About

The Minnesota Aquarium Society (MAS, pronounced M--A--S) is a collection of local aquarists with the purpose of learning, sharing information, and motivating each other.   By raising the bar of our expectations and meeting monthly, members go deeper in the hobby, try new aspects that they never would have on their own (like building a "fishroom"), and stay in the hobby much longer.  There is something about associating with others who share our passion.

MAS was founded in 1931 and incorporated as a nonprofit in 1956 with the expressed goal of studying and keeping aquatic life and fostering a community of aquarists.

The purpose of MAS.

MAS programs:

Monthly Virtual Meetings  are now online and are held on the first Thursday of every month.  They are open to the public - visit our home page to find the link for registering and attending.  The focus of each event is a topic-driven program, featuring a nationally recognized expert.  These meetings are conducted with Zoom and maintain an interactive meeting format, and only the presentation portion is in the "webinar" format.  After the initial presentaiton, attendees may stay in the main room to ask the speaker questions, or they by select one of our themed breakout rooms, each moderated for small group introductions and discussions. See this page for the full details about the online meeting.

In-Person Meetings will resume in the even-numbered months beginning October 2021.  These will be held in conjuction with the bi-monthly auction's distribution which is the Saturday folowing the virtual Thursday meetings.  The planned agenda divides this meeting into three parts:  spotlight on members and their accomplishments, a short program led by a member, and a hands-on workshop.  At the end members will announce opportunities to visit fishstores or fishrooms or tp meet for informal discussions or topical "study groups."

Bi-montly Online Auctions with Saturday distributions.  A member-only event in which any MAS member may sell fish, plants, or aquarium-related items (tanks, gear, food, etc.).  Conversely, any MAS member (in good standing with the auction) may bid on item.  All items are brought to the distribution event on the following Saturday and winning bidders pick up their items at the in-person distribution event.

Annual Weekend Event.  Typically in the Spring, MAS sponsors a free city-wide event that includes a displaysof aquaria along with other activities and speakers.  In the past these were held in public places like Como Park, Rosedale Mall, and Augsburg's Hagfors Center.  ...Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the annual event is on hold.

Breeders Award Program (BAP), Horticulturists Award Program (HAP).  For over thirty years MAS has been running these programs to track the breeding and growing successes of its members and to publically recognize accomplishments with awards at the Membership Meetings.  We have found that these organized programs have encouraged members to try breeding fish and growing plants and then advance in these skills.  Prior to the pandemic, the BAP/HAP auctions were held during the Thursday-evening monthly meetings. Now with the new virtual and in-person monthly agenda, the BAP/HAP auction is held as a subdivision of the bi-monthly online auctions.

Special Events.  From time-to-time MAS will organize additional events.  In the past these have included fish collecting trips in the local streams (MAS obtains permits), tours of local members fishrooms, and bonus talks by out-of-town speakers, tyically held a member's home and fishroom.  

We, the members of the Aquarium Society, invite you to join us.  Engage in our programs, meet fellow members, and we'll motivate you to take your hobby further and to become a better aquarist.

To keep up with MAS programs and scheduling, start with our home page aquarium.mn as well as sign up for email notices here: