FRESHWATER FISHES OF CAMEROON: DISTRIBUTION, HABITATS AND AQUARIUM NEEDS BY M.C.W. KEIJMAN.
Reviewed by: Nathan Hill
Format: Hardback
Pages: 464 (includes 403 different species, 821 photos and 32 maps)
Language: English
Available from: Pre-order at cefishessentials.com, or www.freshwaterfishesofcameroon.com
Price: £90 (UK) or €79.50 plus shipping from Europe.
Killifish and kribensis is about as much as I knew of Cameroon before this month. How that changed.
Born from two years of writing, Freshwater Fishes of Cameroon: Distribution, habitats and aquarium needs is an epic tome. Hungry to read it ahead of time, I acquired a PDF copy prior to release, and may have saved myself from a hernia. At 464 pages, the printed version weighs in at just over 2kg. When I say it’s an epic, I’m not exaggerating. I’ll use that word again, too.
Author Michel Keijman first visited and fell in love with Cameroon in 2006. Since that first foray he has returned a dozen more times, armed with his camera. For we aquarists, it’s fortunate that he did. Michel is that rare breed of traveller-cum-fish-enthusiast, and one who documents all that he finds. This book is the result of years of field photography, collecting fish, and bringing some home.
Half and half
Freshwater Fishes of Cameroon: Distribution, habitats and aquarium needs is roughly hewn into two dissimilar parts. Up to around the halfway mark (p.215, to be precise) a fast-paced read catalogues species from a dozen different families of fish, from Alestidae to Tetraodontidae, plus a section dedicated to profiles of aquatic plants. Each plant species comes complete with notes on distribution, ecology, growing size and the fundamentals of aquarium care, all with accompanying photos.
A 460+ page book of such breadth is a colossal undertaking beyond the scope of a single author, and so Freshwater Fishes of Cameroon is a collaborative effort involving co-authors, all experts in their respective fields. Many of their contributions make up the first half of the book, with names like Adrian Indermaur, Josh Pickett (of The Bichir Handbook acclaim), Joris Aerts, Peter Venstermans, Jouke van der Zee, and Zuzana Musilova all helping to create a comprehensive atlas of Cameroon’s fishes.
Multiple authors mean multiple styles, and the potential for inconsistency. but while there are different ‘voices’ across several sections, it actually helps keep the reading experience fresh and vibrant. And despite the a
