Creach had departed by the time The Phosphorescent Rat was recorded, and Piazza, who had left to join Stoneground was replaced by Bob Steeler in 1974. The music became progressively louder, so that by the time of their sixth album they sounded like a rumbling heavy rock traditional ragtime blues band. Kaukonen's limited vocal range added to this odd concoction, but throughout all this time the band maintained a hardcore following. In 1978 the duo split, resulting in Casady embarking on an ill-advised excursion into what was perceived as punk with SVT. Kaukonen continued with a solo career combining both electric and acoustic performances. At best Hot Tuna were excitingly different, at worst they were ponderous and loud. Selected stand-out tracks from their erratic repertoire were "Mann's Fate" from Hot Tuna, "Keep On Truckin'" and "Sea Child" from Burgers, "Song From The Stainless Cymbal" from Hoppkorv, and "Hit Single #1" from America's Choice. Casady and Kaukonen reunited in the mid-80s, and returned to recording in 1991 with a workmanlike album that found little favor with the record-buying public. Since 1984, Relix Records have released several archival and contemporary live albums.

In the wake of the group's demise, Kaukonen released a solo LP, Jorma, and later joined the new wave unit Vital Parts; Casady also fronted a new wave group of his own, SVT. In 1984, both returned to their roots: Casady joined fellow Airplane alums Balin and Paul Kantner in the KBC Band, while Kaukonen reverted to the acoustic folk and blues of his formative years. Finally, Casady and Kaukonen played a handful of club dates under the Hot Tuna aegis, reforming on a more concrete basis in 1986; by 1990, their ranks included singer/multi-instrumentalist Michael Falzarano, a veteran of many early reunion shows. That year Hot Tuna released Pair a Dice Found, its first collection of new studio material in over a decade; a series of live releases followed, including 1992's Live at Sweetwater, 1997's Splashdown Two and 1999's And Furthermore.