(upbeat music)
- You probably spent over a thousand dollars,
spent a hundred plus hours,
setting up your tank.
The excitement is building
and you have a date with your local fish store
to pick out your first inhabitants.
If you choose incorrectly,
your first experience buying livestock
could be with stressed,
sick,
and even dead fish,
within a couple of days.
So how do you choose a healthy fish?
Well, that's what this video is about.
(upbeat music)
(speaks foreign language)
Everybody,
Matthew here.
You BRS beginner guru,
coming out to you with episode 33,
in the beginner how to guide
for saltwater Koreans and reef tanks.
How to choose a healthy fish.
Absolutely,
100 percent hands down,
The best thing you can do,
is find that local fish store,
that is truly a diamond in the rough.
Friendly staff,
large selection,
clean store,
ethical and sustainable sourcing.
Gap the bread options,
and a store that quarantines all of its new livestock,
for three to four weeks.
If you have an LFS near you that does most of this,
or even all of this,
I recommend that you take your saltwater aquarium budget,
and spend every penny there,
because they deserve your business.
After much research,
a lot of deliberation,
and a very lengthy script This week,
I have distilled how to choose a healthy fish
into eight,
simple steps.
Step number one,
observe the store and its employees.
- [Matthew] Spend some time by yourself,
walk around,
get a lay of the land.
Just observe the tanks in general.
A store's general appearance and cleanliness,
can tell you a lot about how they care for their livestock.
How did the tanks look at first impression?
Are they clean?
Does the water look clear and crisp?
Is there a lot of dead livestock in the tanks?
Do the fish look healthy and happy?
How are the employees?
Are they friendly?
Attentive?
knowledgeable?
Be a little stalker-ish here
and observe them interacting with their other guests.
Does their advice seem prudent?
What you want is an employee,
who cares deeply about their work,
and about the livestock.
Who is trying to find the right fish for your situation.
And that may even involve saying no to you.
Step number two,
observe the tanks.
After observing the overall store pedigree,
and the knowledgeability
and friendliness of its employees,
move in and observe the tanks as a whole.
Are there dead fish in the tanks?
maybe lying at the bottom getting eaten by snails,
maybe floating at the top,
maybe sucked into the overflow.
Do the fish seem well fed?
Not too timid,
swimming freely?
How about filtration?
And this can be a little tricky here.
Does each tank look like it has its own filter?
or is there a bank of tanks that shares a common filter?
or does there appear to be no filter at all?
Which likely means,
that the aquarium store has a centralized filter,
which services all the tanks.
What that means for you is if there are multiple tanks
that share a same filter,
you have to assess all of those tanks together,
because they share the water.
- [Matthew] Specifically What that means is,
if you find disease in one of those tanks,
you have to assume that,
that disease is in all of the tanks,
that share the same filtration.
Generally speaking,
what that means is,
if an LFS has one centralized filter,
and something goes wrong,
that means it goes wrong in all of the tanks.
- [Matthew] But if each tank has its own filter,
or maybe if a set of tanks shares a filter,
that's going to be better overall,
because you can isolate those problems
and treat those fish,
without infecting all of the fish in the store.
Personally speaking,
I don't usually buy a fish,
from a tank,
that has a dead fish in it.
- [Matthew] I don't know why that fish died.
I don't know if it has some sort of internal,
or external parasite.
I don't know if it has ich,
or velvet,
maybe Brooklynella.
I don't know if it has something that's super contagious.
So if I see a dead fish in there,
I'm going to assume that that tank is infected.
But not only that,
if there are multiple tanks,
that share that same water with a common filter,
then I won't buy a fish,
from any of those tanks
that has a dead fish in it.
So my advice to you,
is don't choose a healthy looking fish,
from a tank,
or a set of tanks,
that has dead fish in it.
Because you just don't know why that fish died,
and that disease could have already spread
to the rest of the inhabitants.
So be sure to find a healthy tank,
or a healthy set of tanks
before moving on to the next step.
