Tropical fish authors TFH publications

Tropical Fish Book Collection

Tropical Fish Hobbyist 
T.F.H. publications is Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine, founded by Herbert R. Axelrod in the early 1950s.
How it started when Herbert Axelrod, very inteligent in his college in New York wrote his first Tropical Fish book and was published by McGraw Hill publishing.

The TFH mail order in back of the booklets was very successful. TFH publishing had its own printing press in New Jersey. 

These books booklets made its way to pet shops and book stores across the world. Ive had booklets shipped to me from Canada to Europe, South Africa to Australia. All displayed here.
TFH Books booklets on fish and also on pets dogs, cats, birds, amphibians, reptiles, animals and more. All fish booklet cover pictures on display here.

Herbert R Axelrod

In a time before the internet, shopping online, and google search. If you wanted to know anything about the tropical fish hobby, you went to the petshop petland or aquastock aquarium supplies store to get information books booklets on types of fish, tanks, aquarium setup, equipment, selection breeding, pet books and supplies.

Petland New York City

Aqua Stock NYC aquarium stock co.

Since the early 70s as a child my father took me to petland and aquastock in NYC city hall area.  Aqua Stock was a block long walk through fish store. You entered one side and can walk through and exit out the other side to the next street. All the many fish tanks, Stainless Steel Metaframe and slate bottom tanks were beautiful,

Aqua Stock NYC block long super store

Mid 20th century Metaframe brand fish tank
Stainless Metal Frame and slate bottom 6 feet long
Herbert Axelrod owned The 6 feet stainless tank that has 3 stainless covers and iron stand with center iron brace.

My 55 gallon 4 feet long Metaframe stainless slate bottom tank growing up
My father had every type one time, Cichlids, Livebearers(pike livebearer), Oscars, Arowana(black, silver, asian), Piranha(red belly I bought at Johns bike shop on houston st.) snakehead, moray, baracuda, stingray, large community fish, small community fish.
Joey Pagan nyc

This original 55 gallon Metaframe brand Stainless Steel and slate bottom complete with 2 stainless covers and original iron stand.
4 ft long and can fit a 30 under it.

Airmaster Supreme Piston Air Pump 

 Ive been going to the chain petshop buying fishbooks and supplies as part of life. To see all of them closed as it never existed because the founder of Petland shops passed away. I felt I almost took for granted the fish books are always available and the near fish and supplies. But I dont have regrets. I have all the fishbooks (love that word)
- Joey Pagan nyc

Dragon Betta

Sold at Petland 

Enjoy Betta fish with family

Oscar fish with babies (fry)

Authors of TFH publications, titles
Herbert Axelrod worked with many other authors aquarist and ichologists in the 1950s and 60s. Explorers pioneers discovering and collecting lake and river tropical fish across the worlds jungles from the Amazon to the Great Lakes of Africa.

How it started when Herbert Axelrod, very inteligent in his college in New York wrote his first Tropical Fish book and was published by McGraw Hill publishing.

Axelrod wrote his first book called -
Tropical Fish as a hobby in 1952.

In 1953 Axelrod started -
Tropical fish Hobbyist Magazine.

Tropical Fish Hobbyist 1953

Herbert Axelrod co-authored - Handbook of Tropical Aquarium Fishes. 1955
Sterling publishing
In 1956 - Tropical Fish in Your Home.
In 1958 - Goldfish in Your Home.
Arco publishing also published - Axelrods Tropical Fish Book. In 1954.
Booklet - Tropical Fish as pets 25c 1953

First booklet 1953

Tropical fish guide c 1952

Authors ichologists explorers 1950s-70s
T.F.H. publications authors Books,
Herbert R. Axelrod (tropical fish as a hobby 1952)
Leonard P. Shultz (handbook of tropical aquarium fishes 1955
Myron Gordon (siamese fighting fish 1956)
C. W. Emmens (catfishes 1957)
W. L. Whitern (guppies 1957)
William Vorderwinkler (encyclopedia tropical fishes 1958)
William T. innes (exotic aquarium fishes)
Martin Brittan (Danios, Rasboras)
Mervin F. Roberts (animal booklets)
Neal Pronek (oscars, aquariums)
Robert Gannon (live foods, starting right)
Robert J Goldstein (cichlids 1970)
Warren E. Burgess (saltwater fishes)
Hans Frey (dictionary of tropical fish 1961)
Harold Shultz (piranhas booklet)
Rolf Geisler (aquarium fish diseases)
Robert P. L. Stroughan (keeping seahorses)
Diane Schofield (beginning with tropicals 1966)
Glen Axelrod (nephew) (rift lake cichlids)

