I followed my own advice for once!

One of the hardest things to do in this hobby is to respect what you have learned. One key lesson for me is to never buy a fish from a tank in which there is even one other fish that looks suspect. Never try to save a fish that looks ill, unless you want to kill all your other fish, and never talk yourself out of walking away.
Today, in an excellent shop, I saw a species I had never seen before. It was affordable, and it was pretty. I was all set to buy, when I realized one fish at the back looked dodgy.
They had travelled a long way, and shipping for days in a bag is hard on a fish. The store is a good one - it quarantines. I had never seen the species before. Maybe the discolouration was natural for it. I had all the reeasons to talk myself into buying lined up neatly.

And I walked away.

I'll go back in 4-5 days and take a look again. If they are all gone, then it won't be from sales. In our ultra-conservative hobby, new species sell badly and everyone only wants the familiar. I will let the store be the quarantine, and if they are good in a few days, then I'll bring them home (to my own quarantine). An attractive new species is not something I can let pass easily, as I love learning about new fish.

But I hate learning about fish disease, and there's no better way to do that than by not trusting your gut feeling about a tank. .

+1 to this. Well said and so true. I completely agree. Never try to save a ill fish, never buy from a tank with a sick or maybe sick fish. it is just not worth the risk.   

What species?

Good for you. It can be hard,but in the long run it's for the best. When I first got into Discus I did the exact same thing but bought the fish,VERY bad mistake. I did everything right different equipment had these discus upstairs away from my other discus. Long story short.....the disease went airborne and I lost over 5 grand worth of Discus. Breeders,grow outs,fry. I managed to save 6. The battle I fought was horrible and watching fish die left and right was gut wrenching. Lesson learned the hard way.

That's a tough one for sure, especially if you really want the fish. Hope they are still there and healthy when you go back.

Steve

+1. I know the feeling. And the consequence.

I try whenever possible to get my fish from other hobbyist breeders, or from wild sources. There is no comparing any fish farm-bred in Thailand, Indonesia or Singapore with a fish from the wild. Wilds are stronger, healthier and so much more vibrant. They rarely have tuberculosis or serious gut parasites, neon tetra disease, and a host of other common 'watch out for that in the store' maladies.
When I buy in pet shops, I tend to focus on species that haven't been in tanks for long, for the simple reason that they might be fairly close to the wild, and therefore in contact with pathogens for less time. They probably aren't mass produced, and are probably not worth the cost of the antibiotics and hormones that are ruining the standard, common fish in this hobby.
And so, I wait. It's just another form of fishing, also needing patience. ;-)

very well said....!
my heart goes out to these fish that look ill but I have and continue to learn to continue walking...my it is hard at times to do....

who said something about a disease going airborne...what is this? I have never heard of it.....

I have been to four fish stores, some big box, some not, and I have yet to see anyone pay any attention to hygiene when getting fish out of the tanks. They ALL, without fail, used the same net to catch fish from multiple tanks, and I watched my lfs take some plants out of a tank with several dead fish and put them right into another tank.
Am I crazy in believing that disease can spread from contact with a contaminated net or plants???? Even in my own tanks I have a net for EACH tank and don't mix them up.
And, I have no idea how their filtering systems work... does each tank have a separate water and filter OR are they all connected to the same canister filter behind the tanks???

nyleveiam wrote:I have been to four fish stores, some big box, some not, and I have yet to see anyone pay any attention to hygiene when getting fish out of the tanks.  They ALL, without fail, used the same net to catch fish from multiple tanks, and I watched my lfs take some plants out of a tank with several dead fish and put them right into another tank.  
Am I crazy in believing that disease can spread from contact with a contaminated net or plants????  Even in my own tanks I have a net for EACH tank and don't mix them up.
And, I have no idea how their filtering systems work... does each tank have a separate water and filter OR are they all connected to the same canister filter behind the tanks???

You are correct that pathogens especially parasites can travel from tank to tank on nets or plants. Its a terrible practice that many stores are doing. I see similar things here but one positive thing is at least some of LFS places all nets in dip disinfectant solution. And some stores are on separate tanks for filtration usually smaller mom and pop shops and some big box stores sadly have many tanks hook to a single system.

Wow, it takes a lot of willpower to leave a lfs without fish and is a great tool in the aquarist's arsenal!

I also have learned this lesson, fortunately, none of my fish died from this mistake, but still is really stressful to wake up to a diseased fish.

I am lucky to have found a LFS that is quarantining their fish, and also pay a lot of attention to using different nets for different tanks and I'm really happy for this. Even tho, their fish are kinda on the expensive side.

Most of the LFS will have the same water supply, that is being filtered in a kind of "sump" and use it to supply all of their water. This sump is then "sterilized" with a UV light.

Some LFS will be using better filtration, so that in event a virus outbreak, they can cut the tank from normal filtration while it's being treated, and have it's own filter meanwhile.