ml> ewww... i only have two words for something like that... reputable
ml> dealer... in other words, the one you buy from... someone upstream from you
ml> wasn't "playing fair"... i've never had problems like that
and generally
ml> end up with at least one goldfish in most of my tank setups... they're not
ml> that "dirty" if you take care of the tank properly ;)


When you are a hobbyist who is on the end of the chain, you really don't
have any say in who your local pet store chooses to purchase their fish
stock from. If you happen to live in a small town where there may only be
one or two pet stores at best, that limits your selection even further.

When I managed a local pet store years ago, we made a conscious effort to
never sell sick or diseased fish. We would medicate the tanks and mark them
with stickers so that our customers would know that the fish were off limits
for the time being. We also had hospital tanks in the back room where we
treated a lot of our sick fish.

Concerning goldfish, they eat a lot, and they crap a lot. While I find some
of them pretty and interesting, I am just not a goldfish fan, I guess.

I am more captivated by cichlids, such as the African cichlids that I  now
have -- five Electric Blue Johannis. They are always interesting to watch;
especially today as the dominant male has been lighting up like a neon
lightbulb all day chasing the females, and sparring with the other males in
the tank.

These little guys are quite aggressive, just like the Copadichromis Borleyi
that I had several years ago. Those guys spawned like rabbits, and I suspect
that these ones will too once the females reach maturity.

Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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