[JosephandGabby]

I’ve learned a lot about koi keeping and backyard ponds over the past few years; mostly from reading various books, spending countless hours on these forums, and, of course, through trial and error. I’m thinking about joining a local koi club, but I’m not sure which one I should join. I think it would be cool to meet other koi pond owners in my area and see what they’ve done, but I’m not sure how valuable it really is given that so much information is already freely available on the Internet. If one of my koi is sick, I can chat with some of the experts out there with more experience to figure out what to do. If I pick up a new koi that I’m especially proud of, I can post pictures for everyone to share. If I have questions about which UV to purchase or how to build a QT, I can ask people with more experience than I am for a few pointers. And, perhaps best of all, I can see pictures of everyone else’s koi and backyard ponds and get a better idea of what makes a koi truly special.

I guess my basic question is this – is there really any value anymore in joining a local koi club when you already have access to people with years of experience via the Internet? Aside from the cool aspect of meeting people nearby who share a common interest in raising koi, I guess I find myself questioning whether or not there really is a tangible benefit to joining a club. The three koi clubs I’m considering right now include High Desert Koi Fanciers (AKCA), Inland Koi Society (AKCA), and ZNA Southern California (ZNA & AKCA). Do any of you out there belong (or have you ever belonged) to any of these clubs? If so, please let me know what your experience has been like. If you belong to another koi club, I'd like to hear about your experinece as well. Also, are there any rules about belonging to more than one koi club at the same time?