first time going to my local aquarium club meeting, what do I bring?

[jen_93]

So my LFS has a flyer up for the local aquarium society meeting this Saturday, 7pm at the community center. I've only been in the hobby like 8 months and I've never been to one of these things. Do people actually bring fish? Or is it just a talk and hang out situation?

I've got a planted 20 gallon with some tetras and a betta. Low tech, nothing fancy. Kinda worried I'll show up and be the only one without a giant reef tank lol.

Also the flyer mentions a "frag swap" but I'm freshwater, so does that even apply to me? Should I bring cash just in case there's a raffle? I always see people on here talking about club raffles and I don't wanna be that person with no money when they pull a canister filter.

[sarah_2891]

I've been to a few of these and honestly it's way more casual than you're picturing. Nobody's judging your 20 gallon. Half the people there are growing plants in buckets, and the reef guys are usually the most excited to talk to anyone who asks them anything lol.

Frag swap is technically salt stuff but most clubs I've been to run a general auction or swap table right alongside it. People bring plant trimmings, culls, dry goods, random stuff they dug out of the garage. I'd bring cash, yeah. Not just for the raffle. There's usually a table with $5 bags of plants and someone selling a beat up filter for cheap. First meeting I went to I walked out with a bag of java moss and a bucket of ramshorn snails I did NOT ask for, haha. Learned a hard lesson about saying "sure I'll take some" too eagerly.

Bring a small cooler or even just a tupperware if you think you might grab anything live. And don't be shy about asking what's in the bags before you buy, some of those "free plants" come with a whole ecosystem.

[zer0cool99]

Slight pushback on the "nobody's judging" thing. Depends entirely on the club. Mine was cliquey as hell the first two meetings. Half the guys had known each other for 15 years and I stood around holding a cup of coffee like a guy waiting for his car to get an oil change. Third meeting someone finally talked to me, and only because I was carrying a bucket of trimmings out to the car. So yeah, your 20 gallon isn't the issue, but don't be shocked if the first visit is a little awkward. Go twice before you decide anything.

Sarah's spot on about the free stuff though, and honestly the real menace isn't snails. It's duckweed. Took a bag of "crypts" off a swap table once, spent the next two years picking duckweed out of everything. Two years. Snails you can squish, duckweed is a lifestyle. So if someone hands you a plant bag, look in it first, and don't be polite about it.

Frag swap is salt but like she said, most clubs run a general swap or auction alongside it. Cash is smart. What I'd actually do is check if the club has a Facebook group or a forum first and lurk for a week. You can tell real fast whether it's a bunch of people who actually help each other or a bunch of people who just want to brag about their SPS tank. Who runs the meeting, anyone know?