In Vierke's book, Bettas, Gourami, and Other Anabantoids, we are treated to a wonderful look into the world of these fascinating fish. Labyrinth fish are known the world over due to the widespread popularity of the "Betta" and its amazing ability to breath surface air instead of relying on its gills to get oxygen from the water. What we know as the "Betta" is really only one of 30+ species of Betta that added with perhaps another 70+ species of Gourami make up a large core of the ever popular Labyrinth fish.

Highlights

In no other book will you find as much information about this group of fish as in this book. It contains many things you would expect, such as descriptions and photos of many of the individual species, but the quality and length of the descriptions is unparalleled by any other book on these fish that is currently available. There is a wealth of information packed into just 192 pages.

In addition to the profiles of the fish, a great deal of discussion is given to the group as a whole, and the different living and breeding styles of the fish. Beyond the more common bubble-nest building, the breeding strategies of mouthbrooding and cave spawning are discussed. All information is presented in a manner that is succinct and interesting without being overly technical.

Perhaps the most interesting portion of the book for me were the many maps of the areas where the different species of gourami live. These maps served as the guide to which species would be covered in the next section. For example, you wouldn't look for Dwarf Gourami, Colisa lalia, to necessarily be alphabetically in front of the Blue Gourami, Trichogaster trichopterus, you would instead find the area where they live and then look for the fish to be located alphabetically in that region.

Also included in the book is a description of how to set-up an aquarium for each of the Gourami types. I personally appreciated the description of how to best get multiple male gourami of the same species together in the same aquarium without it ending in the severe beating of another one of the males. The author's set-up did this, amazingly, with three dwarf gourami in a 10-gallon aquarium!

The book also covers the common Betta Splendens well without devoting too much time and space to them. They are treated much like other labyrinth species, with some extra information given about many of the man-made varieties available, as is done with all fish in this book that like the betta have had some tampering done to their genetics.

The author's great knowledge of the subject is very evident, and his personal experience with many of the fish lead to providing a great and interesting background that is unlike any other you will receive in regards to this group of fish.

Lowlights

It is difficult in a book such as this to find any negativity. Despite the fact that this book has been translated from German, it shows no noticeable problems with the language and reads extremely well in English.

My only disappointment comes from the book being out of print, and from the fact that it is starting to age a little. Since it was first published in 1988, not a lot has changed in the world of Labyrinth fish, but I would be very interested to see more information on some of the newer species available.

Overall

An absolute must for anyone who has even the slightest interest on Gourami. I found out about the book while speaking with Heiko Blehr. I told him I was frustrated by the lack of information available about labyrinth fish, and he suggested this book to me. It has turned out to be a great suggestion, and I highly recommend it to all who enjoy keeping Labyrinth fish and wish to know more about this fascinating family.

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