I would like to Impress upon everyone the importance of doing the correct research before buying livestock or equipment. We all see threads from time to time about how someone found something cool and they just had to have it
. I too have done this from time to time but i think i have finally reached the point where research is my first priority. A good example is my 300g shark tank which currently sits empty and devoid of water and plumbing... I could have filled it up and had it circulating but i decided that if i was going to get a shark or some other monster to put in it i should probably do my homework first, so i left it empty while i read up.
So here is a list of guidelines you may want to consider before making that unscheduled buy at the LFS...
1. NEVER buy a fish or coral that
you cannot reliably ID at the shop! no matter what the sign says never trust it, if you know how to keep it alive then you should know what it looks like.
2. NEVER buy a fish or coral that you will need to buy a piece of equipment for at the same time. ALWAYS buy the equipment first, get it working, and learn about how it works before you get a critter that will rely on it for its existence. (buying lighting and coral at the same time is a baaaaaad idea).
3. If you see something you want but you don't know how to keep it... LET IT GO! if your LFS got it in once, they can always get another for you later. Always know what your getting into.
4. Make sure you have the food for the critter your going to buy. some fish you can just grab some
frozen mysis for, while for others you may need to start culturing live food for. Try putting a deposit on the fish or coral and then go home and start a batch or 2 of brine shrimp before you go back and pick up the fish. this will avoid emergency trips to the LFS to get food for your starving animal.
5. ALWAYS make the LFS feed the animal before you buy it. That will ensure that the animal is eating and will show you what the LFS has been feeding it. even a fish that has eaten a few minutes before will still go after a little more if offered (don't let the LFS tell you it won't eat because it was just fed).
Please be patient enough to do the bookwork before you bring a new exotic animal home. Make sure you can ID the fish at least at its most basic level (i.e. Tang, butterfly, angel, blenny, SPS, LPS, Shroom, etc...)
this will save you and your fish a lot of frustration. it is better to leave the tank empty than to waste money on a fish or coral that will die when you get it.
