Adventure with Amazon Angels - Book Review

I thought a lot about this review. I considered whether it was appropriate for me to share my opinion on the book. There are two main reasons: First, I have no experience in breeding these captivating cichlids; and it has been a few years since the publication was released.

Before I started writing the review, I asked aquarists, long-time angelfish breeders, what could be outdated in such a book. I am aware that a lot has changed since 2010, when the book was published, for example in the field of technology. According to these breeders, and they all unanimously agreed on this, the main reason why it would be good to update the book is mainly the new varieties of angelfish.

History

However, a substantial part of the information remains unchanged. In fact, I was surprised by the depth to which the author went in describing the environment from which angelfish originate. The author went back to ancient times, when the landscape was formed and actually when entire continents were formed.
The following chapters map the Amazon from the time of its discovery. Thus, we find ourselves at the end of the 15th century and on the following pages we are working our way through the entire, quite honestly conceived, history of the Amazon as such. I really like how the individual basins are documented and accompanied by maps and photo documentation. To this day, I draw information about the Amazon from the book.

Angels

Then Pterophyllum is in the leading role. The Greek words Pteron: meaning feather, wing or fin and phyllon: leaf, suggest that this fish is actually a "floating leaf" or is it an angel?
The chapters that I appreciate the most are those that describe the history of angelfish breeding in the Czech Republic and discuss in detail the conditions under which successful breeding occurred. The book alternates the names of legendary aquarists from the Czech Republic, but also from abroad.
Jan Burzanovský reflects on the reasons why individual mutations of angelfish occur. He also clarifies the reason for the shape and color, for example:

...if the fish are caught in an environment from which they do not have time to escape between branches or if they are affected by panic for any reason, they swim to the surface as quickly as possible, lie on their side and sideways, jump by reflections from the surface in the form of a thrown flat "pebble" *

There is also a detailed anatomy of the fish and information about the way they search for food:

Orientation when searching for their food does not only take place at the level of the visual plane, because in such locations, due to the depth of the water column, the high content of water coloring by humic substances or dissolved mud, there is minimal visibility. Fish in such an environment evaluate food primarily by its smell (they have an excellent sense of smell)...

This is followed by detailed information about what triggers spawning in fish and how important humic extracts are, and by this the author reminds us, among other things, that aquarists should keep in mind where angelfish come from:

Although it is stated that many fish of the P. scalare species also live in areas of white and clean water, this does not mean that these waters are devoid of humic and tannin substances, moreover it has been proven that even fish in these locations prefer places with water with a higher concentration of natural substances (calm bays, oxbow lakes, etc.)***

The exhaustive information about angelfish breeding is followed by a list of breeding forms known until then with their photographs and information about breeders for whom angelfish breeding has become a hobby or even a profession.

In conclusion

The book "Adventure with Amazon Angels" is a very successful publication that takes the reader into the depths of the Amazon and at the same time into the secrets of angelfish breeding. Jan Burzanovský describes with enthusiasm and precision not only the history and fascinating environment of the Amazon, but also the biology and breeding aspects of these "Amazonian angels". The book is thus a valuable source of information for experienced breeders as well as for those who are just considering breeding angelfish.

It is great that Jan Burzanovský approached this work with such determination and his enthusiasm for this area is evident throughout the book. Possibly the book would benefit from additional editorial work and also the aforementioned update.

The author's engaging writing style and detailed description of the environment where angelfish live makes this book not only a manual for breeders, but also a fascinating read for all lovers of nature and aquaristics. If you are fascinated by the world of the Amazon and want to learn more about angelfish breeding, definitely don't miss "Adventure with Amazon Angels"!

BURZANOVSKÝ, Jan. Adventure with Amazon Angels. Vlastním nákladem, 2010. ISBN 978-80-247-2998-4.
Citations:
*(Burzanovský, 2010, p.143)
**(Burzanovský, 2010, p.159)
***(Burzanovský, 2010, p.190)