First Hardcopy TFH books

Tropical Fish as a hobby 1952

Herbert R. Axelrod 

Handbook of Troplcal Aquarium Fishes 1955

In plastic protect cover
Courtecy of
Robert Gavora fine and rare books

with dust cover 1957

Encyclopedia of Tropical Fishes

Exotic Tropical Fishes 1962 

Tropical Fish in Your Home 1956

Goldfish in Your Home 1958

Guppies Hardcopy 1957

Axelrods Tropical Fish Book 1954

Tropical Fish 
1950s 

How to Keep and Breed Tropical Fish

Saltwater Aquarium Fish 1956

Color Guide to Tropical Fish

1967 Axelrod and Shaw

many pictures from booklets

First Edition, 

later it is Book 1 of a 6 book series

Goldfish and Koi in Your Home 1970

all about building ponds

Color Stamp sticker booklet

Booklet you paste 

included stamps inside

Herbert Axelrod 1955

Tropical Aquarium Fishes

Nelson Doubleday

National Audubon Society 

Nature Program

TFH Fish Book collection

Early Booklets TFH publications

Siamese Fighting Fish booklet 1950s

Early Booklets Collection TFH publications
All booklets books on display here
These are 1950s and 1960s was 35 cents, some color booklets 50 cents 
Later in color booklets till 1983
Different types livebearers egglayers

75 booklets listed 
40 early booklets and 35 in color. 
Over 100 fish booklets. Some with same title different picture covers

Important to notice 
Early booklets - CAPITAL LETTER TITLE
Later booklets - lower case letter title
Same titles in different cover pics
15 early 1960s color plates cover

15 booklets color plates cover

Daphnia live food

Booklets Books TFH see close up 1957

Later TFH books booklets 1960s list, price
Later no more booklets offered
Only hardback books

TFH Booklets 1958 list

TFH authors early booklets

Tropical Fish Book Collection booklets

1953 edition booklet 25c

Tropical Fish Guide 1954

Thanks Shirley Bryant aaabooks

Authors And Artists books

Cichlids

African Tetras

African Catfish

Argentine Pearl Fish

Cynolebias bellottii steindachner 1881

Enrique Bosche

Later 1960s - 1970s in color booklets

Goldfish Novice

Platies and Moons

Hybrid Guppies

Soft Cover

siamese fighting fish 1960s

catfish 2nd edition

soft covers $1.00

Types of Fish
Funny how I put killer fish
Warning - fish that grow 1 foot up
You must own a large tank 
Agressive fish must be with same

Tetra (characin) - Redtail Baracuda

Tetra - Red Belly Piranha

Barb - African Goliath Tigerfish

Lake Sturgeon
Like a prehistoric shark
Some fish grow its whole life
So if you see a 10ft fish its 100

Carp - common carp

Carp family - Common Goldfish
Keeps growing its whole life

Domestic Comet Goldfish

Alligator Snapping Turtle
Extra Pointed Shell, long tail
Largest Live over 100 years

Suwanne River USA
suwanne species
can you say Gamera

Baby Alligator
Its feature is a U shape jaw

sold at petstores 20th century
flushed to the sewer of NYC

Gourami - anabantoid Giant Gourami

Cichlid Americas - Tiger Oscar

Albino Veiltail Tiger Oscar

Cichlid African - Cockatoo Cichlid

Panchax Killifish - Gularis Kilifish

Rasbora - Galaxy Rasbora

Catfish - Redtail Catfish

Bullhead Catfish American lakes

Gulper Catfish keep alone

Cory Catfish - Pigmy

Fighting Fish Betta
Best fish to keep in a bowl

easy bowl(jar) needs no air pump,
needs no filter, air breathing fish,
not need air in the water.
This bowl for show, no gravel needed

Albino Betta (celophane)
True albino red eye pupil

Female shorter fins

Albino red eye pupil

Human face celophane

No color like skin clear fins

eyes not all black can see pupil

My Marble Betta
 gene DNA changes its color

Marble Betta changed color

months later

Clear Betta
Human face, eyes not all black
Can see eye pupil

Copper Dragon Betta
Metalic Scales

The Wild Betta Splendens

Red tail, red body, red gill,

Details of Wild Betta Splendens

Bred Copper Dragon Betta
Notice wild features

Wild Betta imbellis

Red ring tail, red tip
Metalic scales

Banana Plant - My favorite plant

The Betta like to sleep on Leaf

African Dwarf Frog (aquatic)

Freshwater Crayfish Lobster

Freshwater Crab

Freshwater Moray eel

Freshwater Stingray

Livebearer - Pike Livebearer
Like a giant guppy monster

Discus

Angel Fish

 Pearl Scale Angel Fish

Black Angel Fish

Albino Angel Fish

Arowana Asian
Dragon fish

Dragon Fish

Black indonesian

Silver South American

African Arowana

Albino Arowana

TFH animal booklets late 1950s

Dog and Cat early booklets

Early Bird Booklets

The Other Pet Booklets

I got into collecting buying the diseases booklets, to learn how to keep my Betta fish healthy and not die.

