There are some salt water fish that are often sold in pet stores that you should avoid. These fish have a very slim chance of living in your captive tank. One of these types fish is sold very cheap (usually around $10-$15 each ) and have about a 97 to 98% mortality rate after a month or so from being out of the Ocean. They are also often sold to help rid your system of the parasite ich. This fish is the Cleaner Wrasse. Please don't buy these fish, ever! They are the oceans parasite removers for many other fish and don't stand a chance in your tank. It's best to leave them be in the ocean where they belong.

It is important to try, if at all possible, to purchase animals for our reef tanks that are captive bred.  There are many more choices for captive bred animals than in the past.  Captive bred animals do often cost a bit more, but it doesn't impact our oceans and the animals are often more hardy and accepting of a closed habitat.  Also, most all wild caught fish carry parasites such as worms and they can infect your system, which can be a very hard thing to deal with. Please, before purchasing a new fish or coral for your reef tank, try your best to find one that has been captive raised.  Some of the captive bred fish available today are: