Exotic salt water fish are beautiful and can add a great lively centerpiece to your home or office, but they require a bit more maintenance than most of their fresh water cousins. Most of the coral fish you see in the salt water aquarium store were recently living in the vast ocean, and their new owners must do everything to make their new habitat as close to home as possible. Being captured and placed in a strange environment can be very stressful to salt water fish species, after all, just like it would be for any creature. The most important thing to remember when buying exotic salt water fish is how you will keep them happy, not how they will look.
You should always learn more about the salt water fish species before purchasing them, so you can not just keep them alive, but help them to thrive. And while you might be tempted to purchase coral fish that are sick in order to nurse them back to life, you should avoid this. They can make the other fish sick, and then you will need to replace all of the fish as well as all of the water. Once you decide on a particular coral fish, such as a salt water clown fish, don't be afraid to ask the store to hold it for you. A good salt water aquarium store will always hold a fish for you. They should also allow you to watch the exotic salt water fish eating, so you can see if they are healthy or not. And whatever salt water fish species you choose, always check out the fish for spots, irregular patches, missing scales, and wounds. Torn fins will usually heal, but the other irregularities could be quite problematic.
