Table of Contents

Introduction.
Part I: Getting to Know Your Fish and Invertebrates.


Chapter 1: Your First Salty Steps.


Chapter 2: Some Things Fishy.


Chapter 3: Choosing the Best Fish for You.


Chapter 4: About Invertebrates.


Chapter 5: From the Dealer to Your Home.


Part II: Setting Up Your Aquarium.


Chapter 6: Choosing the Best Aquarium.


Chapter 7: Figuring Out Filters.


Chapter 8: Heating and Lighting Your Aquarium.


Chapter 9: Fishy Furnishings and Finishing Touches.


Chapter 10: Partial to Salt: The Brackish Aquarium.


Chapter 11: Getting Your Aquarium Up and Running.


Part III: Taking Proper Care of Your Aquarium.


Chapter 12: The Nitrogen Cycle.


Chapter 13: More Chemistry: Salt, Acidity, and Gases.


Chapter 14: All About Algae.


Chapter 15: Keeping Your Aquarium Clean.


Part IV: Taking Proper Care of Your Fish.


Chapter 16: Feeding Your Fish.


Chapter 17: Preventing Stress.


Chapter 18: Diseases and Treatments.


Chapter 19: Observing Your Fish.


Part V: The Part of Tens.


Chapter 20: Ten Fish to Avoid.


Chapter 21: Ten Invertebrates to Avoid.


Chapter 22: Five Simple Metric Conversions.


Chapter 23: Ten Great Public Saltwater Aquariums.


Part VI: Appendixes.


Appendix A: Resources.


Appendix B: Glossary.


Index.

About the Author

Dr. Gregory Skomal is an accomplished marine biologist, underwater explorer, photographer, aquarist, and author. He has been a fisheries biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries since 1987 and currently heads up the Massachusetts Shark Research Program. Greg holds a master's degree in marine biology from the University of Rhode Island and a PhD from the Boston University Marine Program in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. His research has spanned multiple fish habitats around the globe, taking him from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to coral reefs in the tropical Central Pacific. He has written numerous scientific research papers and has appeared in a number of film and television documentaries, including programs for the National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, ESPN, and CBS. Although his research passion for the last 23 years has been sharks, he has been an avid aquarist for more than 30 years and has written nine books on aquarium keeping. His home and laboratory are on the island of Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts.