The Life Story of the Fish: His Morals and Manners

Subtitle of this book really makes me chuckle. It’s an old book, claiming to be a comprehenisve compilation of all the knowledge about fishes that previously was only to be found in academic journals so not really accessible to the common reader. So of interest, but of course somewhat dated. Like most books I’ve read about fish, it describes their body plan, physical functions, senses and lifestyle. Sounds basic but I did learn some things I hadn’t known before (or had forgotten). Things about how the fish senses function, details their scales can tell you, differences between what are considered primitive and or advanced species... Also liked seeing the very simplified diagram comparing brains- shark to fish to dog. The largest show more area in the shark brain was for smelling, in the fish brain for sight, in the dog brain for reasoning. Some of the more interesting breeding habits from several species are briefly noted- the male seahorse, mouth-brooding cichlids, bubble-nesting siamese fighting fish. There’s more extensive chapters on the trouts and salmonids, as a lot more study was done on those fish to increase efficiency of fishing industries. I found interesting the details about exactly why certain methods in trout hatcheries aren’t in the long run successful, or not worth the cost and effort... When this book shifts focus from straightforward information to things more applicable to real-life, it’s mostly about what sports fishermen would want to know, not aquarium keepers. Still I felt it was worth reading.

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