FL Not What It Used To Be I've been a member on FL for several years. While I'm by no means an expert, I certainly know the basics of fish keeping. Over the past year, I've seen many more "incorrect" answers to people's questions. Lots of bad advice being given these days on FL. There were many folks there whom I considered reliable people to bounce questions off. They seem to have all left. I've seen posts that question the mods suddenly disappear, and things really seem to have gone downhill there. I still check in there from time to time, but there are far better sites these days to get fish keeping advice. If you're thinking of joining FL, I'd suggest you look elsewhere...

I found the forum overall wasn't a good forum I found the forum overall wasn't as large as i expected, a few members accounting for much of the activity. This wasn't an issue until I realized several we're pretty biased and not very well informed, some even borderline rude. It also seemed the staff harrassed certain members, just poor tact. I'm still a member but never use the site anymore, between YouTube channels, Facebook groups and other forums there are just simply better resources available.

There are certainly better aquarium forums out there... I was a member of Fishlore for almost 6 years, with over 2500 posts helping and learning from fellow aquarists. As I was reading some of the reviews here, I noticed a review that one of the mods replied to. The mod stated, "We don't ban members very often and only after they have been given several warnings about forum rules violations." This is simply not true. I was banned from FL without any warning, and from what I can tell, my crime was belonging to another fish forum. Others I know had a similar experience. I enjoyed my time on FL but was treated terribly by the mods there. There are certainly more welcoming aquarium forums available.

The Hotel California fishtank. I was on the site for a couple of years, and enjoyed it til the mods noticed me. They behave as if volunteer helpers aiding new aquarists are their paid employees. I've wondered if they feel like they have a massive business empire with large numbers of imaginary workers. It's no surprise members were asked to come here and give positive ratings. With the number of "membership culls" and banning parties they embark on, it's also no wonder they don't always get the reviews they expect. It looks great, til you really get to know the place...Unfortunate, as with more reasonable leadership, they would have more knowledgeable voices there.

This forum is really racist!!!!! This forum is really racist, the moderators have their favorite members. If your not “their” kind, don’t open your mouth about anything! It’s a very nasty forum, where people who have little to no experience raising fish tell others what to do. Don’t waste your time, talk to people who actually own fish stores or raise your type of fish can help your more than most people on here. Although some people on here are very nice, not enough are!!!