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!

April 2026 Video of the month

This month we had the privilege of visiting Weeki Wachee Springs and meeting REAL LIVE MERMAIDS! While we were there, we saw the mermaids perform, had a chat with a mermaid, and sat down with Jonathan Athanason to learn more about the 75+ years of magic this place has created.

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.

april ARTICLES

New Beginnings, Reconstruction, and Reactivation – Vivarium Keeping after the Second World War, 1945 to the Early 1960s

New Beginnings, Reconstruction, and Reactivation – Vivarium Keeping after the Second World War, 1945 to the Early 1960s

During the war, Gotha’s three open-air aquariums, along with their club buildings, had been destroyed by bombing. In Hajo’s article this month, he shares how several club activists volunteered thousands ...
Memories from the Mesozoic

Memories from the Mesozoic

An article written by Dr. Martin Brittan before his passing was published by the Sacramento Aquarium Society. Dr. Martin Brittan was a well-respected ichthyologist and did great work with Danios ...
Vivarium Literature: Historical Aquarium and Terrarium Books

Vivarium Literature: Historical Aquarium and Terrarium Books

An article by our good friend Frank Fritzlen on one of the rarest aquarium books published in English (2 versions!) - The Aquavivarium Fresh & Marine by E. Lankester, M.D ...
Chapter 19: Adventures in Bangkok - Wilde Tiere Frei Haus (Wild Animals/Free Delivery)

Chapter 19: Adventures in Bangkok – Wilde Tiere Frei Haus (Wild Animals/Free Delivery)

Chapter 19 of Wild Animals, Free Delivery (Adventures in Bangkok) describes the continued chaos that arose after the war in the animal export business. In desperation, Ruhe made a deal ...
Hurrying Toward Big - Early History of O'Dell

Hurrying Toward Big – Early History of O’Dell

An early history of O'Dell Industries, an early manufacturer of All-Glass aquariums after the invention of silicone rubber. From the October 1975 edition of Aquarium Industry ...
Pedigreed Cavies

Pedigreed Cavies

An article from the April 1937 edition of All-Pets Magazine detailing how to properly document records when breeding pedigree-quality cavies ...
This is How My Pet Feels About It - Canary, Parakeet, and Other Captive Bird Escapees

This is How My Pet Feels About It – Canary, Parakeet, and Other Captive Bird Escapees

One of the many articles on what happens when you open your bird cage and set it free! From the December 1936 edition of All-Pets Magazine ...
1968 Neiman Marcus His and Her Aquaria Ad

1968 Neiman Marcus His and Her Aquaria Ad

Interesting full page ad in the Neiman Marcus "NOEL" catalog from 1968. Notice how you can also order this aquarium with cultured pearls for only $25,000+!! ...
1964 Hendryx Ad

1964 Hendryx Ad

A nice Hendryx birdcage ad from the Fall 1964 edition of Pet Life Magazine. I love the Asian-style roof birdcage on the top right side! Hendryx filed for bankruptcy just ...
1967 Birdcage Ad

1967 Birdcage Ad

A two-page ad spread from the July 1967 edition of Pet Industry. One page shows Italian birdcages, and the second page shows Genykage cages from England. Both types imported by ...
New Fashion for Milady's Dog in 1964

New Fashion for Milady’s Dog in 1964

Fall Dog Fashion (in 1964) from several dog fashion manufacturers. I love the hats! From the Fall 1964 edition of Pet Life Magazine ...
Brighton Aquarium Free Pass

Brighton Aquarium Free Pass

A beautiful and rare "Free Pass" for the Brighton Aquarium in 1879! This aquarium is still in existence and is one hour by train from London to Brighton, England. Most ...
Leonard Hussler with PEMCO Aquariums and Kits in 1967

Leonard Hussler with PEMCO Aquariums and Kits in 1967

An image from an article in the July 1967 edition of Pet Industry showing Leonard Slusser of Western Garden Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Leonard has his hands on ...
Singing Canary Guarantee Certificate 1962

Singing Canary Guarantee Certificate 1962

A singing canary guarantee certificate from the W.T. Grant Department Store in 1962 ...
Pet Shop News: Gates A. Halfin Writes a Letter 1937

Pet Shop News: Gates A. Halfin Writes a Letter 1937

Great letter from Gates Halfin on the joy of owning a pet shop and the joy customers receive from having a pet! From the April 1937 edition of All-Pets Magazine ...
Collectors of Aquarium Literature - Number 45 October 1992

Collectors of Aquarium Literature – Number 45 October 1992

In this Issue: 1. A History of Michigan Aquarium Societies and Publications Part 2 by Jare A. Sausaman 2. "40 Years Ago"  Part 2 (Info on The BULLETIN created by ...

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