Xref: utzoo rec.pets:2196 alt.aquaria:222
Path: utzoo!hoptoad!amdcad!pyramid!lll-winken!gryphon!richard
From: richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton)
Newsgroups: rec.pets,alt.aquaria
Subject: Re: Questions about aquaria
Keywords: Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod
Message-ID: <2558@gryphon.CTS.COM>
Date: 15 Feb 88 19:58:55 GMT
References: <1079@iscuva.ISCS.COM> <719@bucket.UUCP> <1143@inuxd.UUCP> <767@bucket.UUCP>
Reply-To: richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton)
Organization: Trailing Edge Technology, Redondo Beach, CA
Lines: 62

In article <767@bucket.UUCP> patti@bucket.UUCP (Patti Beadles) writes:
>
>I have "Encyclopedia of Tropical Fishes" by Axelrod and Vorderwinkler
>sitting next to me.  I do *not* recommend it.  In fact, I don't recommend
>anything with the name Axelrod on the cover.


Ah, Dr. Herb.  The Marlin Perkins of the fish world.

He's not a complete idiot, but it's *real* close.  Most stuff with
his name on it, esp. the older stuff is pure pap.  The pictures were 
bad (I esp. like the on of his where he is photographing cardinal tetras
(Cheirodon Axelrodi) by placing them in a tall narrow tank and using
a piece of glass parallel to the front glass to press the fish against
the front so they don't move.  'Cept he pressed a bit too mush, and it
shows), the names were often wrong, for a guy that taught a course
on fishkeeping at a University, he doesnt seem to know much.

But, in his defense, He's been around a long time, knows a lot of
people, HAS seemed to have learned something in the last 15 years,
does great travelogue articles, and has finally learned to take
good photos of fish. In fact his book on the subject is quite good.

But, I'll have to admit, there have been times when I've read his stuff
and just stood there in shock and muttered "asshole".  Like the article
in 67 (68 ?) TFH where he went to South Africa and talked to
(white) South Africans in the hobby.  He went on to say "apartheid
may not be right, but it does work here". Yeah, right, Herb.

That is probably the worst transgression I can remember of his since
about '53 (no I'm not that old, I used to have a collection of TFH's
from then till now, till my )*&#%&* parents sold them in a garage
sale).

So, take what he says with a grain of salt, but some of the stuff he 
says is worhwhile reading.

Some of the other fish Herb has had named after him.

Cheirodon Axelrodi  - Cardinal Tetra
Hyphessobyrcon Herbertaxelrodi - Black Neon Tetra.
Symphysodon aquafasciata Axelrodi - green discus
Chuco Axelrodi - Black cichlid

There are quite a few others, but there are the biggies.  Now, some of these
like the Discus, he really did go on an expidition up the Amazon to find them.

Others, like the black neon (I think it was th eblack neon) he had hundreds
of Cardinals shipped to him and noticed a few odd looking fish.  Pickled
them in formaldehyde and had them identified.  They were new to science,
subsequently were described and in his honor, his name was assigned to them.

This explains why his cohorts, some of whom have never left New Jersey
have had fish named after them - Hyphessobrycon Proneki (Neal Pronek) or
Hyphessobrycon Vordelwinkleri - both very boring non-descript fish
that came in with a bunch of cardinals, looked "different" and turned
out to be a new species.


-- 
                "He tried to do his best, but he could not"           
                          richard@gryphon.CTS.COM 
   {ihnp4!scgvaxd!cadovax, rutgers!marque, codas!ddsw1} gryphon!richard