Naturfreunde für
Aquarien- und Terrarienkunde
im 20. Bezirk e.V.
Welcome to our English Page.
We are one of Berlin's largest aquarium clubs, our aim is to promote the aquarium and terrarium hobby by informing members about latest developments as well as learning from visiting specialist speakers and members with extensive experience.
Check out further info below.
Meetings
Guests are always welcome at our meetings on every second Tuesday of the month at 7 pm (apart from our AGM which is members only), but please bear in mind that all meetings and talks are held in German.
If you wish to eat in the restaurant, we suggest you arrive an hour earlier, there are generally some of us already there at that time. This will give you enough time to finish your meal before the meeting starts.
13629 Berlin
Tel. 030-381 21 10
Open from Noon to 10pm
Public transport: Bus 123 or 139, U-Bahn U7, Rohrdamm
🐠 Pet Fish Exchange (Fischbörse)
Interested in acquiring new freshwater aquarium fish, shrimp, snails and plants at reasonable prices? Then visit our Zierfischbörse.
Should the seller only speak German, somebody else should be able to help with more info.
Perhaps take a look at our 'Galerien' showing past club activities. Of particular interest may be the recent May 2025 Börse where you can see the wide selection of aquarium fish available. There were livebearers (platies, swordtails, guppies) as well as gouramis, rams and other cichlids, tetras and barbs and at least 4 varieties of catfish. There is, of course, no guarantee that a particular species or variety will always be there. Coming earlier will ensure the widest choice.
From 10am - 12noon in: Haus Havelblick,
Havelschanze 3
13587 Berlin-Spandau.
Public transport routes via S-, Regional- or U-Bahn to Spandau/ Rathaus Spandau then the X36 (1 stop, 7 min walk), M36 or 136 bus (both 6 stops, 1 minute walk).
♿ Access to the 'Fischbörse' is barrier free.
The entry fee for non-members is 2€, this usually includes participation in a prize draw.
more in German....
Date for the October Börse is 12.10.2025 from 10 am to 12 noon.
A Short article by Andreas:- How the 'Fischbörse' came to us, and how we came to Spandau
This appeared in the vdaaktuell magazine edition 1/ 2025. Here the English translation.
Aquarium Water Testing
Bring along a sample of your aquarium water to either venue, a jam jar full (0.5Litre) will do fine. We'll test 5 important parameters for free. If your aquarium is less than a month old, the general water parameters are likely to still be the same as your tap water.
Berlin Water Company There is a link on that page where you can enter your post/ zip code and check your local water parameters.
Berlin tap water is generally quite hard (14-20 °DH) , and slighly alkaline (pH~7.5). And unlike tap water in many countries, it is not treated with disinfectants containing chlorine such as chloramine, as is common practice in the UK and USA, unless there is suspected bacteriological contamination. Then only in the short term.
Water analysis- annual average values for 2024 for the different Berlin waterworks as pdf File in German and English.
Article on cycling a new aquarium in the British Magazine 'Practical Fishkeeping'. Cycling is when you get important biological processes going right at the start and, at best, before you add any fish.
Mentions use of bacterial supplements, ammonia, and why adding fish food alone may not be the good idea sometimes suggested.
Most test kits you can buy have instructions and recommendations in several languages. Depending on your test results, you may then need to take some action. Any changes should be made one at a time and slowly. It is similar to when you are adding new fish and should acclimatise them gradually.
What do pH etc. mean for the aquarist?
Help (also for non-members).
Aquarium Maintenance for 3rd Parties
Members have been involved in supporting such projects, but these generally ran into problems due to access issues, costs, etc. Bearing in mind that an aquarium is a biological entity, as such you can't simply say, for example, that some particular maintenance should be done once a month or week. It depends on the tank size, the stock, and the equipment/plants.
It would be a good idea to visit the tank you need to maintain, or at least get up to date photos, to assess whether any help is even worth it ( although this may sound somewhat extreme, it's actually common sense) before you start to invest your time and money.
Aquarium Disposal
We regularly receive requests for tank disposal, especially from older people. Our main priority is to try to find a new home for the fish and other inhabitants when the owners are no longer able to care for them. This is particularly difficult for neglected fish in poor condition or very large fish. Here too, some photos would be helpful to assess whether there is interest in the tank, equipment or livestock.
Veterinarian
Jan Wolter, our attending veterinarian for the pet fish exchange and a specialist in treating fish, whether in your freshwater or marine aquarium or your pond.
Editorial and Data Protection.
Personal Message
This web site has been created to provide the club's members, friends and other interested parties with information concerning the club's activities past and present. When we provide a link to any external item we find of interest, it is up to you to decide whether you wish to visit that site.
We (the club, its committee and myself as creator of this site) have no interest whatsoever in collecting any information from you. The site is so constructed that cookies would really provide you with no enhanced experience or assistance, which was the initial reason for cookies, not as it now often is, along with other technologies, a means to collect data about your person and track your online behaviour for commercial reasons.
Enjoy reading about us, get in touch if you like, and enjoy the hobby!
Editorial and Disclaimer
Applicable legal editorial and data protection information is provided in German, the text below is provided for your information.
Publisher
of these pages and editorial responsibility:
See above, 1st Presiding Officer
Layout and Design
HTML5, Bootstrap 5 and CSS3 have been used to design these pages.
Layout, design, English translation and technical information: R. Hatton B.Sc., Cert.Ed.
Any changes to templates used- e.g. use of only standard fonts, reduction in the use of scripts plus any errors in the pages are mine.
Although not strictly a legal requirement for this type of web site, we are working to increase the proportion of higher level barrier free mark-up. This is, and always will be, along with the overall web presence itself, a work in progress.
Images
A very few are public domain and are generally marked as such.
Photographs taken by former or present club members, such as those in the galleries, are used
with permission, the copyright and ownership remains with them. They retain the right to withdraw this permission at any time. Photographs should not be used without permission. This includes any use by artificial intelligence which is expressly forbidden.
Your Data/ Cookies
We do not collect your personal data, nor does this web site make use of cookies. Linked external pages and their owners may, however, collect your personal data. You should be aware of this, and of the fact that this is not under our control.