I understand that. My wife didn't understand why I bought such a large tank when my son asked for a pet. (My wife is allergic to anything with fur, so fish became the only viable option.) I knew from growing up with fish that it can be a highly addictive hobby and that I would see lots of fish that I wanted to keep. I did and I still don't have some of the fish that I really, really wanted. But, I am a patient man, and can wait a few years before I will need to rethink my stocking.
If I were in your shoes, I'd be travelling to a few LFS (privately owned would probably be best) and ask for a small bit of their filter media and a bag of their water to take it home in. Tell them that you are having trouble cycling and that you want to use mature media, not the bottled stuff (been there, done that) to speed the process up. Tell them how excited you are to have fish (and complement them on their selection... sucking up a little never hurts!) and can't wait to have some of theirs in your tank. Besides, it always helps to scope out several stores before you actually purchase your fish. Personally, I would never buy fish from any store that has sick or dead fish in their tanks. More than looking over the fish, you are looking over how well cared for the fish are. Ask what the pH of the tanks are... What the nitrates are normally... What the hardness is... When their new stock comes in... If they do special orders for customers... Strike up a nice conversation. You'd be surprised what you can find out. My wife laughed at me for having a "bromance" with the fish manager at our local pet store because we talked for about an hour and a half one day about all things fish related. I found out during that conversation enough to know that that was a place I was willing to buy my fish. I've bought the majority of my fish from that store, even though it is a chain and most people around here have negative comments about them. The one near me actually has very well kept tanks, the folks who work in the fish department actually have a clue (at least most of them, some you can tell just are placed there for the day or belong in a different department usually) and they stock the majority of the fish I wanted. They don't normally have cories in stock though.
I had to seek out alternatives for the cories.
If I were in your shoes, I'd be travelling to a few LFS (privately owned would probably be best) and ask for a small bit of their filter media and a bag of their water to take it home in. Tell them that you are having trouble cycling and that you want to use mature media, not the bottled stuff (been there, done that) to speed the process up. Tell them how excited you are to have fish (and complement them on their selection... sucking up a little never hurts!) and can't wait to have some of theirs in your tank. Besides, it always helps to scope out several stores before you actually purchase your fish. Personally, I would never buy fish from any store that has sick or dead fish in their tanks. More than looking over the fish, you are looking over how well cared for the fish are. Ask what the pH of the tanks are... What the nitrates are normally... What the hardness is... When their new stock comes in... If they do special orders for customers... Strike up a nice conversation. You'd be surprised what you can find out. My wife laughed at me for having a "bromance" with the fish manager at our local pet store because we talked for about an hour and a half one day about all things fish related. I found out during that conversation enough to know that that was a place I was willing to buy my fish. I've bought the majority of my fish from that store, even though it is a chain and most people around here have negative comments about them. The one near me actually has very well kept tanks, the folks who work in the fish department actually have a clue (at least most of them, some you can tell just are placed there for the day or belong in a different department usually) and they stock the majority of the fish I wanted. They don't normally have cories in stock though.
I had to seek out alternatives for the cories.
??? Discuss........ lol
