Fish Identification book

[Backtotheislands]

On Amazon I found 3 books by the same authors. One is Reef Fish Identification and is part of a series with Reef Creatures and maybe Reef plants. The second one is just Reef Fish Travel condensed for travel and the third is Snorkeling Guide to Marine Life and has reef fish, creatures, etc. all in a travel size book. My question is will the Snorkeling Guide be all I need to identify fish? My previous trips I just used the card I bought at Trunk or Maho, I think. I know the basics like Parrotfish, Stoplight parrot, blue tang, barracuda, tarpon, etc. I like to know what I see. When I get back at night I'd like to look up what's on my camera. I'm interested in all of it, but especially fish!

[Jumbiegirl]

The Paul Humann books are the best, bar none. I always bring the full version Reef Fish and Reef Creature books with me every year.

[Backtotheislands]

Yes, he is the author of all 3 books. I was considering the travel one or the snorkel guide so I wouldn't have as much weight to pack. Is the travel version close? In Kauai a few years ago I had fun identifying "my" fish!

[Pickle]

Reef Fish Identification, a part of the 3 volumes (I own them and love them all), is a great book - very extensive and identifies about 600 species of fish, but that means the book is heavy and bulky especially for traveling. I used to take it with me to St. John but no longer. Its Travel Edition (I don't own one) seems to identify about half the species of the full edition.

Snorkeling Guide to Marine Life identifies even fewer species of fish but includes some/a few marine invertebrates and reptiles and such. This book is thin and very light and I would say it is for beginners. I find many sea creatures that are not in this book while snorkeling around St. John. I own one but don't use it any more.

If traveling light is your concern, the Travel Edition might be good enough.

If you have Internet access on St. John, here is a nice website for identifying Caribbean reef creatures: http://reefguide.org/carib/index_all.html
It is not as extensive as Paul Humann's 3 volumes but is pretty good.

[Backtotheislands]

Thank you, Pickle! I may have to get the set eventually!

[Exit Zero]

I generally rely on:

Caribbean Reef Fishes - John E. Randall

ISBN 0-87666-498-2

For my boat book I use the waterproof copy of:

Guide to Corals and Fishes - Idaz and Jerry Greenberg

ISBN 0-913008-07-9

I do refer to this one about the corals and other sea life though quite often:

A Field Guide to Coral Reefs - Eugene H. Kaplan

ISBN 0-395-31661-8

The Greenberg waterproof book is usually available at VI stores and is excellent for everyday use. I have replaced the staples with stainless steel though.
Same info on a different forum

[Backtotheislands]

Well, I just ordered Humann's Snorkeling the Caribbean because it was smaller and had various creatures as well as fish. Hope I'm not disappointed! Really do think I need his complete set, though! Also, thanks for the link to the website! I may have to take my laptop!