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The Beginner's Guide To Fish Keeping.
Choosing Your Fish
By: Maverick
So your ready to buy your fish. Before proceeding, have you researched your fish? You need to know if you've chosen good tankmates and know what water requirments your fish need. If you haven't done this, I strongly urge you to do so.
On to buying your fish. You need to look at several things before you tell the salesperson to net the fish for you.
First, look at the tank it is in. Is it clean? Are there any dead or sick fish? If there are any signs of bad conditions, do not buy from that tank. Also, if you are at a store that has one filtration system to filter all of their tanks, instead of individual filters, you need to look at ALL of the tanks. When a store does this, no matter how many tanks they have, they are all connected. That means if one tank has Ick, the chances of the others getting Ick is VERY high. Avoid such stores if possable.
Next, look at the fish itself. Make sure it's acting normally. You will know what normal is if you researched. Make sure its fins are not clamped and that its breathing is normal. Be sure there are no wounds or visible parasites. Look for good color and temperment.
Lastly, see if your fish has been eating. Its belly should not be caved in, nor should its eyes be. Ask your salesperson how long they have been in the tank. If they just arrived, ask the store to hold the fish a few days, it could still be in shock from its initial trip. If you really like a fish that has not been eating, don't be afraid to ask the store to hold it until it calms down. A reputial store will be happy to do this for you but make ask for a down payment.
When bringing your fish home, keep him out of the sun and make sure his bag doesn't splash or slosh around. There's no need to scare him with your driving, I garantee your fish will be spooked enough just from being bagged!
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