Should I get a young or an adult fish?

Should I get a young or an adult fish?

Marc Grover (Professional Aquarist) gives expert video advice on: Are goldfish easy to take care of?; How many fish should I get to start an aquarium?; How do I choose a healthy fish? and more...

When you're dealing with the age of fish, there's a couple of things you want to keep in mind. Not to sound morbid, but the older a fish is, the less amount of time you may have with it, to put it bluntly. Fish look different, sometimes, when they're babies and juveniles, especially in salt water, than they do when they're adult; dramatically different. Text On Screen: "Younger fish are typically less expensive and live longer.[Speaker reappears on screen". So, you may have to look at the pattern of the fish, the color of the fish, and see which one you like better. And, realize that you may pick a fish that looks a certain way when it's small, but a year later, it could transform into something else. So, for me, I like to pick younger fish. I think they do better in captivity, you get to bond better with them, and you get to watch them grow, and go through whatever color changes and body changes they're going to go through. And, kind of enjoy that as part of your process.