fish and fishkeeping. All i can say is that if not for sites like this and others many would be listening to WalMat employess and god only knows who/what else and killing more fish than we keep. So thanks for all the people who put up the $$$$ for these informative sites. Darn, almost forgot to thank the ones who keep the sites running too.

[DJRansome]

I'm amazed at what I read in current magazines by well respected authors tnat I believe to be not true. Once you are on a forum for a while, you get to know the newbies from the experienced and successful fishkeepers.

[Flareside]

the internet does occasionally have members speaking from inexperience and giving bad advice but thats how we all learned- by making msitakes and learning from them. It does have some forums with moderators that get on your nerves, but in general- thats the minority. I find it a very useful and interactive tool. When you have a question about setting something up or need a question answered- the internet can be much more helpful in resolving your issue rather quickly.
Hell- how cool is it that you can send a question to Larry Johnson (A guy who dives and collects annually at Lake Malawi)?

I wouldnt say the internet totally replaces text resources.