I raised this issue before also and it certainly is a case of know your pet shop before you go buying. I have 2 pet shops in my area. One is a garden centre and continues to have dead fish above the norm. Coupled with the fact that when I looked for Shrimp last week the shop owner said "Shrimp is it,Id say try the supermarket!". So the other shop didnt have shrimp either but gave lots of advise where to get them etc..I only ever deal with the pet shop dedicated to the Fish. They have about 20 tanks at least and have an array of fish and are well informed.(Lucky for me its only a 4 min walk from my house also!). So for anyone unsure of buying from pet shops, remember its a business to them,they will sell you whatever they want. The shops who tell you no you cant stock an angel with baby fry etc..they are the shops to do the business with as they know what fishkeeping is about.

Gavin