Fish keeping - 40 years ago

Man this is one of the most interesting reads!! Keep the pics coming ! ....

Awesome thread

 

This is an awesome thread,Didn't know it was that difficult keeping fish back then.I started in the 1990s and it wasnt nearly as difficult.
It does seem that we are a bit spoilt these days, with our automatic feeders, Heaters,Light controls ,Filters etc.
But who knows what fish keeping would be like in the future..

 

Uhm... I was hoping that there are some of the older guys on the forum who could contribute.... (Making me feel ancient)....

 

Even though I didn't exist back then, I have a whole bunch of donated stuff that's roughly 20 years old - including some ANCIENT Tetra foods!

 

Wel don't let me start...
I still use Under gravel filters, this time with blowers and power heads.
My 1.2 tetra planted tank, has got a UGF with sponge on top, Canister filter on the one intake, and powerhead on the other intake. Some of you have seen it.
Remember names like Whisper, Penplax, Aquamaster, Watley, Siporex, etc...
I'm still using a Whisper hang on filter. Last year, I threw the box away, with a price tag still on it of R6-80! This filter's motor went, I took out the impeller, and connected a power head to the intake tube, with a nice large pre-filter on the power head. It still works like a charm!
My first adjustable heater was very smart, and came with a bracket, that one had to screw to the metal frame with a g-clamp fixture, and the top was supposed to never get wet!
One of my early birthday gifts, was a tropical fish book, with my family's handwriting and names in it!
Another book I have, is called "Pet Library's Advanced Aquarist Guide, and printed in 1969, with a price tag of R4-40!
Yes, Dr. Herbert Axelrod, and others like JLB Smith etc were names thrown around like Willbur Smith and Steven King.
My first planted tank, was done with pure farm boy instinct. I used sheep manure and river sand, I planted vallis, Madagascar lace plants etc in it, not knowing that I'm doing an El Natural Diana Walsteadt move, without knowing it!
My mom was a music teacher, at home, and used to write down the orders from the pet-shops, and put the piece of paper next to my lunch plate.
After lunch, I caught the ordered fish, took out a few plants, and delivered it to the 2 shops(for shop credit), on my way to sport practice.
Hell, I only miss those early days, where I had to shower, with a leaking 1Ft. steel-frame tank, between my feet...

Now, lets hear from Prof Dirk...
Gert.

 

Since you're talking brand names here Gert... The sole (and major) supplier of all your aquarium needs in the 70's was "Lopis"... I don't know if they still exist, and later on, they were joined by "Marpets"...... Tetramin flake food was at least then... still affordable to the average fishkeeper and had a large variety of foods.

 

I'm busy "rearranging" the garage and came across one of those noisy, but top of the range airpumps we used in the 70's.....

 

Cheetah, you SERIOUSLY need to clean out your garage if you got stuff in there from the 70's!

My grandfather passed away about 4 months ago, and the family is DREADING being asked to clean his workship. He was a carpenter & missionary. Take the missionary mentality (or hoarding EVERYTHING), and throw in a 7 car garage worth of carpentry tools....

 

Hey, Zoom... I'll have you know... This pump still works perfectly... (if you can live with the noise)...... it is one of those piston type pumps (which we lived with)

 

I also had a air-pump like that, and remember it well. Yes it was very noisy!
The only solution was to suspend it from a rope.
Nice to see old familiar equipment.
Thanx
Gert.

 

Calling back the past again.... I searched for this thread to add on one additional... and major change I have noticed since early days... when... after a long absence from the LFS, I visited again today to buy fry food for my Black Moore spawn..... The fish available at the pet shops have shifted predominantly in species from the smaller petite types like Neons, Glowlights, White Clouds, silver tips, Head & Tail lights, Penguins, harlequins and the likes.... to overwhelmingly the Malawian Cichlids.... which were not available at all pre 1985 or thereabouts... Now they dominate the markets.....

 

Just read your complete thread, brings back many memories, I remember using sunlight bar soap like putty on the outside of the frame tanks to keep the water in. The thermostat, heater combination, where you could see the thermostat's mechanics open and close, and they were inserted in test tubes, the heater lay horizontally on the floor at the back of the tank, with the thermostat hanging over the edge of the tank, no suction cups...
you had to connect all the electrics yourself, and a mild jolt was experienced from time to time when connections became wet...

 

So in effect your tank water was in direct contact with sunlight soap all the time.

 

wow, very interesting, I had no idea it was so difficult to keep fish back then
very cool thread

 

@Vis not really, the putty used to crack and start leaking, mostly at the bottom of the frame, the sunlight soap was rubbed into those cracks and significantly reduced, but never quite stop the leak, so the pressure of the water with the constant seeping would have not allowed much of the sunlight in the tank.
i had healthy tanks, bred zebra danio's, tiger barbs, angels, and a range of swordtails, mollies etc.
The biggest advance for me were the introduction of all-glass silicone sealed tanks. Initially I could only keep it in the garage, as my dad did not trust glass "held together with glue" in the house....

 

@Jwh haha I guess silicone tanks in that time was like voodoo old people could not understand

 

@cheeta, I remember cultivating "micro worms" tiny white worms grown in cooked oats for fry, I haven't bred egg layers in years, not sure this practice is around? Living in CT at the time, in winter, there was plenty of daphnia around in wetlands, especially where the N1 mall is built today, also you got live tubifex ever Saturday at LFS.

 

At the time... the OK Bazaars in Welkom still had a full fledged pets department and... they sold fish as well.... I was their sole supplier and they gave me that contract on condition that on Saturdays... I will be available at the store and just stand there... for in case any of their customers had any questions.....

I bred and provided 35 different species of fish.... Sundays... I spent at the dam near Allanridge, walking waist deep up and down with large nets to catch daphnia and.... at the Klippan Nursery situated next to the sewerage works... I collected live tubifex worms (in the muddy pulp flowing from the sewerage) as and when I wanted it...

I had 150 tanks at the time.... I still have a little more than a peanut butter bottle full of Brine shrimp eggs... which I bought in bulk... (5kg) way back in 1974... and.. they still hatch as well as they did then... it cost around R170 for the 5kg.... (considering that I bought my first car (Morris Minor Station Wagon) for R240.... R60 deposit and R10 per month.... the R170 was a lot of money...)

 

@Jwh micro worm cultures are definiteley still around, I have three ice cream tub cultures myself

 

@Cheetah, - "muddy pulp flowing from the sewerage" - you, sir, deserve a Bells for that description alone!
150 tanks, given the technology of the time, amazing, hats off to you!
@RayVR - Good to know, it's a great feed, although from memory, it could have a distinctive smell, remember mom not being to fond of it in my room.