Thats the reason I started buying fishbooks. The old booklets on diseases of fish. Then I just bought all of the old tfh booklets shipped to me from all over the planet.

Aqua Stock co. NYC 1954

William innes
Exotic Aquarium Fishes

Newer Big Books 

Many newer bigger books and bigger ATLAS in the late 1980s 90s to catagorize as much species of the world discovered and enhanced by selective breeding.
Glen Axelrod (nephew) took over the TFH company. Glen also published a large
Aquarium Fishes of the World book, and a newer large Encyclopedia book.

Newer Huge books

Some pictures same in the booklets

Some TFH cover pics are in booklets

The booklets have some best pictures

Mini Atlas (size of older books)

Fascination of Breeding (huge book)

Aquarium Fishes of the World

Atlas Garden Ponds (huge book)

This newer 90s book has some of the older book photos that are some of the best all in this later book Jumbo Fishes.


Tropical Fish Booklet collection
Late 1950s to early 1960s
Tropical fish as pets 1953 -25c 1955 -35c
Tropical fish Guide (1954, 1960) -50c
Aquarist Repair Manual (booklet 1959)
Beginning the Aquarium
Aquarium Water Chemistry -50c
Decorate the Aquarium (how to)
Breeding egg layers
Breeding Live Bearers
Diseases of Tropical Fish
Aquarium Plants
Siamese fighting fish 1956
Angel Fish
Catfishes
Danios
Gouramis
Barbs
Cichlids
Dwarf Cichlids
Tetras book1
Tetras book2
Rasboras
Mollies as pets
Platies as pets
Swordtails
Goldfish as pets 1954
Guppies as pets 1957
Fancy Guppies
Guppies -$1.00
Panchax group (kilifishes)
Pencil Fish
Discus 1957
Seahorses
Saltwater Fishes as pets 1956
Argentine Pearl fish
African Barbs -50c (color plates)
African Cichlids -50c (color plates)
African Tetras -50c (color plates)
African Catfish -50c (color plates
Saltwater Fishes -50c (color plates)
Tiny Tetras -50c (color plates)

15 booklets color plates cover

Tropical Fish Book Collection
Later color plate booklets 1960s to 1970s 50 cents, latest 1983
Live foods (for aquarium fishes)
Beautiful Bettas (color plates)
Beautiful Goldfish (color plates)
Piranhas (color plates)
Goldfish Novice
Goldfish as pets (60s color)
Guppies Hybrid
Beginning the Aquarium (color)
Beginning with Tropicals
Catfish (2nd edition booklet)
Moons Platies
Keeping Seahorses -75c
Community Tank (fishes for your)
Community Tank (color)
Tropical Fish Primer (color plates)
Tropical fish primer (70s color)
Tropical fish guide (60s color)
Aquarium Water Chemistry (color)
Diseases of Tropical Fishes (color)
Colorful egglayers (color plates)
Colorful livebearers (color plates)
Colorful Swordtails  (color plates)
Colorful Tetras (color plates)
Breeding Tropical Fish -75c
Breeding egglayers (60s color)
Breeding Livebearers - in color
Breeding fishes - in color
Aquariums - in color
In Color - Aquarium Plants
In Color - Saltwater fishes
In Color - Goldfish
In Color - Bettas
In Color - Gouramis
In Color - Angel fish
In Color - Mollies
In Color - Guppies
In Color - Discus

Dollar Booklets
Tropical Fish in Your Home (soft copy)
Garden Pools $1.00
Guppies $1.00
Aquarium Fish Diseases $1.00
Diseases Aquarium Fish $1.00
Start, Tropical Fish (starting right)
Start, Goldfish (starting right with)
Goldfish $1.00
Tropical Fishes $1.00
Tropical Fish $1.50


In Dr Axelrods older years sold the TFH company within the industry and his nephew Glen Axelrod is running it as President. Again in a time before internet, online shopping, and google search, was needed - books and little booklets a wonderful library of knowledge.
- Joey Pagan nyc