I came across an item offered on E-bay that I hadn’t seen in more than twenty years since my copy fell apart due to over handling and poor storage, Tropical fish handbook-catalog put out by the Aquarium Stock Company. The one I bought on E-bay was the 20th edition of the catalog put out in 1953. The one I had was an earlier version but basically the same. This was my first “fish book” handed down to me from my Uncle about 1955 or 6. I spent many hours peering through my “wish book”. The Aquarium Stock Company was both a retail shop in New York and Los Angeles and a mail order business specializing in aquarium supplies both dry goods and livestock of fish and plants. You could even buy white worms and micro-worms. This publication also offered tips on setting up a tank, how to care for fish and plants and how to condition the water. It touched on pH values, temperature control , diseases of fish and what to do to cure them and what size gravel to use for you plants and what size tank to buy for the number fish you wished to keep. Of course, all of this was offered for sale in the catalog.
Some of the things that stood out was the different methods of filtration offered in the early years or rather what hadn’t been thought of yet. There weren’t any box filter like we are familiar with , but there were hang on the back or inside the aquarium air driven that would have a dip tube that went to the bottom of the tank and be the air would bring the debris up to the box that would be filled with filter floss and charcoal. The hang on the back type would have a syphon tube to bring water back to the tank. The inside type would have grates on the bottom of the box and the water would flow back to the tank that way. These filter sold for $2.50 to $3.00 each depending on whether you lived East of the Mississippi or West. Also offered for sale was an early design of the canister filter. Marco Company offered a water pump, with an expose flywheel that set outside the tank. This would pump water from the tank into a sealed glass cylinder filled with charcoal and filter floss. From there the water would flow from the out take side back into the tank through a rubber hose. The pump was $38.50 and the cylinder filter was $27.50. Air pumps for one out let started at $8.50 to 14.50 each. A multiple outlet pump that was belt driven started at around $30 and went up to $45 but could be bought in AC or DC for those houses that were wired DC. All pumps were lubricated with oil ( also offered for sale) and needed a oil and dust filter. You could also get a Tropic Aerator. This was a small compact unit that would release air intermittently every few seconds. No valves or tubing needed. This also operated on AC or Dc current using only 5 watts for $5.00 each. This looked like a hang on the back heater and I think it operated on the principle of electrolysis and could also be used as a heater.
It seemed that most heaters offered for sale were submergible and came in different wattage but all required a external thermostat that could also operate more than one heater. Some hang on the back heaters were available but in very limited wattage. All heaters required condenser for static elimination so you could listen to the Shadow or George Burns and Gracie Allen on the radio with out interference from static. If you wanted an all glass aquarium you would buy a glass drum bowl from 1 qt. to 2 gallon size. Price ranged from .65 to $1.65 You could also get an Aqua-loop aquarium. This looked like a squat round drum bowl with a glass loop that came out one side went over the opening in the bowl and entered the other side of the bowl. This is so small tropical fish could “swim the loop”. Price $3.98. You could also Grecian border poured glass tank that came in 1 to 3 gallon sizes. I think I still have a couple of 2 gallon tanks like these some where. These Grecian design tanks also came in a squat design to be used as a turtle tank. Speaking os turtle tanks how many remember the plastic round turtle tanks with the Island with the plastic palm tree? These sold for $.45 with out the tree and $.90 with the tree! All true aquarium tanks came with metal frames. The frames were either painted marble finish or Stainless steel. For those of you were more effluent you could also buy the tanks with copper or brass frames. For example a ten gallon in a marble finish was $4.25 with a $1.10 packing charge. A stainless steel ten gallon tank was 7.75 with the same packing charge. Brass or copper was $22.45 each. Lets not forget the aquarium cement for 45 cents a pound. A ten gallon tank took 2 pounds to seal. If you never used this product one had to place the can in very hot water in order to soften the cement so it to be kneaded. After kneading it could be rolled into long rope like shapes and placed between the frame and the glass. You would continue this on all frame edges and than press the glass into the cement. You would cut away any that oozed into the tank itself. Then the tank would be set aside for at least 48 hrs. be-fore filling with water. If a leak occurred you would have to put the cement on all edges of the glass and wait another 48 hrs before filling. If no leaks we found the tank had to cure empty for about a week before filling again and adding plants and fish. Some of the tanks had slate bottoms which were really fun to seal. You never wanted to fill the tank to the top so the water came into contact with the metal.
But, now we come to the real reason I spent so much time looking at the catalog over and over. For a 7 year old kid, I was spell bound by the fish that were offered for sale. In 1955 there were only about 3 or 4 stores in the city of Buffalo that sold fish that were not 5 and 10’s. Putnam on Main and Winsper Ave., Niagara Aquarium on Military road and Moore’s Fish store that sold fish out of the back of their garage on Stockbridge Ave. All of which were beyond my allowance and a couple beyond what I could ride my bike to. So that left me to dream and hope for in the catalog. Most of the fish are still available today and are in the “Bread and Butter” category. But, some fish that were available from the Aquar-ium Stock Company are hardly ever seen today, such as Quintana atrizona, a very small livebearer that was the rage around the auction circuit about 15 years ago, Limia ornata that only specialize livebearer people keep now, and a couple kinds of half beaks. You could buy any sword tail or platy for $2.00 a pair, mollies $1.50 per pair and guppies $.19 for commons to $5.00 for a pair of Aqua-strain guppies that were multi-colored with long flowing tails. Most tetras were $1.50 to $2.00 a pair except for neons which were $1.25 each, when available. Barbs were about the same money. Cichlids ranged from Egyptian mouthbrooders at $2.00 a pair to Angels at $1.50 for dime size (with fins) to breeding pairs for $25.00. Pompodour fish (discus) were $45.00 each for 2″ fish. Bettas ran about $2.00 each for females and $5 for males. All Corydoras are $1.25 each with 6 species being offered. Plecos were $1.75 each. You could also buy fresh water flounders at $1.25 and glass shrimp for $.49 each and clams , that were recommenced at a stocking rate of 1 per five gallons of water for a quarter a piece. All these fish were illustrated in brilliant, albeit, unnatural colors. But to dream. The company also sold collections of fish for 5 gallon tanks or 10 to 20 gallon setups up to 30 gallon tanks at a reduce price. Here is where greed to over from good aquarium practices. They would sell you 6 pairs of fish that included zebras, black tet-ras, 2 prs. platies, pr. Of head and tail light tetras and a two angels for a 5 gallon tank for $5.20 discounted from $5.62. Disaster waiting to hap-pen!
Plants of all kinds were offered for sale, about the same kinds that you can find today. Vallisneria were $.50 a dozen ,up top Amazon sword plants were $2.00 each and Cryp’s are the same price. In all, 30 different species were offered for sale, probably more that is offered in store today.
Ahhh, those were the good old days, but if you think about it, the median salary in 1953 was $4600 per year in the US. The median salary last year was $26,000. That’s a 619% increase from 1953. If you translate that percentage to the above prices then 10 gallon glass tanks would be $26.31 each, common guppies would be $1.37, platies and sword tails are$12.38 a pr., common cory’s would be in the $7.00 range and common 2″ Discus would be $278.55 each. And yes, that copper framed ten gallon tank would be $138.97! But, perhaps with the price of copper now that might be a bargain. I guess Carly Simon was right….. These are the good old days.