My new 600 gallon reef
- Thread starter Goodwin9
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jnarowe
New member
Eric, you MUST be picky about the fish you buy. You MUST research their compatibilty, diet, general personality traits, health of the animal, and the catch or breeding process. My LFS owners get torqued at me becuase I won't buy a fish unless I have seen it in their system healthy and spry for a number of weeks. Often I lose out on a fish, but I would rather not buy than rush to buy.
The VERY best method IMO is to deal with a direct importing LFS that will tell you when they are arriving. For instance, I deal with an LFS here called The Shark Reef. Eric is the owner, and as best he can, he will get in what I want. I have him call me when he is leaving the airport and I meet him at the store for the unpacking.
I will help with that chore and when we get to my fish, we examine it carefully and I either buy or pass. If I buy, I take it home immediately and acclimate it to my QT. That way it is not dealing with the questionable LFS water quality, and only acclimates once. While in QT I observe it carefully, feed it with vitamin enriched foods, and make sure it has a clean bill of health.
Once I feel it is safe to introduce into the main system, I open a valve from my fuge that gravity feeds to a float valve in the QT. I then remove a qt of QT water every few hours and slowly acclimate the fish to the display water. This can take 2 - 3 days to do properly IMO. When I am satisfied that it is acclimated to the display, I then release it into the display after lights out. This gives it time to settle in without being harrassed by the other fish.
When they all get up in the morning, they have a period of drowsiness in which they may become aquainted. IMO, this leads to much less overall stress and a much happier greeting. So we all know that PBTs are "ich" magnets, but since using this method, my PBT has NEVER gotten even the slightest hint of ich.
The VERY best method IMO is to deal with a direct importing LFS that will tell you when they are arriving. For instance, I deal with an LFS here called The Shark Reef. Eric is the owner, and as best he can, he will get in what I want. I have him call me when he is leaving the airport and I meet him at the store for the unpacking.
I will help with that chore and when we get to my fish, we examine it carefully and I either buy or pass. If I buy, I take it home immediately and acclimate it to my QT. That way it is not dealing with the questionable LFS water quality, and only acclimates once. While in QT I observe it carefully, feed it with vitamin enriched foods, and make sure it has a clean bill of health.
Once I feel it is safe to introduce into the main system, I open a valve from my fuge that gravity feeds to a float valve in the QT. I then remove a qt of QT water every few hours and slowly acclimate the fish to the display water. This can take 2 - 3 days to do properly IMO. When I am satisfied that it is acclimated to the display, I then release it into the display after lights out. This gives it time to settle in without being harrassed by the other fish.
When they all get up in the morning, they have a period of drowsiness in which they may become aquainted. IMO, this leads to much less overall stress and a much happier greeting. So we all know that PBTs are "ich" magnets, but since using this method, my PBT has NEVER gotten even the slightest hint of ich.
Goodwin9
Premium Member
Thank you. Most of the time, I have been very lucky. If you are buying find a store that holds their fish for a couple of weeks before selling to make sure that there are healthy and eating. Like Jonathan, I have bought fish from LFS that have just arrived and taken them home in their original shipping bags, reducing stress in acclimating.
When buying online, try and get to know some one at the place that you are dealing with. Talk to them on the phone and ask them about their fish. There are places that will actually go out and look at their holding tanks while talking with you about the fish. I've found some odd ball fish while talking with someone that weren't listed on their websites. There are places that will do a little wheeling and dealing on their prices too depending upon what you are ordering. Be picky when you are buying. If you want a 4" Yellow tang, and all they have are 2", ask them to call when they get one in. You'd be surprised at how many places will look for fish for you and then call. Seems like I get a lot of those calls and maybe that is one reason my tanks are full....
Probably 80% of my fish and corals have been bought online, as choices and variety are limited here in South Dakota.
green_frogspawn
New member
they crabs are unreal! really they dont look real!!! very cool though 
rogergolf66
im an addict lol
wow I have had 2 bottles of flack and they have lasted me 2 years
Roger
Roger
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