My advice is this, when looking at lfs, have your mind made up about what fish you plan on keeping and in what order to introduce them into your system. The more terratorial ones should be last to be added. After you have planned what kind of fish/inverts you plan on buying, follow that plan and buy the fist one on your list. Ask to see it fed, look for any signs of sickness, torn fins, white spots on body or fins, sunken stomach, irratic resporation, irratic swimming, or lack of response to their environment. If the fish eats, and you see it eat, ask the lfs if they can take a deposit on the animal and hold it for a week. If you see any of the other symptons above, leave it alone and search elsewhere. If everything is in order, make the deposit, leave, and come back in a weeks time to see how the fish is doing. The week will give the fish time to develop any signs of stress or illness. Just make sure the deposit can be used for credit on another type of critter or supplies. There are books out there on the marked that goes into detail on what to look for, one I have that is great in this is "The Marine Aquarium Handbook" by Martin A. Moe, Jr. It is somewhat dated, but the information is still current in most cases, best of luck!  |