As an importer of MArine fish I would like to inform you of some of the risks. Also see my guide to buying Tropical fish online.

Over the years so many people have told me how hard it is to keep Marine fish they always die and freshwater fish are so much easier. This is actually FALSE or at least it doesn't need to be that way .THE PROBLEM HAS STEMMED FROM SO MANY MARINE FISH BEING COLLECTED USING CYANIDE or other chemical. It used to be a major problem for almost all fish from the Phillipines but has extended to indonesia in recent years. the MARINE AQUARIUM COUNCIL MACNA has done an excellent job of setting up certified collectors using the proper methods but after years of attempts progress is slow because this increases the cost of the fish.

   Cyanide is dumped from a boat and it causes paralysis  to the fish that are collected and they are placed in clean water to revive them. What also happens is that the fish are damaged and even though they eat well they are not digesting food well and many starve after a few months thus the "too hard to keep" syndrome. In truth most marine fish have lifespans much longer then freshwater fish and if you buy a captive bred clownfish at three times the price of a wild one the chances of you keeping it for several years are vastly improved. Many Tropical  fresh water fish have much shorter life spans then most marine fish so keep this in mind also.

    So buy captive bred fish when possible and fish from Hawaii are seldom caught using cyanide (the fines are very high) and you wouldn't carry barrels of the stuff around but it still happens . ALso remember even with the advance of test kits to test for cyanide that in third world countries the politics are to feed your family not follow the rules. Third world collectors get usually less then a dollar for a fish that might end up at $50.00 in a retail store. And I would say that 90% or greater of retailers have no idea how the fish were collected very few wholesalers really know eithier so you get a sales pitch many times not a chain of custody report.