Had a great time at my local aquarium club!

[Meowtroid]

Thought I'd share a fun story about my local aquarium club!

I'm a relatively new member of my club, I have now been to four meetings and want to go even more often, but it is always a matter of my work schedule conflicting. I was lucky enough to attend yesterday though, where I got to see Dean who flew in all the way from Seattle to do a workshop! It was great seeing Dean but I think my favorite part was getting dinner afterwards - and discovering that Michael, who runs Project Amazonas with MT Amazon Expeditions to Peru, is a long time member of my club and a local to me!  And our club President has gone on trips to Peru catching fish with Michael as well - her cupidos are wild caught from the Amazon.

There were so many amazing stories about their trips down there. I think my favorite was about how they visited a village where a young teen girl had been born with underdeveloped limbs and their medical team had been able to bring her prosthetics - something they didn't even think was an option for her. That and the story about how Michael ended up with the Peruvian flag painted on one toenail. I would really like to go myself sometime in the near future when I can afford to go.

It was a treat talking to other new club members as well and realizing that three of the four of us at the table discovered our club thanks to Aquarium Co-Op's Local Aquarium Clubs map! To anyone who wants to try finding a club near them I highly recommend it - my club has been a blast every time I've gone and I learn so much. The in person experience of meeting locals who share in your hobby just can't be replicated online.

Here's a link to the map:

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/apps/store-locator

And to anyone I met who may be lurking in these forums and is in my club, hello, I'm Kato! It was nice to meet you and I can't wait to see you again!

[Cory]

Great story, thanks for sharing. It's funny how small of a world it can become. Now when you watch the peru videos you can see Michael in the background 😛

[Meowtroid]

On 9/4/2022 at 1:44 PM, Cory said:

Great story, thanks for sharing. It's funny how small of a world it can become. Now when you watch the peru videos you can see Michael in the background 😛

I thought I had recognized him but I couldn't for the life of me tell where - until he mentioned going to Peru and then I realized!

Thanks for what you've done for the hobby, Cory, I feel like it's had a real tangible impact in my area - the old folks are seeing a lot of new people for the first time in a long while and it's been a really good feeling to connect with people in my lifetime home community over our shared interests

[nabokovfan87]

That is very awesome! I appreciate the cool story.  Welcome to the forums 🙂

[BAT]

@Meowtroidis this the potomac valley club?

[Meowtroid]

On 9/4/2022 at 4:04 PM, BAT said:

@Meowtroidis this the potomac valley club?

It is!

[Bev C]

that is a wonderful story and i am happy to see a map for the clubs just wished that my state had some clubs but thry  do not ,, i even ask my fish store of any ,, 

[Hobbit]

Eeeee @Meowtroid here you are! It’s me, Marita, the girl with the ricefish! It was so great to meet you on Saturday. 😃

For those who weren’t at the club: @Meowtroid won a very special auction item: a fry tray signed by @Dean’s Fishroom himself. Very special. 🤩

 

[Patrick_G]

Great post @Meowtroid! I highly recommend joining an aquarium club. Like you I’m a newbie at my local club here in Seattle. Its a big group and I’m a little shy but it’s really fun listening to the talks and meeting other forum members. 

[Meowtroid]

On 9/5/2022 at 12:12 PM, Hobbit said:

Eeeee @Meowtroid here you are! It’s me, Marita, the girl with the ricefish! It was so great to meet you on Saturday. 😃

For those who weren’t at the club: @Meowtroid won a very special auction item: a fry tray signed by @Dean’s Fishroom himself. Very special. 🤩

 

Hey Marita, it was so great to meet you!! I've had such a blast literally every time I've gone to the club and every time I feel like I meet new great folks there. I'll shoot you an email sometime about getting some rice fish from you sometime soon!

That fry tray is awesome by the way, I can't wait to actually set it up sometime and make Dean proud by raising up my first batch of fry in it.

[BAT]

@Hobbitand @Meowtroid I have been thinking about going to the Potomac Valley club after one of my LFS mentioned it. Is it OK to go if you dont have any fish to auction?  

[Hobbit]

@BAT absolutely! I didn’t have any fish to auction and that was no problem at all.

[OutBout]

Great story! Amazing how interconnected this world is, especially when it comes to hobbies. I might have to explore and see what clubs my area has.