If names like Innes, Sterba, Weitzman and La Corte mean something to you...

[Back in the fold]

I have mixed feelings about Herbert . He was an abrasive individual and something of a plagiarist if reports are true and he stole Dr. Innes’ book from him when the copyright expired . Dr. Innes had to take him to court over stealing photographs too . It isn’t polite to speak ill of the dead but Herbert went to prison for tax evasion and died penniless , or so it is said . In his favor he did publish many fine books on every kind of tropical fish there is . Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod - an interesting individual .

 

[GaryE]

Axelrod. Yeah. He did a lot to educate in the hobby, but his ethics...

There are few people who built up mini empires as guru types and then revealed themselves to be untrustworthy sources. That wasn't an internet or youtube invention. Those guys have always been around in every walk of life.

I worked for TFH as a writer and contributing editor in the post Herbie period, and he had had quite an effect.

 

[Innesfan]

Yes, HRA was something of a thief, among other flaws. Rosario La Corte, who wouldn't say an unkind word about anyone, said in an interview when pressed about HRA, "I'll just say this: he hurt a lot of people."

I suspect you all know the infamous cardinal tetra saga. Had it not been for HRA pulling a fast one, we'd have P. cardinalis (Myers & Weitzman) instead of P. axelrodi (Schultz).

 

[CassCats]

Learn something new! Thanks! Wasn't aware of this sort of thing. It's not really spoken of among the younger crowds.

 

[OldFishKeeper]

...then you know the sort of guy I am. Been in the hobby since I was a kid in the 1950s and have kept and bred just about every group of freshwater tropicals there is (plus goldfish) except Rift Cichlids and Loricarids.
And while many came and went, the genera I've never been without have been Nannostomus and Pethia (alias Puntius). I've learned a lot, and I'm happy to say I am still learning. Retired now so I have more time for the fish and to chat. So, here I am.

I was 7 years old in 1955 when I received my first tank, a 2.5 gallon with a few guppies and a copy of Innes's book. Like you, I have been "hooked" ever since and enjoying my retirement with fish, plants and new technology...fish on...