LFS Experience

[Aquattro]

I know in Victoria that if a nice fish comes in the store, you buy it right away. If YOU don't, someone else will. And I certainly would not trust any LFS to keep a fish I had already paid for. If it's nice, buy it. Of course you want to carefully evaluate the health of the fish, but if it is healthy and nice, it won't be there tomorrow.
There are exceptions though. I just bought the nicest Powder Brown/Grey Tang I've ever seen. It had been at the store for 2 months and got fatter every time I saw it. The price was $89, which is also the reason it was there so long. It just went on sale and came home with me.

To add to this story, a local LFS used to "hold" fish after you paid for it, sell it again to someone else, and tell the customer it died...sorry, no refund.