Becky Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 I know that some of you have been fishkeepers for a great many years. What has changed since you started? Or, does anyone have any old books or magazines that have anything interesting? Please share.... Becky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toirtis Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Just about everything....except the fish (and even a few of those). When I started, steel-framed tanks (many still with slate-bottoms) and stainless-steel canopies were the standard (and very few were larger than 45G)...powerfilters did not exist (we had UGFs and corner, box filters), and the few HOB type filters were all airstone-driven. Heaters were non-submersible and required a lot of fiddling to set to the correct temperature. All lighting was incandescent, you made most of your own medications, filter media was loose, fish food still came in metal tins, plastic decorations were still a pretty new thing (standard decorations of the period were ceramic...usually mermaid, diver, or Asian pagoda/building), metal foil backgrounds were all the rage....and fish shops were generally small, dark and cave-like (of course, some still are), but none of these large, brightly-lit shops full of stock. Vintage aquariums/fishkeeping/etc is a big hobby of mine (it fascinates me, as I come from a paternal-line of unbroken aquarium-keeping that started 74 years ago with my grandfather. ). I am currently reviewing a book that we just recently got into the CAS library...it is all on fishkeeping from 1840-1940 ( http://www.finleyaquaticbooks.com/ToyFish.html )...I would love to see a follow-up volume that would cover 1940-2000, as the changes in those 60 years have been staggering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatpuffer Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 in the philippines, we used big glass jars...fed them mushed rice and if we were lucky they would live one month...but they are just fish that we find in puddles...so i do not even know what kind they are...really hardy lasting in a glass jar with no aeration, no circulation, no conditioners, and no WATER CHANGE!!! js Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arixonbarnes Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 (edited) If you can round up some old books by Innes and some of the older well known tropical fish gurus, especially books written in the 30s' through the 50s' you will find out how little equipment we had. Also Bill Scott and Dave Rayburn, of A.C.E., both have an extensive book collection on tropical fish and are always buying and selling. Edited July 1, 2005 by arixonbarnes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toirtis Posted July 3, 2005 Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 Bill Scott and Dave Rayburn, of A.C.E., Yes, my arch-nemeses when it comes to vintage books and stuff at auctions. I recently picked up a mint, 70 year-old aquarists magazine to add to my collection....reminds me of just how little was available to my grandfather when he started out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birger Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 The biggest change I find has been the addition of the internet,I am not that old(fishkeeping 34 yrs) but before you really had to dig for imformation,now a new aquarist can get specific imformation or fresh ideas with the touch of a button,it's not always totally correct but if you sort through it you can usually get going in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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