If you're new to keeping fish, you're probably just putting together the best tank you can afford and trying to Google up the information you need to keep your fish alive, and that's a good thing. Fish keeping is one of those hobbies that can be immensely rewarding, but on the downside can also be immensely time consuming, expensive and frustrating.

That's why I recommend that all fish keepers who want to seriously learn about how to create healthy and eye catching environments for their fish join a local or national fish keeping club or society.

Making local contacts is invaluable for several reasons, the first and foremost being that local contacts will occasionally allow you to bypass expensive pet stores that don't keep their fish stocks in good condition. Why go to a chain store selling sick fish when you can obtain lovely specimens from a local breeder for half the price?

If you ever intend on breeding fish, belonging to a fish club won't just give you access to a pool of members who will want to buy your spawn, but it will give you legitimacy and a reputation amongst fish keepers which can be very useful.

Local contacts can also take unwanted fish off your hands, and sometimes even trade you for fish you want. In general, they will be a much better source of husbandry information than pet stores who are largely concerned with making money and not overly worried if you go home and kill all the fish you just bought because your water parameters and tank were wrong.

There is also a social aspect to belonging to a local fish society that many fish keepers enjoy. So between meeting new people, being able to purchase healthy fish at lower prices and having access to a wealth of information at your doorstep, your fish keeping experience is sure to be much more successful and much more enjoyable than if you were sitting alone wondering why the fish look a little ill.

Online Fish Clubs

If you just want to interact online, there are a great many niche sites which provide forums for members. I recommend Monster Fish Keepers for people with tanks over 55 gallons, though there are a great many other online communities dotted about the place. Planet Catfish, for example, is a wealth of information on keeping catfish, and Ultimate Bettas is an excellent place to talk about Bettas whether you're an amateur trying to keep your betta healthy, or a more experienced keeper looking for breeding tips and information.

Most of these sites require that you join them in order to post, and I would advise you to take the few minutes out of your day and sign up. You'll be surprised at how much information and help strangers are willing to volunteer.

Don't keep your fish alone, share the burdens and joys of your fish keeping experiences with others in the hobby. You will be glad you did!