Step number three,
ask about quarantine procedures.
- [Matthew] A reputable LFS,
will be upfront and honest with you,
and share all of the details
about their quarantine procedures for all new fish.
Ask if all of the tanks share the same water source.
Do they have fish only tanks
that are pretreated with copper?
Do they do some sort of dip with all new arrivals?
Do they use different nets for different tanks?
Or do they at least sterilize their nets in between use?
Here's the ideal answer.
I'm going to read it because it's long.
If you hear anything,
even remotely close to this,
you are in luck.
So you ask the question,
tell me about your quarantine procedures.
And here's what they say.
- [Matthew] We have a large quarantine system in the back,
that I'm happy to show you.
All new arrivals get dipped
and placed into our quarantine system.
Where we have the ability to observe
and treat in case of illness.
We put dates on each tank,
So we know when they arrive.
All of our fish remain in quarantine
for a minimum of 21 days,
But up to 28 days, if we have concerns.
If at any time a fish gets sick and needs to be medicated,
we restart that 21 day clock.
After the quarantine period is over,
then we move them to our showroom floor for purchase.
If you find an LFS that tells you anything,
even remotely close to this,
jackpot.
seriously, you have found an amazing local fish store.
I'm not trying to say,
that an LFS that doesn't do this level of quarantine,
is a bad place.
For some businesses,
It's just not sustainable.
It's expensive,
and time consuming to do lengthy quarantines for your fish.
And if you're not big enough
and don't do enough volume,
it's going to be nearly impossible to make a profit,
and to do that level.
So I don't blame an LFS for not going to this level.
It may just be too cost prohibitive.
But if you live in a large metropolitan area,
and you're comparing local fish stores,
and one has a quarantine regimen,
and the other doesn't,
go with the one that has a quarantine regimen.
Your goal in this step
is really to assess the level of risk.
Even if an LFS has the most amazing quarantine procedures,
it can still have disease
and you can bring that disease home.
So regardless,
you need to have
a robust quarantine procedure at home as well.
But what if you don't have
a lot of local fish stores to choose from,
And none of them seem to do any quarantine procedures.
It doesn't mean you can't buy from them,
It just means you need to find,
that healthy tank that has healthy fish,
and bring them home,
and do a robust quarantine.
Step number four,
observe fish behavior.
- [Matthew] So we've observed the store,
we've creepily spied on the staff,
we've gone over and looked at all of the tanks,
we've determined whether or not the store is clean,
And we've spoken to an employee
about their quarantine procedures.
Now it's time to move on to individual fish behavior.
This can be super challenging for a beginner,
because every single species of fish,
has different characteristics.
- [Matthew] For example,
I may say that generally speaking,
A fish that is restless,
and sitting on the bottom of the tank is probably sick.
Unless of course,
it's a Hawk fish,
or a Gobi,
that doesn't have a swim bladder,
and that's exactly what it's supposed to be doing.
But that being said,
there are some general characteristics
to look for in a healthy fish.
So when you think you've found the fish you want,
be sure to observe it for about five to 10 minutes,
and look for these characteristics.
First up is swimming,
The fish shouldn't be struggling while swimming,
should have smooth movements,
- [Matthew] and be in its appropriate environment.
Meaning out in the water column,
on the rock work,
or near the sand bed,
depending on the type of species.
Does the fish have trouble keeping upright?
Is it listing to its side?
Those are never good signs.
The second thing to look for is rapid breathing.
- [Matthew] If a fish appears
to be breathing really quickly,
that is never a good sign.
And it's usually a sign,
that something is wrong with their gills.
So look at their gills really closely.
Do they appear to be flaring out?
maybe inflamed,
moving really,
really quickly.
To get a sense if that is normal breathing for that fish,
just look at other members of that same species,
to get a sense of what healthy looks like.
Number three is sinking to the bottom,
or floating to the top,
usually sideways.
unless this is a specific characteristic of a fish,
like a Hawk fish,
or a Gobi that's meant to be on the substrate.
