SCAS

It All Started with a Pleco Problem

Bristlenose plecos are to blame for the founding of Space Coast Aquarium Society. Hundreds of them. What do you do when your carefully planned aquarium becomes a bristlenose nursery that's gotten completely out of hand? Like most aquarium stories, it started with "just a few plecos" and escalated into "we need to find homes for ALL of these fish."

Sound familiar? We thought so.

From Facebook Swaps to Real People

In June 2020, the Facebook group "North Brevard Aquarium Keepers Group" was born out of necessity. The local aquarium community needed a way to swap fish, trade plants, and solve problems like "help, my tank is now 90% bristlenose plecos." For about two years, the group thrived in the digital realm - trades were made, friendships formed, and the community grew.

But you know what's better than messaging someone about fish? Actually talking to them about fish. Face to face. With actual fish to point at.

The Inaugural Chaos

The call grew stronger to do something more ambitious than Facebook swaps. That something became the Space Coast Aquarium Society's inaugural event at St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church on May 7, 2022. Was it chaotic? Absolutely. Was it successful? Also absolutely. Were lessons learned? So many lessons.

What started as one family's pleco predicament had become everyone's solution.

Making It Official (Sort Of)

The club became "official" pretty quickly after that first event, earning bonafide 501(c)(3) status faster than most plecos can reproduce (which, as any aquarium keeper knows, is pretty fast). Since June 2022, SCAS has called the Scottsmoor Community Center home, and the group continues to grow and evolve as new members join and share their own aquarium adventures, mishaps, and triumphs.

Today

What began as a pleco problem has become a thriving community where beginners get mentorship, experts share hard-won wisdom, and everyone gets to see really cool fish. We're still a bit chaotic, but in the best possible way.

And yes, we still help people with pleco problems.

The SCAS Aquatic Alliance is a community partnership program created by the Space Coast Aquarium Society (SCAS). Its mission is to bring real-world aquatic conservation into local classrooms by connecting students with experienced aquarists and CARES-listed freshwater fish species.

Through this program, students learn how to care for live fish, explore aquatic ecosystems, and understand how aquarium hobbyists around the world help protect endangered and at-risk species through conservation-focused breeding.

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