What to Bring When Buying Pet Fish

"Ok, so now that you know your set up, you got it all written down, maybe, to help you remember. The next thing that wouldn't be a bad idea for you to write down a list of questions or concerns that you have with your fish tank. And then we're going to head off to our local fish dealer. I'd also suggest you take along a water sample -- a small container with your water out of your tank, so that your local fish dealer can test that water for you and let you know some of the parameters in it, like your pH, your ammonias and your nitrites and things like that. That way, they can help you pick a fish a little bit more clearly. Now, when you're in your local fish store -- and maybe you only have one, but hopefully you'll have a couple to choose from, you want to make sure you're looking at the tanks and you're seeing tanks that are clean and well cared for. What we're looking for here is dead fish or builds up of grime in the aquarium. Algae I wouldn't worry about too much about. Algae is part of an aquarium. It's just a plant. It doesn't cause any unnecessarily bad things. In fact, it can help keep the tank a little bit more cleaner. But you do want to watch out for any diseased fish. Take a close look. See if anybody has any strange fungus or bumps growing on them, if they're swimming erratically or strangely. These are all clues to fish tanks or a fish store that maybe isn't keeping their fish in the "toppest" condition."