hawaii fish/critter ID book suggestions?

Taking a trip to Hawaii later this year and am interested in a book to ID what I might see and what I end up seeing. I use the Humann/DeLoach books for the carib and pacific.

Any suggestions for such a book?

I was leaning towards the "Reef and Shore Fishes of the Hawaiian Islands" by Randall but at $125, the price is a bit much.

If I dove there often, that price would not be an issue but the last trip there was 20 yrs ago and it might be a while before returning as well.

dave

Hi Dave,

We bought Hawai'i's Fishes and found it to be quite useful.

http://www.hawaiisfishes.com/books/hawaiis...es/fishbook.htm

It has common, latin, and Hawaiian names, indicates endemic species and decent descriptions of most of what we were looking for.

Hope this helps.

Dano.

There are at least some Hawaiian fishes included in the Humann/DeLoach Tropical Pacific book, although I don't know if it includes endemic species. Might it be worth using that to save the $125?

-Gina

I've been diving in hawaii very frequently for 18 years, since my parents moved over there.

The hoover book dano mentioned is the standard. And the version 2 is great.

http://www.amazon.com/Hawaiis-Fishes-Guide...9604&sr=1-3

If you want, you can also get an earlier version of randall from 99.

They are used at amazon for $1...

http://www.amazon.com/Shore-Fishes-Hawaii-...9720&sr=1-4

Forget the $125 book, and dive for that price...

Hoover's fish book is good, but the "Ultimate Guide" is slightly better, with more coverage and a few more stories, if you like that stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Hawai...ntt_at_ep_dpt_3

Hoover's invertebrates guide is also excellent. "Hawaii's Sea Creatures: A Guide to Hawaii's Marine Invertebrates"

http://www.amazon.com/Hawaiis-Sea-Creature...ntt_at_ep_dpt_4

I have tried all the guides, although not the $125 book yet. Randall's other guide, the cheaper "Shore Fishes of Hawaii," is fine, but Hoover is much, much better, in photographs and descriptions.

Thanks for all the feedback.

I ordered Hoover's "Ultimate Guide" book.

Now all I need is to get there! which is much too far away...with 11-14 inches of snow coming tomorrow and -15F (-26C) wind chill coming with it.