Buying fish

Hello everyone...Well I found alittle mom and pop LFS in my town. The guy there is selling baby Hipo Tangs. He told me that they were cought in the wild. I was wondering if it is bad to buy fish like that?

 

most fish are caught in the wild. There are only a few that have been breed in captivity. I don't think hippo tang are one of those though

 

Oh ok He wants 40 bucks for a baby. I dont think thats to bad. Cause the other LFS up the road he wants 70 bucks for one.

 

make sure it is eating and in good health before you buy.

 

and that your tank meets its needs

(don't believe the guy at the LFS if he says your tank can handle it...research it on your own!)

 

To be honest with you Hippo nags usually don't last too long as their are other alternatives that make better suitable tank mates(even Tangs)!
Small fish, especially wild caught are not as hardy and tank ready specimens as would be those raised in a farm scenario!
That is one of the reasons ORA specimens do so well and have a high success ratio.

 

Baby hippos do not do well in captivity from what I hear. I will personally never buy another one. I had a very small one and that thing got overly stressed and got ick at a drop of a hat.

I thought for sure I would loose Dorey (creative I know) many times until she grew into a full size one. They dont eat well and like I said stress easily. They also like to play possum when they get stressed...so dont flush one until you know it is dead! They will lie on their sides like they are dead and will not move until they decide to.

I personally would wait and get a medium sized one if I were you. Also like all fish make sure they are eating well.