Pets> How to Choose a Fish Store

Text by: Tanya Munshi
If you’re a first timer who wants to keep pet fish, then here are some ways to pick a reliable fish store. The best way to choose a good pet shop is to take out time and patiently check out several pet shops.
1
Hygiene
Overall the general hygiene and cleanliness of a fish store is important. If you find that most tanks have a crust or residue in and around them, that’s a sign of an unhealthy fish tank. It also shows the lack of hygiene and care that the pet shop owner shows toward the fish and the tanks.
2
Appearance
Spotted a dead fish in the fish tank? Avoid buying from that tank, better still leave. If the aquatic plants don’t look fresh and green then its not a good sign. The water in the fish tank should be clean. If it’s cloudy, with lots of deposits floating in the water, don’t even think about it.

Fish
While you’re at the shop if a new set of fish has just been bought, it’s advisable you don’t buy them. Fish are delicate, and are usually tired from a change of environment and new place. A good pet fish store will offer to replace a fish, if the new fish that you have bought from there has died within a couple of days.

Fish Tank
Ideally, a fish tank should be of a minimum 10 gallons (37.85 litres) and a good fish seller will not over crowd it with lots of fish. Overcrowding of fish in one single tank can make it difficult to pick a healthy fish and chances of injury in a fish are higher. Since its over crowded, the fish will tend to bump into one another.