Tropical Fish and Aquarium Magazine Reviews

There is no better way to learn about the tropical fish hobby than by reading one or more aquarium

magazines on a regular basis. In the United States there are three excellent general hobby aquarium magazines available. Each has a loyal group of fans that argue their favorite is the best. I have been reading these magazines regularly for up to 40 years and what follows is my opinion of their strengths and weaknesses.

Magazines Make A Perfect Gift!

It's really hard for someone who doesn't keep fish to find a perfect gift for an aquarist. I can guarantee you that a subscription to a tropical fish magazine is a gift that they will value and remember for a long time.

Each of these magazines has a distinct personality but be aware that over the years each has changed its look, style and content mix. I am originally writing this in mid 2007 but if I update the reviews I will make a note with each title.

It is possible to purchase these magazines at some pet stores. If you cannot find them from your local shop check one of the large chain book stores as they often stock one or more titles. The best option is to purchase a subscription. This not only insures that you will get the best possible price, you will also enjoy the regular arrival in the mail of your favorite magazine.

If you decide to subscribe to one of these magazines please consider purchasing your subscription from us. We have partnered with some of the oldest, largest, and most dependable magazine subscription services on the Internet, to bring you the best possible pricing and service. Your purchase helps to support our parent site Dwarfcichlid.com.

Tropical Fish Hobbyist

Tropical Fish Hobbyist or TFH is the oldest and most revered of all the magazines. It has been published for more that 50 years and I can't begin to tell you how many hours of enjoyment I have had from reading this magazine. As a child I spent many delighted days dreaming of collecting and keeping the fishes described. TFH has always had good coverage of the collecting of fish and that tradition continues with frequent accounts of travels to far flung locals to seek the beauties that we all cherish. Despite the many years of exploration and fish discovery, there is still a constant stream of new fish species being discovered and TFH does a great job of quickly printing info about many of the new species.

Price Drop on TFH!

As of early 2009 the subscription price of Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine has been dropping and it is now available for about $40.00 per year. The magazine has retained all of its great qualities that make it the best at a new lower price!

This magazine is the standard of excellence as far as I am concerned. The writing is top notch and the photography is stunning. The quality of the words and images are greatly enhanced by the oversized heavy gloss paper used throughout the entire magazine. The magazine measures 9 inches wide instead of the standard 8 and the extra inch makes a big difference. The extra size combined with TFH's heavyweight glossy paper make each issue feel more like a book than a magazine.

TFH also has by far the most content in every issue than the others. The average issue has 160 pages and of this only about 60 pages are advertising. This is a very high content ratio and the content is great. There are monthly columns on freshwater and saltwater topics, all written by the leading experts in the hobby. The feature articles are true features. They always seem to be as long as needed to really tell the story. I frequently marvel at the number of pages of text and photos that are given to individual stories. Fortunately, most of the articles are great so I love them being long and lavishly illustrated.

I do need to say that this excellence comes at a price, a monetary price. While subscriptions to the other major magazines can be purchased at a very reasonable price, a subscription to TFH will be about $50.00 per year. However, for me there is no question when it comes time to renew, I gladly pay the price for a truly exceptional magazine. If you would like more information about subscribing to TFH please go here Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine

Aquarium Fish International

Aquarium Fish International (AFI) was until recently named Aquarium Fish Magazine. It is a great publication and is probably the best choice for many hobbyists. It is full of great information combined with high quality photos. AFI positions itself as a great magazine for introductory and general hobbyists and do an excellent job of fitting that bill. They give good overview coverage of all aspects of the hobby with a good balance between saltwater and freshwater content.

AFI has a number of the very best experts that write for them on a regular basis. They balance feature articles with monthly columns. Most of their stories are geared toward the fish that most people are likely to encounter in their favorite fish store. This makes me believe that AFI is the perfect magazine for most fish keepers. The experts and highly specialized hobbyists will probably find much of the information rather basic but is is generally of excellent quality and represents great advice for the non-expert.

The average issue of AFI contains 120 - 130 pages with about a 50/50 mix of advertising and content. It measures a standard 8" x 11" and is printed on a fairly light paper stock. Subscription copies are shipped loose and may be subject to the occasional abuse that the postal service can supply. However, my copies generally arrive in good condition.

I consider AFI to be the best value of the magazines. You can find a 1 year subscription for 15 or 16 dollars which is an incredible bargain for a great magazine that will supply hours of enjoyment every month. If you are interested you can find subscription information here Aquarium Fish International Magazine

Freshwater and Marine Aquarium

Freshwater and Marine Aquarium or FAMA has been around for about 30 years. For most of its existence it was guided by Don Dewey who was legendary for his love of his hobby and his passion for his magazine. Through the 1980's and 1990's FAMA was my favorite magazine because most of its content was aimed at serious/expert fish keepers and because of the great ads that ran in the magazine. Specifically, FAMA ran the ads of the mail order companies that offered great assortments of hard to find items at very reasonable prices. Now we have the Internet and most people have quick access to a host of sources for product information and pricing. However, 20 years ago it was hard to find this information and TFH refused to run ads from mail order sources.

UPDATE

FAMA got a real freshening when they became part of Bow Tie Magazines in 2005. They managed to maintain their unigue blend of novice to expert articles written by some of the best while providing a fresh look with more and better photos. At only about $15.00 for a 12 issue subscription, FAMA is a geart value for anyone interested in fishkeeping.

Today FAMA still has the most ads, in fact, in a typical issue 60 plus pages of ads will be found in a 125 - 130 page magazine. Don't despair about this though as a number of companies only advertise in FAMA and you can learn a lot about the hobby and specialized products from some of these ads.

The content of FAMA is still geared toward the advanced hobbyist. I suspect that every serious Betta keeper subscribes to this magazine just for the amazing monthly columns written by Dr. Gene Lucas. Dr. Lucas has a great way of writing about technical scientific topics in a way that makes sense to the average serious aquarist. There are other specialized monthly columns combined with quality feature stories. FAMA does not put much emphasis on photos and they have far fewer in the average article than do the other magazines.

FAMA is the same standard magazine size as AFI and uses the same quality of paper. Another feature that FAMA shares with AFI is its afford ability. You can get a subscription for about $15.00. Although I don't think that FAMA is the best "only" magazine for most people, I do think that it is a great supplement for someone wanting something more or different from what they are already reading. If you would like more information about subscribing to FAMA please click here Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine

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