If you see a fish on the bottom,
lying on its side,
or floating at the top,
that is an unhealthy fish.
- [Matthew] This is usually quite obvious,
especially when you see a school of fish swimming around,
and just one of them lying on the bottom.
FYI fish don't usually sleep like us,
So if you see a fish lying on its side,
generally speaking,
that's a bad sign.
Number four is gasping at the surface.
Generally,
if you see a fish gasping at the surface,
it doesn't have enough oxygen.
- [Matthew] Now there are exceptions to this rule,
for example,
in betta fish,
in a fresh water system,
they have developed a special organ,
to be able to breathe atmospheric oxygen.
But most salt water fish
that you'll encounter in this hobby,
don't have that ability.
So if you see a fish gasping at the surface,
there could be something internally wrong with that fish,
maybe a problem with his gills,
maybe internal parasites,
and is generally not a good sign.
Number five is,
are their fins held erect?
- [Matthew] Again, this can be species specific.
As some species of fish
do hold their fins close to their body,
but observe members of the same species,
to see what the rest are doing.
- [Matthew] Fish should have their fins protruding nicely.
They shouldn't look ragged,
or nipped,
or damaged.
A fish that has its fins pulled in,
or nip at,
or partly missing can be a sign of stress,
or even disease.
The sixth characteristic to look at is flashing.
That's when a fish will seem to swim really quickly
against something hard.
Usually you'll see this around the rock work.
A fish will swim really fast,
and seem to just dart at the rock work,
and brush its side.
- [Matthew] What that generally means,
is there's some sort of external,
or internal parasite,
or disease,
and the fish is trying to get it off of them,
definitely stay away from fish
that exhibit the flashing behavior.
And lastly is look for signs of fear or stress.
- [Matthew] Generally,
a fish shouldn't appear afraid or hiding.
And of course there are tons of exceptions to this rule,
but just take an example of a school of chromis.
- [Matthew] If you see an entire school of fish together,
and then one fish from that same species out on its own,
hiding in a corner,
hiding in the rock work,
that is not a good sign.
But if it's a solitary creature,
then maybe that's normal behavior.
Just ask your LFS for details about that species.
The fifth step of choosing a healthy fish,
is to check for obvious signs of injury and disease.
Now that you've been in your LFS for,
I don't know,
like four hours already with the first,
what four steps.
Let me give you eight things to look for,
that could be signs of injury or disease.
First up is coloration.
- [Matthew] Fish should have bright colors,
not dull colors.
A good example of this,
is look at a whole bunch of clown fish.
Usually,
they're bright orange,
but if you notice one that looks super pale or Dull,
that could be some sort of disease on their skin,
or they could just be generally unhealthy,
and their colors are more muted.
Number two is you want thick,
not skinny fish.
- [Matthew] Skinny fish either aren't eating well,
or they're just a species that is more skinny,
which can often mean they're finicky eaters,
and probably not good for beginners anyway.
Number three,
clear eyes,
not cloudy eyes,
clear eyes,
full hearts,
Can't lose,
Right?
What's that from?
clear eyes full hearts,
can't lose.
Oh that's from Friday night lights.
- [Matthew] clear eyes,
not cloudy eyes.
I mean this is most obvious to see,
if one of the eyes is super clear,
and the other eye is cloudy.
Yes,
a fish can recover from this,
but don't buy a fish that has cloudy eyes.
Number four is gills,
either a fish that is breathing too rapidly,
or that has some of its gill tissue exposed and inflamed.
Stay away from those.
number five,
missing scales,
never a good sign.
I had a Clown fish from the harem tank back here,
that was clearly getting bullied,
and it had a whole bunch of missing scales on its side.
And usually when that happens,
they die,
but I was able to catch it.
I moved it over here and the scales have returned.
So yes,
a fish can definitely recover from missing scales,
but in my experience,
once a fish gets to that level,
they usually die.
And especially if you're bringing a fish home
from your local fish store,
you are adding so much stress to that fish's life,
that I'm doubtful it would survive.
So just don't buy a fish that has missing scales.
Number six is that the caudal fin is intact.
- [Matthew] Check out all the fins for that matter,
make sure not only are they intact,
but they are not torn.
They are not ripped,
and there's not chunks missing from them.
Which means that it's probably getting picked on.
Number seven is look for mucus on the body.
You don't want to see mucus on the body.
On a light colored fish,
- [Matthew] it's almost impossible to see,
but on a dark colored fish,
you can definitely see the lighter colored mucus.
That is always a sign that something's wrong with that fish.
Number eight is fungal growths.
These will often look like little white pieces of cotton.
Oftentimes my fish get them around the gills.
Now to be honest,
these usually resolve on their own.
I've had them in several of my fish.
I usually don't do anything to them,
and they go away,
but don't by a fish that has that.
Because then you could bring that fungus back home
to the rest of your fish.
Plus that fish is probably already stressed out,
and transporting it home just isn't a good idea.
And the ninth characteristic.
Even though I only said there was eight.
There's a ninth one.
I just don't know how to count,
Evidently.
Look for white spots on the body.
White spots on a fish
that is not supposed to have white spots.
Very bad.
White spots usually means Ich,
- [Matthew] or Velvet,
or Brooklynella.
And those diseases will wipe out your entire tank.
So stay away from any fish or any tank that has white spots,
because that spells disaster.
Step number six,
feed the fish.
Store looks good,
the employees are great,
The tanks are good,
You found the exact fish you want.
Now ask the employees to put some food in that tank.
- [Matthew] Ideally,
you want a fish,
That's going to accept any kind of food.
whether that's pellets,
whether that's flakes,
whether that's frozen.
A fish that eats is a great sign.
But if there's a fish that won't eat,
that is usually a terrible sign,
And I wouldn't buy that fish.
Step number seven,
purchase your fish,
and ask that local fish store,
to hold that fish there for you for one to two weeks.
- [Matthew] Now,
to be honest here,
you could definitely skip this step.
But let's say you're buying some sort of,
super expensive fish,
which I don't recommend for beginners,
- [Matthew] but let's say you're going to do it anyways.
And some of your initial inspections,
whether it's the tanks,
whether it's the filtration,
whether it's the cleanliness,
whether it's how the employees acted.
Something gives you,
some hesitation about the wellbeing of that fish.
- [Matthew] Regardless of whether or not you go this route,
or if your LFS will even do this,
you're still going to have to quarantine all new fish,
for three to four weeks,
before putting them in your display tank.
And the eighth step for choosing a healthy fish,
are just two considerations.
First consideration is just to buy captive bred,
Whenever possible.
Captive bred fish are raised in captivity,
They eat prepared,
pellet,
flake,
frozen food.
They're usually disease free.
And they're almost always ethically sourced,
because they're not pulled from the reefs.
And the second thing to consider is,
if you are going to buy your fish online,
then you just wasted,
However many minutes you spent watching this video,
because none of those steps matter,
because you just don't get a choice.
So you definitely want to make sure that you can buy,
from a reputable online store,
that has a lot of great ratings,
and a lot of other hobbyists who speak highly of it.
Well,
I hope that was helpful.
I hope you feel more confident now,
in going to your local fish store,
and selecting a healthy fish.
Even if you follow every step in this video,
and take every precaution,
fish are going to die.
They're going to get sick,
and something's going to happen.
So go easy on yourself,
because it's going to happen to everybody in the hobby.
Do your research,
follow the steps in this video,
and quarantine all new fish for three to four weeks at home,
and you are greatly increasing your chances of success.
Next up is episode 34.
You bought your fish,
you brought them home,
and now you need to add them safely to your quarantine tank.
How do you do that?
Well stay tuned for next episode,
because we're going to teach you,
how to drip acclimate.
As always everybody,
thank you for watching.
Happy reefing,
be well.
We'll see you next time.
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