For those of us who are really serious about the hobby, there is no book that is more important in our libraries than “Aquarium Plants” by Christel Kasselmann, or the German edition, “Aquarienpflanzen”.
Here is the official press release:
New edition of aquarium plants
The 4th German edition is, in comparison to the 2nd English edition of "Aquarienpflanzen" (published 2001), a completely new book with extensive revision and extension. It has 640 pages and 845 colour photos (the 2nd English edition had 504 pages and 532 pictures). The book "Aquarienpflanzen" by Christel Kasselmann (Germany) is the most comprehensive book about aquarium plants worldwide. The main part consists of plant portraits of more than 500 aquarium plants from A to Z plus information on another 250 species, varieties, growth forms and living conditions in their natural habitats. 78 habitats from the tropics are described in detail with full-water analyses and soil investigations.
Christel is not only THE world authority on aquarium plants, but is also a dear friend and my travel companion on many adventures around the world.
Karen and Christel visit with some local children in Kerela, India.
I can’t imagine being without this book, even if it is in German. I still keep my English edition, and the older editions in German were useful too. But these days, it is really quite easy to scan a page and put it through a program like “Google Translate”, even if you can’t read German. (for your own person use only, of course!) Believe me, if you are serious about aquatic plants, there is no other book like this.