Aquarium fish clubs have formed around the world connecting fish keeping hobbyists for the betterment of the hobby. These clubs bring people together with the common interest of keeping fish and help spread the knowledge of experience. The first aquarium society ever founded is from 1882 in Germany (Nutrafin). The oldest continuously functioning aquarium club is the Boston Aquarium Society founded in 1916. This club is devoted to the increase of the knowledge and interest in the aquarium hobby (Boston Aquarium Society). These clubs rely on their members to benefit the hobby by sharing all they have learned through each member’s time spent caring for and breeding fish. The goal of almost all aquarium clubs is for the older members to share their experiences in the aquarium hobby to those new to the hobby as well as those also very experienced. The clubs are much more of a social gathering than any kind of scholarly meeting. People get to meet up together and share all they have learned as well as trade and sell their fish and plants to each other. This allows people to share their accomplishments in breeding their fish and propagating their aquatic plants. The trading and selling of fish and aquatic plants is often done within auctions where either all or a fraction of the proceeds go to the aquarium club. These proceeds typically go towards supplies required for the club meeting or they fund the travel of guest speakers. These speakers are most often people who specialize in a specific aspect of the aquarium hobby and have donated their time to spread the vast knowledge they have collected in their specialty. This is how aquarium hobbyists are able to learn from each other and integrate what they learned into their own aquariums; to later spread the same information or their own rendition of the information or techniques to more aquarists.
The Desert Aquarist Society in particular has more objectives to minimize the negative impacts of the hobby on coral reefs, endangered species, and the rainforest (Desert Aquarist Society). This mission is employed by spreading the information about the hobby and the many ways aquarists can benefit the environment. Some ways this can be done is supporting local fish breeders so the demand of wild caught fish and coral decrease, as well as supporting local fish stores to keep the hobby thriving in the local area.
Citations:
“Aquarium History.” Nutrafin Aquatic News, 2004, p. 13.
“BostonAquariumSociety.” Friends of the BAS, http://www.bostonaquariumsociety.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=55.
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