treve

Hello
i have a 55 gallon lightly stocked community tank and on a visit to two local LFS today i went to buy some new tankmates for my fish.on advice i got from a friend i was told go on a thursday that is when they stock up and i would have a better selection to choose from?in the first store they had an impressive selection of fish and to my horror alot of dead fish and sick looking fish in there tanks,so i drove out the road to another store selection not as good but the fish there did not look that healthy either so when i asked a staff member i was told that its normal that they also have healty fish in stock . .i did not want to take the risk in buying fish that could harm what i have in my own tank so i left with nothing but dissapointment.

i was wondering is it safe to order fish online without seeing them first?
or i would be greatfull for any advice on the matter.
thank you

ray_sj

Although you could get a better selection when the fish just arrive, I've found that it's better to wait a few days. The fish are often stressed when they are shipped to the fish store, and need a few days to recover. Some become ill during this time, and you don't want to bring these sick fish home! One of my lfs actually refuses to sell any fish for 1-2 days after the fish arrive for this reason.

Have you thought about a small quarantine tank? I learned this the hard way after I didn't quarantine 3 guppies, and they wiped out my entire tank. I quarantine all new fish now for 2-3 weeks to prevent that from happening again.

I've heard good things about ordering online from liveaquaria.com, and also Aquabid. You can seach the forums for people's opinions on those. Of course, you pay shipping costs, which makes it more expensive.

treve

i would love to set up a quarantine tank but at the moment space is an issue in our house,maybe if i ask my wife nicely we can get rid of a piece of furniture and set up a quarantine tank in its place.
i would rather go look and pick out the fish myself its more fun than doing it online.i will drive about the weekend and look for some more lfs that i have not been to yet and hopefully i find healty tanks.
thank you for your feedback ray i appreciate it.

agabr123

actually it's best to get your fish from the LFS the day immediately before they get new fish, the stock will have been there long enough that you have a better chance of noticing disease/illness, and new stocks just bring unhealthy things