Fish keeping - 40 years ago.
The fundamental difference between the Aquarist of today and the fish keeper of 40 years ago is just that! Fish Keepers are now being called aquarists on grounds of the increased scientific approach allowed for by advanced technology. But is it really?
Tanks:
Insofar as the equipment available at the time, probably the greatest breakthrough in the aquarium hobby history was the development of the “all glass” aquarium as opposed to the standard angle ironed framed tank.
There was no question about it, that every time you do a water change, your tank will leak water for (at least) the next hour or more.
Standard inclusions in your tank maintenance equipment had to be a bucket to put under the leaking tank and a packet of fresh standard window putty, or for the more stubborn cases, there was a pitch black tar-like substance called Leykold, which you melted and poured along the seams of your tank to provide an effective (temporary) seal. (Risking a cracked glass if you heated the Leykold a bit too much)
It is hard to believe that with this one inherent inconvenience, there were so many people keeping fish. Tanks lasted for about 3 years on average before the frames rusted to the extent that no further sealing would be of benefit.
Heaters:
Initially, we regulated tank temperatures by carefully selecting the right wattage incandescent bulbs for our tank hoods and leaving the lights on the right amount of time each day to recover the temperatures that we wanted. (Light hoods were made of metal and had incandescent light bulbs that burned out frequently (or popped when a drop of water touched it) and the metal hoods rusted away faster than the tanks failed).
At the introduction of heaters, the heaters and thermostats were purchased as separate units and more often than not leaked water through the plastic/rubber cork, which caused the water to steam inside of the heater glass, thus creating a pressure vessel and ultimately shoot off the cork.
These are the heaters... note the lack of thermostats.
These tested your electrical skills to the utmost, where up to 6 heaters were connected up (in series or parallel – your choice) to a single (separate) thermostat. It was essential to ensure that the water levels and tank sizes all conformed to the “mother” tank size and level where the thermostat was housed to ensure that you do not boil the water in one tank and chill the fish in another tank.
Of course, the electrical insulation we had available in those days resembled a piece of canvas cloth (frankly, I think it was) dipped into a tar solution (much like leykold) and had to be turned around the electrical joint about 32 to 37 times (looking like a golf ball) to ensure the current remain inside of it. It is during these years that I became immune to electrical shock getting my daily dosage of it.
The development of the combined heater/thermostat was welcomed with a little scepticism, but was justified after trial modifications.
Filters:
Filtering options were restricted to exclusively sponge filters, box filters or under gravel filters, and what more did we need? Sponge filters for tiny fry; Box filters for medium fry and breeding tanks and then under gravel filters for the “grow-out tanks”.
It is also here where I got huge respect for the under gravel filter and despite advancement, or what anyone might say, I will maintain that they are effective and ranks up there with the best of them.
The first mechanical (electrical) outside filters only appeared (here in SA) in the late 70’s and in the early 80’s, we had submersible filters.
Air pumps (courtesy of Oldman)
Air pumps were not quiet little things that worked by a vibrating membrane, they were mostly noisy piston pumps that delivered a reliable air supply but could not be kept in the same room that people routinely occupied because of the noise they made. The few quieter piston type air pumps were out of the price range of a typical hobbyist. When vibrating air pumps, such as we use today, were first manufactured, a truly reliable one was one that only needed a new diaphragm every 6 months or so and would last 3 or 4 years before it could no longer be repaired.
Water Basics:
It is only relatively recent that “cycling” became the buzzword of the day. Not because it was never recognized in the past, but because portable water testing kits were not available to determine your water qualities.
It used to be referred to as having a “balanced aquarium” and was defined as that delay period of time between your tanks showing the “murky” water of “new tank syndrome” to when the water becomes crystal clear.
The recommended way of achieving such balanced (cycled) tank was to engineer a 3 way balance in your tank between the numbers of fish you keep, to the number of plants, to the amount of direct natural lighting the tank receives, which also rings true and applies even today. (Of course, until you achieve that balance, you may expect to lose a couple of fish – it was just accepted that way.)
Fish:
As much as the aquarist has developed to be better at fish keeping, the fish have also evolved to be better at being kept. (Not even mentioning the evolution in colour and shape of so many fish)
I recall my first spawning of the Port Acara (as it was then known) and the excitement surrounding the event because it was then listed in all the available literature of the day (amongst other modern easy to breed fish) as “not yet bred in captivity”. I immediately wrote to the TFH magazine giving them a full account of the procedure. (With visions of a fish species being named after me) The article was however, never even published.
Present day however, it is a common achievement to breed Blue Acaras. Have the fish suddenly become easier to breed by adapting to aquarium conditions or was the “fish keepers” of the time just ignorant? The equivalent today would probably be to wake up one morning and find a tank full of Striped Raphaeli fry.
Available literature:
There was only one very prominent author in those days and despite what he might’ve said or what his views were, all aquarists were aligned with and adopted his views and we all spoke the same language. (We were not subjected to (or confused by) the multitude of opinions currently available on the internet).
In my opinion, no-one has done as much for the development of keeping exotic tropical fishes, as Dr. Herbert Axlerod. Hence, when you confront an old aquarist, just make sure that your views are also aligned with Dr. Axlerods’ or you may start an argument.
The fundamental difference between the Aquarist of today and the fish keeper of 40 years ago is just that! Fish Keepers are now being called aquarists on grounds of the increased scientific approach allowed for by advanced technology. But is it really?
