A friend, Brian, upon hearing about my new hobby, wrote to tell me that I should try out a couple of stores that specialize in pet fish. He recommended that I buy livestock from one of them instead of from a huge pet store chain.

At his suggestion, I raced right out to the Richmond to the Nippon Goldfish Company, a two story shop with everything an aquarium hobbyist could want. The ground floor consists solely of fish tanks, stacked three levels high. Aside from in a book or in a public aquarium, I've never seen such a variety of fish.

Upstairs is supplies, supplies, supplies. Since my pH, at 7.2, is higher than I'd like it to be for the Neon Tetras, one of the super helpful staff recommended Seachem Acid Buffer, which will lower the pH, based on dosages, until I get the pH I want (6.0 to 6.5).

Brian suggested another place in Chinatown that I plan to check out before actually buying my fish. Brian, thanks for the advice!