ShinySideUp
Fish Herder
Dump the carbon filter, very few people use them. They will keep your water very clear but will also filter out any plant food you may put in. They are really only necessary to remove medications after treatment. If you want to retain the clearer water however you will find that Purigen does an excellent job although it's not cheap.
1 above) Quarantine usually refers to keeping fish away from other fish in a completely separate tank for two or three weeks and can be a right PITA. What you are talking about is accimatisation in which you put the bag containg the fish into the main tank to even up the temperatures and to slowly remove some of the original fishes water and substitute it with some of your own so they don't suffer from pH shock, this takes between half an hour and a couple of hours depending on your own preferences. I do acclimatize but I don't quarantine as I don't have an extra tank. I try to buy older fish from LFS's so I can be more sure they haven't just arrived in with disease. In most cases there are medicines that will cure the most common problems so I don't worry too much.
2) I have used mail order for some large Clown loaches and they arrived in good time and in good condition, they are still doing well after six months with me. It is expensive (at least in my case) and cost me over twelve quid in delivery charges so the more you order the more economic it will be. My nearest large garden centre has a comprehensive fish shop attached and is very good, I bought my six foot fish tank through them and they were helpful with delivery. The only way to judge is to look at the health of the fish in the tanks and to get views from others who have shopped there. One thing I discovered, if you get there very early, as soon as they open, you might catch them shovelling out large numbers of dead fish; I saw this once and never bought fish from them again.
1 above) Quarantine usually refers to keeping fish away from other fish in a completely separate tank for two or three weeks and can be a right PITA. What you are talking about is accimatisation in which you put the bag containg the fish into the main tank to even up the temperatures and to slowly remove some of the original fishes water and substitute it with some of your own so they don't suffer from pH shock, this takes between half an hour and a couple of hours depending on your own preferences. I do acclimatize but I don't quarantine as I don't have an extra tank. I try to buy older fish from LFS's so I can be more sure they haven't just arrived in with disease. In most cases there are medicines that will cure the most common problems so I don't worry too much.
2) I have used mail order for some large Clown loaches and they arrived in good time and in good condition, they are still doing well after six months with me. It is expensive (at least in my case) and cost me over twelve quid in delivery charges so the more you order the more economic it will be. My nearest large garden centre has a comprehensive fish shop attached and is very good, I bought my six foot fish tank through them and they were helpful with delivery. The only way to judge is to look at the health of the fish in the tanks and to get views from others who have shopped there. One thing I discovered, if you get there very early, as soon as they open, you might catch them shovelling out large numbers of dead fish; I saw this once and never bought fish from them again.
