Welcome to the Museum of Aquarium and Pet History

Welcome to The Museum of Aquarium & Pet History: the world’s most comprehensive collection of artifacts relating to aquarium and pet keeping. This museum includes a huge depository of over 3,000 items that were historically used to keep pets. These items would be antique aquariums, fish bowls and stands, bird cages, squirrel cages, dog, cat, bird, and fish foods and medications, pet advertising signs including neon and automation, pet product shipping wood crates, metal fish shipping cans, etc., etc. The museum also has a library with over 1,000 aquarium and pet books, 5,000 aquarium and pet magazines, and hundreds of original letters from pet companies, pet publishers, aquarium & pet hobbyists, pet stores, etc.

It took four decades to build this collection and it is currently being housed in six buildings. Building number 1 (display building) houses over 200 antique aquariums and fish bowls plus over 200 bird cages along with dog & cat food items, plus antique pet advertising signs and more. Currently we are online only and have monthly articles published on pet history by the best pet historians worldwide. We also have a YouTube channel with a new major release monthly plus new 5-minute weekly videos. We hope to have a building open to the public with rotating exhibits of our collection by 2027. To stay up to date, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and newsletter.

One of the features of our museum website is to showcase the history of pet companies and aquarium hobbyists. We welcome outside contributions on company history from anyone who may have worked at a company no longer in business, or one still in business that has been in business for 25 years or more. We also would like any historical information on tropical fish farms or aquariums, birds, dogs, cats, etc., and hobbyists that have contributed significantly to pet & aquarium keeping.

How you can help the Museum of Aquarium and Pet History:

  1. Donate. Become a monthly donor or give as you can.
  2. Donate old pet products you may have such as old aquariums, pet magazines, pet catalogs, old invoices, etc.
  3. Write an article on your company, or do a Zoom interview!
  4. Write an article on a historical pet subject that you are an expert on.
  5. Send us samples of products from your company along with your company’s history to keep on file at the museum.

Thank you for stopping by and stay tuned for lots more aquarium & pet history in the months ahead!

may 2026 Video of the month

Jay and Mike Frewer own one of the largest turtle and tortoise farms in the United States. They are working to preserve many crucial species, and while their work there could fill an interview all on its own, this father-son duo has a richly packed life underneath the surface of their turtle farm. Tune in to our interview this month to learn about lions, monkeys, bears, and more!

When will the physical museum open?

Lots of people ask us if we have a physical museum they can come and visit. The short answer is “not yet”. We hope to have the physical of the Museum of Aquarium & Pet History (MOAPH) open by the end of 2027. In the meantime, the attached video is our trial run small MOAPH museum we spent 2 years putting together during the COVID times. If you have not seen this video, please have a look and know that the new museum will be 3 times as large, with a coffee shop and gift store.

We greatly appreciate all our donors, whether it is monetary or vintage pet products you have lying around that you would like to see go to the MOAPH museum. Thank You!

MOAPH 5 Minute Video series

The Museum of Aquarium and Pet History just released a new 5-Minute Video! Tune in every Wednesday for a short video featuring a unique artifact from the museum, OR an “unboxing video” for a new treasure just arriving at the museum.

may ARTICLES

Britain's Pioneering Bird Farm

Britain’s Pioneering Bird Farm

Keston Foreign Bird Farm was one of the most influential institutions in the history of bird keeping. They mastered captive breeding at a time when wild-caught imports had low survival ...
Barnum and the American Museum - VARIA

Barnum and the American Museum – VARIA

When introducing his article for this month, Lee Finley shared that “quite often I find the performing of research akin to going to my local grocery store to pick up ...
Gotha Aquarists from the 80th to the 100th Anniversary of the Aquarium Society

Gotha Aquarists from the 80th to the 100th Anniversary of the Aquarium Society

This month, Hajo continues to share about aquarium keeping in post-World War II Germany, and highlights how would-be rivals (Kurt Koch and Charly Fuchs) worked together to reignite the world’s ...
Chapter 20: Tanganyika Game LTD - Wilde Tiere Frei Haus (Wild Animals/Free Delivery)

Chapter 20: Tanganyika Game LTD – Wilde Tiere Frei Haus (Wild Animals/Free Delivery)

In this chapter of Wild Animals, Free Delivery, Hermann shares how the tragedy of his brother's death and his marriage ending prompted several memorable trips, including one to East Africa ...
Oldest Aquarium Manufacturer in the U.S.?

Oldest Aquarium Manufacturer in the U.S.?

Despite the claims in this ad that E.W. Taxis is the oldest aquarium manufacturer in the United States, we have found no additional records about this company, indicating they may ...
Correction by Mr. Brind to His Biography

Correction by Mr. Brind to His Biography

A short correction release in the December 1934 edition of Aquarium News giving credit to famous aquarist Walter Brind for helping Innes write the "Tropical Fish" section of his first ...
The Liberty Molly

The Liberty Molly

Could this be the real origins of the elusive Liberty Molly? From the August 1938 edition of All-Pets Magazine ...
Dogs in Ancient Times

Dogs in Ancient Times

History of the mastiff - ancestral forebear to many breeds. From the October 1938 edition of All-Pets Magazine ...
Hill's Dog Food 1938 Ad

Hill’s Dog Food 1938 Ad

Great ad with a Scottish terrier for Hill's Dog Food. From the December 1938 edition of All-Pets Magazine ...
1938 Aquarium Ads: Paramount Aquarium and Jewel Aquarium Company

1938 Aquarium Ads: Paramount Aquarium and Jewel Aquarium Company

Two great advertisements from the December 1938 edition of All-Pets Magazine. The top ad from Paramount Aquarium shows a list of some of the rarer species of tropical fish they ...
Doris Day as Mermaid for 1965 Film: The Glass Bottom Boat

Doris Day as Mermaid for 1965 Film: The Glass Bottom Boat

In celebration of MOAPH's April video release of the Weeki Wachee mermaids, we thought we'd show you an image of actress Doris Day playing a mermaid in the 1965 film, ...
19th Century Photo of Young Girl with Rare G. Gunther Birdcage

19th Century Photo of Young Girl with Rare G. Gunther Birdcage

A small CDV (Carte de Vista) 19th-century image of a young girl standing next to a bird cage with her pet canary inside. This card looks to be from the ...
1800s Imported Mixed Bird Seed Can

1800s Imported Mixed Bird Seed Can

A rare paper container from the 1800s for “Imported Mixed Bird Seed” from the Austin, Nicholas & Co. of New York. The reverse side has instructions on “How to care ...
1912 New York Zoological Society Letter: Raymond Ditmars

1912 New York Zoological Society Letter: Raymond Ditmars

A rare letter from Raymond Ditmars of the New York Zoo in 1912. He says they are fully stocked with rattlesnakes and cannot use any more! ...
Ladies Kennel Club 1910 Ribbons

Ladies Kennel Club 1910 Ribbons

On the left is a blue 'First Prize' ribbon from the Ladies Kennel Association of California (LKAC) dated October 27-28, 1910. On the right is a green 'Reserve Winners' ribbon ...
Collectors of Aquarium Literature - Number 46 December 1992

Collectors of Aquarium Literature – Number 46 December 1992

In this Issue: 1. History of the Calgary Aquarium Periodicals by Dale Speirs 2. Talk with William Beebe by Harvey Breit Flocks of African fishes by John C. Avise Protectin ...

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