Article © Julian Dignall, uploaded January 01, 2002.

This is a book of two halves. The first covers all aspects of catfish husbandry as well as relating general good fish-keeping techniques with a silurid slant. The second half is a family by family ramble through commonly (and a few not so commonly) imported genera. Arguably the best section deals with the Auchenipteridae family, in contrast there is sparse mention of Callichthyids (no real problem there as there are already an embarrassing surplus of books dedicated to this family).

The book has a healthy amount of detail on catfish breeding and most pages do not fail to throw in a remarkable catfish fact here and there in keeping with the massive diversity of catfish as a subject matter. The photographs are original and excellent throughout, however, this is not a pictorial species by species reference book rather a rich text that should be read by any catfish enthusiast. I really enjoyed reading this book and it still remains a favourite.

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