local livestock the best
 

It seems that the only fish I ever have luck with are fish that I get from local reefers here in town. Could it be my luck or are the fish just really happy to live in Calgary? In all reality its most likely because they have been acclimated and are used to tank life. Anyone else share my luck with livestock as such?

Totally agree - it gives me chills when I gamble on a fish from a local LFS - very risky. The last one died in 2 days, took out a tankmate and made the rest sick. I might get a scolding for not having a Q-tank, but that's a side discussion.

There is the rare time when I have good confidence in the livestock I'm casing, but even then it's a matter of choosing the best specimen out of 5 or 6 available.

And, like you, the fish I adopt from others fare way better, with zero mortality. Some might argue that these also had to come from a store at some point, but that's not the point. The point is that most shipments appear to be in bad shape, and it's a calculated risk to buy one of those fish.

The only "store" I have complete confidence in, based on experience, is J&L.

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I don't have a Q-tank either so I'm pretty picky about fish with noticable flaws. But seriously I've only had good luck with fish from fellow reefers. I've never tried JL's, I'm wiery about buying fish over the net. Perhaps if a few went in on a livestock shipment I'd consider trying, anyone?

I guess I am lucky as for the most part my fish usually live. Interestingly enough the fish that seem to do the best come from one LFS in particular. ( I am sure you can guess where)
I usually ask how long it has been in the store and will seldom take a fish that hasn't been there for at least a week to 10 days. You can always pay for the fish and ask the store to hold it for you as well. If it dies before you go pick it up then get your $ back, and if it lives it has had time to adjust.
I also have 3 cleaner shrimp, a fire shrimp and a cleaner wrasse so any parisites don't stand a chance to kill the fish and spread to others. These guys are worth their weight in gold. I have a QT and seldom use it.
Greg

Well, some of my fish I adopted out. Others were adopted in.

But the best MO fish I have ever received were from J&L for sure.

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In the past I've heard really good things about J&L so I decided to try them yesterday. They don't take Amex!! Gues I'm out of luck.

why not try some of the TO shops? The prices are higher but the quality is far more amazing in color and health and rareness. seems to me like most of the best livestock lands there not in BC or AB :(

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Got a site? I have used Aquaria.ca from Ottowa in the past but only for hardware.

There's a bunch of mail order places out east:

http://www.seasideaquatics.com/
http://www.reefraft.ca/
http://www.createareef.com/index.html
http://www.emarine.org/
http://www.reefperfection.com/index.htm