Keeping a saltwater aquarium is an expensive hobby and most of that expense comes from the price of the fish.
Many times fish keepers will bu a prized fish only to be let down because it died a few days or weeks later.
Many times this could have been prevented if the person buying the fish new some simple tips on buying saltwater fish.
Tips For Buying Saltwater Fish That Are Healthy

• Research- Before you head to the fish store you should have and idea what type of fish you are looking to buy for your saltwater aquarium.
  You should have also researched the different types of fish you are interested in and eliminated any of the ones that are extremely delicate or those that will not eat in captivity.
  Many saltwater tank keepers fail to do this and it winds up costing them a lot of money in dead fish.
  
• Visual Inspection-The first Thing You Should do when shopping for saltwater fish is to give them a visual inspection.
  Look for trouble signs like labored breathing, torn fins or small white spots on their bodies.
  All of this signals a injured or sick fish and if they do not pass this test they should be avoided.
  
• Watch Them Eat- The next step is to ask the aquarium store to feed the fish and see how eagerly they take food.
  A healthy marine fish should actively go after any food put into the tank.
  If it ignores the food you may want to pass as this could indicate stress or an internal infection or injury.
  If the fish you want will not eat you can ask the store to hold the fish for you and see if it eats in a few days.