An idea for vendors developing pre-conditioned fish for sale

Daniel@R2R · Apr 1, 2015

I love the way several of the sponsors here have started quarantining and conditioning fish for sale...making sure they are disease free and eating prepared foods! Very cool! I think it says a lot about the level of care given to their livestock and raises the bar for vendors everywhere.

Now...I want someone to condition some Copperband Butterflies, Klein's Butterflies, and Matted Filefish to come preconditioned to eat aiptasia! :tongue: Seriously, it would be awesome to be able to by one of these natural predators for aiptasia and not have to HOPE they will take to it. Too often buying these guys is a toss up as to whether or not the particular specimen you buy will eat the pest nems. I know I'd buy one...

kireek · Apr 7, 2015

I would be more likely to purchase a fish that was pre conditioned to eat pest.I would also be willing to pay a higher price.

DaveMorris · Apr 7, 2015

We have a store here in San Diego that always puts the date of acquisition of every fish on the tank right next to its name and price. You can go in and buy the fish and they will keep it for a while to make sure it is healthy and eating. If it dies before you pick it up, they will get another one and go through the same process. They also do not use nets to catch them. They put a large plastic container in the tank and sort of shoo the fish into it in order to minimize any stress to the fish. I have never brought home a fish from that store and had it die within a short time while in my care. The store is Vets Pets and they do a great job.