Hi All,
I’m Nick, a reefkeeper who hails from Michigan, but will be living in Oxford, MS for the forseeable forever. Really love this city and enjoy being in Mississippi. However - there’s an unfortunate lack of cohesion and/or support systems between reefers in this state. I know that there’s a reefkeeping club that covers Eastern MS and Western AL, and they seem like good folks who would welcome anyone. The problem is geography. Mississippi is a bigger state than many envision when they think about it. I know we have a heavy hitter of an LFS in the form of Jackson Fish & Coral, but it’s in Jackson - that’s a haul from Oxford, and from many other regions of the state. So far, I’ve found a small LFS in Tupelo and heard mixed things, and I know that a marine-centric fish store named Desoto Aquatics exists in Southaven, MS. Desoto will likely be my go-to source, as it’s about an hour from me, and the only marine-centric store until you get into the Memphis area. I’ll be honest, I really have little interest going all the way up and into Memphis to pursue my hobby, and it seems that the answer for the struggling reefers in Northwest Mississippi seeking a community or marine source is “Head to Memphis”.
I think there’s a different answer. I’ve spoken to friends who used to be in the hobby, and they relied on their local fish club to trade corals and knowledge and provide support for one another constantly. I think we folks in Northwest MS need something like this. Therefore, I’m going to take the initiative and make a start toward the goal of establishing such a community in the area. I’m now starting the Oxford Reefkeeping Society.
This hobby isn’t easy. And honestly, it’s more of a lifestyle than a hobby. It truly impacts your life and instills a sense of responsibility and need for support. I want to try to build a small community of reefers seeking to exchange knowledge, corals, fish, and support for the hobby, centered in Oxford and reaching out to the surrounding small towns in the area. Oxford seems an excellent centerpoint for the Northwest MS region, and those living in surrounding towns can all reach it pretty easily. Sadly, there is no marine-centric LFS here, and even our Petsmart offers limited fare for the saltwater hobby, so Oxford reefers and those in the local area have a definite need for a group like this.
In the coming days/weeks, probably after I get deeper into my new career and finish unpacking boxes and stabilizing my reef tank, I’ll create Facebook and Instagram pages for the Oxford Reefkeeping Society, to improve the visibility of the group. Maybe I’m the only member for a while. Maybe the group only ever grows to half a dozen dedicated reefers. I’m not sure how much potential for growth there is. All I know, is that I can’t be the only one in this area of the world relying on the shaky logistics of USPS and a dose of luck to keep my reef tank alive. If you’re up here in Northwest MS, fighting this same fight, and not able to make distant drives to other regions of the state to find fellow reefkeepers, throw a post up in response to this thread. Let’s get a community rolling around here.
Best,
Nick
FYI - my personal reefing page can be found at Instagram, where my handle is KalamazooReefer.
I’m Nick, a reefkeeper who hails from Michigan, but will be living in Oxford, MS for the forseeable forever. Really love this city and enjoy being in Mississippi. However - there’s an unfortunate lack of cohesion and/or support systems between reefers in this state. I know that there’s a reefkeeping club that covers Eastern MS and Western AL, and they seem like good folks who would welcome anyone. The problem is geography. Mississippi is a bigger state than many envision when they think about it. I know we have a heavy hitter of an LFS in the form of Jackson Fish & Coral, but it’s in Jackson - that’s a haul from Oxford, and from many other regions of the state. So far, I’ve found a small LFS in Tupelo and heard mixed things, and I know that a marine-centric fish store named Desoto Aquatics exists in Southaven, MS. Desoto will likely be my go-to source, as it’s about an hour from me, and the only marine-centric store until you get into the Memphis area. I’ll be honest, I really have little interest going all the way up and into Memphis to pursue my hobby, and it seems that the answer for the struggling reefers in Northwest Mississippi seeking a community or marine source is “Head to Memphis”.
I think there’s a different answer. I’ve spoken to friends who used to be in the hobby, and they relied on their local fish club to trade corals and knowledge and provide support for one another constantly. I think we folks in Northwest MS need something like this. Therefore, I’m going to take the initiative and make a start toward the goal of establishing such a community in the area. I’m now starting the Oxford Reefkeeping Society.
This hobby isn’t easy. And honestly, it’s more of a lifestyle than a hobby. It truly impacts your life and instills a sense of responsibility and need for support. I want to try to build a small community of reefers seeking to exchange knowledge, corals, fish, and support for the hobby, centered in Oxford and reaching out to the surrounding small towns in the area. Oxford seems an excellent centerpoint for the Northwest MS region, and those living in surrounding towns can all reach it pretty easily. Sadly, there is no marine-centric LFS here, and even our Petsmart offers limited fare for the saltwater hobby, so Oxford reefers and those in the local area have a definite need for a group like this.
In the coming days/weeks, probably after I get deeper into my new career and finish unpacking boxes and stabilizing my reef tank, I’ll create Facebook and Instagram pages for the Oxford Reefkeeping Society, to improve the visibility of the group. Maybe I’m the only member for a while. Maybe the group only ever grows to half a dozen dedicated reefers. I’m not sure how much potential for growth there is. All I know, is that I can’t be the only one in this area of the world relying on the shaky logistics of USPS and a dose of luck to keep my reef tank alive. If you’re up here in Northwest MS, fighting this same fight, and not able to make distant drives to other regions of the state to find fellow reefkeepers, throw a post up in response to this thread. Let’s get a community rolling around here.
Best,
Nick
FYI - my personal reefing page can be found at Instagram, where my handle is KalamazooReefer.
