[fishnut]

I have both a 20g quarantine/hospital tank, and a 55g holding tank, which I use before adding any new fish to the display tank.

If a nice fish comes into the store, it will likely be gone if not purchased right away - however, I prefer to have the store hold the fish for 2 weeks before bringing it home, in order to see if it is eating and adjusting well to captivity, and to lessen the stress of being moved twice in a very short space of time.

That being said, I guess it is a calculated risk to leave it at the store, the only advantage being that this particular owner can diagnose disease better than I. Feedings and water quality are excellent at this shop - perhaps an agreement in writing at the time of purchase, stipulating the conditions of total or partial refund (if any) would be helpful.

Sometimes it just seems that once they have your money, you are at their mercy, as in the case of the unscrupulous dealer who sold the fish and then said it had died, in a previous post.