The Underground Aquarium Society

The Underground Aquarium Society is one national aquarium society that lives on Underground Aquarium. It's open to anyone who keeps fish, in any state, with no local chapters. Membership is the one paid part of the site: the classifieds, forums, feed and tools stay free whether you join or not.

What is the Underground Aquarium Society?

The Society (often shortened to UAS) is a single nationwide membership run on Underground Aquarium. There are no chapters to choose between: every member in every state is on the same roster.

Its core is the judged Breeder Award Program (BAP). You open a Spawn Log before your fish breed, record each stage with photos as it happens, and other members review the record blind. Approved logs earn points by difficulty, points add up to titles, and each species you breed earns a signed certificate.

You can find it under The Society in the main menu (on a phone it's in the top menu), in the site footer, or at the Society page.

What do Society members get?

The public Society page lists four headline perks, and the membership page lists what's included:

• Judged Breeder Award Program. Spawn it, raise it, submit it. Entries are reviewed and points are awarded by difficulty. See Breeder Award Program.
• The Species Registry. The first member to get an approved spawn log for a species holds that record permanently ("First in Society").
• A permanent member number. It looks like UAS-0001 and is never reissued to anyone else. It appears on your member card and certificates.
• Signed, verifiable certificates. A Certificate of Membership, plus a breeder certificate for every species you get a spawn log approved for. Anyone can check them at the Certificate Registry. See Society certificates.
• Society trophies in your trophy case and on your public profile.
• A national roster and a member area with a leaderboard, review queue and certificates. See The Society member area.

How can other people tell I'm a Society member?

Members in good standing get a brass ring around their avatar across the site, including the menu bar, the feed and comments, and people lists. The Society seal also appears next to your name on forum threads and on your classified listings.

Your public profile shows a The Society card with your title (or "Member"), your Member No., your BAP points and your Member since year, plus any breeder certificates and a Trophy case link.

If your dues lapse, the ring and member perks go away until you renew. Your records stay safe.

Who can join the Society?

Anyone with a free Underground Aquarium account can apply. There are no chapters, so where you live doesn't matter. Applications are reviewed by the Society officers, and once you're approved you pay dues (if your plan has them) to activate your membership.

The step-by-step is in Joining the Society.

How much does the Society cost?

Prices are set by the Society and shown on the site rather than fixed in this guide. You'll find them in two places:

• The What it costs section of the Society page.
• The plan cards on the membership page before you apply.

There are two plans: Individual (shown as "per year") and Lifetime (shown as "once · never renews"). Family memberships are no longer offered; each person has their own membership. Details are in Society dues and renewal and Lifetime and honorary membership.

What do my dues pay for?

According to the Society page, dues pay for judging, certificates, the species registry and keeping the lights on. The site takes no cut: "Nothing is skimmed off anybody else." Payments are handled by Stripe, and Underground Aquarium never sees your card number.

Do I have to join the Society to use Underground Aquarium?

No. The classifieds, messages, forums, feed, species pages, Tank Builder, Water Check and every other tool are free and work the same whether you're a member or not. If your Society membership lapses or you leave, your free account keeps working normally.

What does the Society page look like when I'm signed in?

• Signed out or not a member: the Society page shows the full introduction, the perks, the dues and an Apply for membership button. It also shows how many active members there are.
• Applied but not yet approved: the same page, and the button takes you to the membership page, which shows Application received.
• Member in good standing: any Society link (menu, footer, profile) takes you straight into the member area at Overview. To see the public introduction again, open /society?view=about.
• Member whose dues have lapsed: Society links take you to the membership page to renew.

Is there a local chapter or club near me?

No. The Society is deliberately one national group with no chapters. The old directory of separate local clubs has been retired. To find in-person meetups, swaps and club meetings near you, use Events and see Finding events. More on what happened to clubs is in Clubs.

Who runs the Society?

The Society is run by its officers, who review applications, manage the roster and grant honorary memberships. Judging is done by other members through blind peer review, with a judge handling escalations and appeals. Certificates are signed by Christopher M. Lewis, Founder & Judge.

Who do I contact with Society questions?

The Society page shows a contact line at the bottom ("Questions?"). You can always email support@undergroundaquarium.com.

Common problems

I clicked The Society and landed on a membership page instead of the member area. Your dues have likely lapsed, or your membership is still waiting on dues after approval. Pay from that page. See Society dues and renewal.

The Society page says "Couldn't load your membership". The site couldn't read the roster at that moment. Nothing about your membership changed. Wait a minute and reload.

I don't see the brass ring on my avatar. The ring only shows for members in good standing. Check that your dues are paid on the membership page.

I want to see the Society introduction but it keeps sending me to the member area. That's intentional for members. Open /society?view=about.