Encyclopedia profiles aquarium plants

If you want a really appealing fish tank, you’ll need a green thumb. “The Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants” by Peter Hiscock (Barron’s, $24.95) offers profiles of more than 150 aquarium plants, along with tips on how to choose, feed, light and propagate them. Among the cool choices: Madagascan lace plant, which looks kind of like algae meets the fishnet stocking.

Merchandise suited for small breeds

A solid sterling silver pendant, $75, is one of the few one-size-fits-all items at www.tinybreeds.com. The rest of the merchandise is geared, as its name suggests, to teeny-weeny four-footers. Among the highlights: a tremendous assortment of carrier bags in everything from zebra ultra suede to red patent leather, and frilly doggie diapers for housetraining.