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O.K. so I am at the LFS and thier new shipment arrives.Is it crazy to buy fish still in the bag? Problem is the selling rate is so high here that the cool fish sell really fast.They will take special orders but most of the time I like to window shop for new fish.

Well, I wouldn't buy any fish that had just arrived at the store, as they're already stressed from their move. I've had experiences with stress killing fish, just because they moved from the supplier to the store to my tank too quickly. Is there a way you can have the store hold them for you? That would be the best thing to do, maybe pay up front to convince them you're definitely going to get the fish.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Now, I only have LIMITED experience with this, so don't take my word for it, but, Last weekend I bought some panda cories from a less than desirable LFS, because they were the only ones who had the pandas. Well, by Sunday, one had died. I had taken the LFS's last cories, so they told me I could come in on Tuesday and get one to replace the dead one from their new shipment. I was worried too, about the stress of being shipped to the store, then to my tank, etc. But, he seems to be doing quite well, (its only been 3 days).

But in this case, the LFS had tanks that I would not want any more fish from, so I figured I was rescuing him from those conditions. (One fish had what looked like a cotton ball stuck in it's gill..)

But Like I said, that is my very limited experience, and the stress may not have caught up to this guy yet.

I wouldn't buy a fish that has just been shipped, especially if they were still in the shipping bag. There are so many things wrong with that. Such problems are stress,parasites,diseases,acclimation. I would find another LFS that isn't as well known, but one that good. There are a couple of places here that are small but take good care of their fish.
If I did buy a fish that was from a shipping bag, I would quarantine him for at least 2 weeks.

Do like Nick said, ask them to hold them for you and pay up front so they don't sell them. Unless you have a q-tine tank I wouldn't risk it. Shipping can be very stressful to the fish, and no matter how perfect the water conditions in your tank are, you may still have problems with them. Hold them in the shop for a couple days if you can.

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

I have had several shipments of fish sent to my place and all have done very well. I would buy it and acclimate it correctly to a quarintine tank (which should be done everytime you introduce new fish) and turn the lights off for about 24 hrs. let it get comfortable in its new sorrounding and try feeding. Most pet stores have a two to three day return policy anyway. Nothing they do will be different than what you do. In reality allowing it to acclimate to their tanks then buying it and moving it again will be even more stressful than just buying it in the bag and taking it back to your place. In fact the fishes chances are probably better in your care anyway. If you really like the fish have confidence and get it.

I think buying a fish still in a bag would be better than buying one thats been in a tank for a few days. Of course, one of my LFS's has a liberal return policy(5 days on marine fish). Anyways, I've had fish shipped to my house and taken directly from the bag and put in my tank.

Actually, it may be better to go directly from the bag to YOUR tank. That eliminates the entire middle man thing and thats one less tank the fish has to be accimilated too. The more times it HAS to be accimilated, I think that equals MORE stress.

Just my opinion though.

I agree with Mikey on this one. BITB is a great way to get a reduced cost on a fish also. Most stores will give a discount because they havent had to feed it, etc. As long as you are confident that you know a healthy fish then there shouldnt be any problems.

There is a store here that has a BITB sale with the fish half price.

I would agree only on the knowledge an experiance of the person buying the fish. I'm fairly new to the game and I can tell you what I know from books, but not experiance. I would suggest to a new person like myself to purchase a fish that has been kept at the lfs for a week or so after being shipped. Another thing that I should mention is how to pick out a healthy fish. The normal discolor, fatigue, hanging out in the back of the tank is not all the problems an unhealthy fish encounters. With freshwater that may be the case, but not SW fishes. You may purchase a completely healthy looking fish, only to have it die in your tank for no particular reason.

that's absolutely true about better off buying fish still in the bag from LFS....that's save one environmental change for the fish hence reduce hazard.

Well if I buy the fish they will hold it for me but it's at my risk.I guess if I see one ITB that I just have to have I might go ahead and get it.This is one of two reputable dealers I know.The other is a long drive and very expensive.

You talking about from GTPC? They know me for sitting there helping them unpack so I can get first dibs on new fish. Really it isn't to bad. It is less stressful than transferring them to the tanks then netting them and bagging them again.

Yup, The two chris's are getting to know me and I am finally getting alot of help from them.The more I think about these opinions it does make more sense to buy fish in the bag over ones that have only been in thier tanks for a few hours or days.