Tanks:
Insofar as the equipment available at the time, probably the greatest breakthrough in the aquarium hobby history was the development of the “all glass” aquarium as opposed to the standard angle ironed framed tank.
There was no question about it, that every time you do a water change, your tank will leak water for (at least) the next hour or more.
Standard inclusions in your tank maintenance equipment had to be a bucket to put under the leaking tank and a packet of fresh standard window putty, or for the more stubborn cases, there was a pitch black tar-like substance called Leykold, which you melted and poured along the seams of your tank to provide an effective (temporary) seal. (Risking a cracked glass if you heated the Leykold a bit too much)
It is hard to believe that with this one inherent inconvenience, there were so many people keeping fish. Tanks lasted for about 3 years on average before the frames rusted to the extent that no further sealing would be of benefit.
Heaters:
Initially, we regulated tank temperatures by carefully selecting the right wattage incandescent bulbs for our tank hoods and leaving the lights on the right amount of time each day to recover the temperatures that we wanted. (Light hoods were made of metal and had incandescent light bulbs that burned out frequently (or popped when a drop of water touched it) and the metal hoods rusted away faster than the tanks failed).
At the introduction of heaters, the heaters and thermostats were purchased as separate units and more often than not leaked water through the plastic/rubber cork, which caused the water to steam inside of the heater glass, thus creating a pressure vessel and ultimately shoot off the cork.
These are the heaters... note the lack of thermostats.
These tested your electrical skills to the utmost, where up to 6 heaters were connected up (in series or parallel – your choice) to a single (separate) thermostat. It was essential to ensure that the water levels and tank sizes all conformed to the “mother” tank size and level where the thermostat was housed to ensure that you do not boil the water in one tank and chill the fish in another tank.
Of course, the electrical insulation we had available in those days resembled a piece of canvas cloth (frankly, I think it was) dipped into a tar solution (much like leykold) and had to be turned around the electrical joint about 32 to 37 times (looking like a golf ball) to ensure the current remain inside of it. It is during these years that I became immune to electrical shock getting my daily dosage of it.
The development of the combined heater/thermostat was welcomed with a little scepticism, but was justified after trial modifications.
Filters:
Filtering options were restricted to exclusively sponge filters, box filters or under gravel filters, and what more did we need? Sponge filters for tiny fry; Box filters for medium fry and breeding tanks and then under gravel filters for the “grow-out tanks”.
It is also here where I got huge respect for the under gravel filter and despite advancement, or what anyone might say, I will maintain that they are effective and ranks up there with the best of them.
The first mechanical (electrical) outside filters only appeared (here in SA) in the late 70’s and in the early 80’s, we had submersible filters.
Air pumps (courtesy of Oldman)
Air pumps were not quiet little things that worked by a vibrating membrane, they were mostly noisy piston pumps that delivered a reliable air supply but could not be kept in the same room that people routinely occupied because of the noise they made. The few quieter piston type air pumps were out of the price range of a typical hobbyist. When vibrating air pumps, such as we use today, were first manufactured, a truly reliable one was one that only needed a new diaphragm every 6 months or so and would last 3 or 4 years before it could no longer be repaired.
Water Basics:
It is only relatively recent that “cycling” became the buzzword of the day. Not because it was never recognized in the past, but because portable water testing kits were not available to determine your water qualities.
It used to be referred to as having a “balanced aquarium” and was defined as that delay period of time between your tanks showing the “murky” water of “new tank syndrome” to when the water becomes crystal clear.
The recommended way of achieving such balanced (cycled) tank was to engineer a 3 way balance in your tank between the numbers of fish you keep, to the number of plants, to the amount of direct natural lighting the tank receives, which also rings true and applies even today. (Of course, until you achieve that balance, you may expect to lose a couple of fish – it was just accepted that way.)
Fish:
As much as the aquarist has developed to be better at fish keeping, the fish have also evolved to be better at being kept. (Not even mentioning the evolution in colour and shape of so many fish)
I recall my first spawning of the Port Acara (as it was then known) and the excitement surrounding the event because it was then listed in all the available literature of the day (amongst other modern easy to breed fish) as “not yet bred in captivity”. I immediately wrote to the TFH magazine giving them a full account of the procedure. (With visions of a fish species being named after me) The article was however, never even published.
Present day however, it is a common achievement to breed Blue Acaras. Have the fish suddenly become easier to breed by adapting to aquarium conditions or was the “fish keepers” of the time just ignorant? The equivalent today would probably be to wake up one morning and find a tank full of Striped Raphaeli fry.
Available literature:
There was only one very prominent author in those days and despite what he might’ve said or what his views were, all aquarists were aligned with and adopted his views and we all spoke the same language. (We were not subjected to (or confused by) the multitude of opinions currently available on the internet).
In my opinion, no-one has done as much for the development of keeping exotic tropical fishes, as Dr. Herbert Axlerod. Hence, when you confront an old aquarist, just make sure that your views are also aligned with Dr. Axlerods’ or you may start an argument.
half the people on here are going to have heart attacks after reading this 
/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Axelrod when he failed to renew them. Axelrod, it turns out, had something of a shady history in other matters as well. The good news is that he got his comeuppance regarding the book when he inflated the value of the company owning it, sold the company, and was later sued by the buyers, Central Garden & Pet Company. 
