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I just recieved my complimentary copy of a new book called The 101 Best Aquarium Plants by Mary E. Sweeney. Its a very impressive book because it includes dozens of those "collector" plants that are known only on the internet in forums like this one.
But what really makes this book relevant here is the fact several people from our community contributed to this book. To my knowledge, this is the first time this has ever happened.
George Farmer, our own revered aquascaper, is the principal photographer for the book with dozens of photos, but photos were also contributed by Matt Wittenrich, MP & C Piednoir, Jeff Ucciardo, Ben Tan of Aquaspot world, Neil Hepworth, Jan Bastmeijer, Diana Walstad, Florida Aquatic Nursery, Aaron Norman, K. Tanaka, Tim Pfeffer, Neal Monks, and one photograph by yours truly. I also provided some of the plants that were photographed as did Ben Tan.
There are close up photos of each plant, as well as full length aquascapes by George and others. The quality of the photographs is amazing. There is also 33 species pictured to AVOID because they are not aquatic! Thats a first. It should be required reading for every Petco and Petsmart store in the country!
The book is a bound, soft cover with pages almost as thick as cardboard and glossy, sort of pocket size. It is published by Microcosm, a partner of TFH publishing. Mary Sweeney has been in the hobby for a long time and a member of the New Jersey aquarium society. In 2001 she was the editor of TFH magazine, and gave me my first break as a writer, publishing two feature articles I wrote.
Congratulations to all who played a role in this. It is something for everyone to be proud of and a landmark book for featuring dozens of plants for the first time in print.
But what really makes this book relevant here is the fact several people from our community contributed to this book. To my knowledge, this is the first time this has ever happened.
George Farmer, our own revered aquascaper, is the principal photographer for the book with dozens of photos, but photos were also contributed by Matt Wittenrich, MP & C Piednoir, Jeff Ucciardo, Ben Tan of Aquaspot world, Neil Hepworth, Jan Bastmeijer, Diana Walstad, Florida Aquatic Nursery, Aaron Norman, K. Tanaka, Tim Pfeffer, Neal Monks, and one photograph by yours truly. I also provided some of the plants that were photographed as did Ben Tan.
There are close up photos of each plant, as well as full length aquascapes by George and others. The quality of the photographs is amazing. There is also 33 species pictured to AVOID because they are not aquatic! Thats a first. It should be required reading for every Petco and Petsmart store in the country!
The book is a bound, soft cover with pages almost as thick as cardboard and glossy, sort of pocket size. It is published by Microcosm, a partner of TFH publishing. Mary Sweeney has been in the hobby for a long time and a member of the New Jersey aquarium society. In 2001 she was the editor of TFH magazine, and gave me my first break as a writer, publishing two feature articles I wrote.
Congratulations to all who played a role in this. It is something for everyone to be proud of and a landmark book for featuring dozens of plants for the first time in print.
