Starter Fish in a New Reef Tank

[JKC67]

Had my 130 gallon reef tank going now for a few weeks, included live sand and live rock and water quality is good and has been stable for over a week now. The only inhabitants I have in there are a few Algae crabs. This coming weekend I intend to put some fish into the tank and wanted some advice as to what are the best fish to start off with. So far every book I have read and every person asked has given me different advice. Ultimately I want to have a reasonably peaceful community of fish (I have a 6 year old - so Nemo and his pals will have to be in there!) and inverts.

So just looking for your advice on what fish are best to introduce first and how many can I introduce at the same time?

Thanks

JOn

[46FiatYamaha]

My first fish was a clown, they are compatable with basically everything, and since you're kid would like it too, they are always a good choice. I would start with just a clown, wait a week or two, then maybe another peaceful fish. Since you're tank is newly established, I would stock it slowly as to not overwhelm the biological system

[JKC67]

Thanks for this, had been told something similar from a guy at a pretty good shop - especially if the clowns are tank bred.

My biological system has been up and running for quite a while now, live sand has been in there for about a month and live rock and crabs about 2 weeks. So pretty confident tanks in good shape all round - do you then think I'll be able to add more then just a couple of clowns or should I still take it slow ? Tanks 5 x 2 x 2 - so would like to make a bit of an impact in there!

Thanks

Jon

[nativecracker32]

If your going to keep clowns anyways then they are a safe bet. It can be a pain to catch something to get it out of the tank. "Live rock could have to be moved" and you almost never get it back to the way you had it set up the first time. Good luck and happy reefin!

[jstngates]

I have had mine for over a month but bought a established tank and have Dori (Blue Heppo) I believe, Two clowns (Nemo), Two scooters, a six line wrasse, a yellow tang, and a coral beauty angel and havent had any probs.

[michellejy]

Take it slow. You want to quarantine to avoid adding disease to your tank and having your 6 year old see Nemo, Dori, Bubbles, etc die of ick or brookynella. Tangs especially are susceptible to ick, and it's tough to have a large enough quarantine tank to keep the water quality up with more than one medium sized fish, especially heavy waste producers like tangs.

Your final stocking list will most likely change over time, but if you can, come up with a good idea of what you want in there so you can stock the tank with minimal aggression to newcomers.

I'd start with a clown (or 2) and wait 3-4 weeks between adding fish. When starting my tank, I kept my quarantine running and cycled so I could put a new fish in there as the previous fish was transferred to the display tank.

[Sk8r]

Personally I've found clowns as aggressive and problematic as any other damsel, more so than some. If they're a must-have for you, great, and go for it---they're cute and people love them. But be aware they are not gentle and sweet, especially in pairs. My personal choice is a yellow watchman (a grump, but a generally harmless one except to his own kind) or starry blenny.

[JKC67]

Thanks for the advice, will probably just go for a very young pair of tank bred common clowns to start of with and give it a few weeks before adding some more fish

[giapam]

also if you like, add more corals hehehe, the important thing is to make your kid smile and also be happy doing it and have patience.

[jstngates]

i have 3 damsels too they arent as mean as my clowns... I have 2 clowns and the male which is the smaller one attacks my hand anytime i put my hand in the tank.

[JKC67]

Must admit first time I'd heard that Clowns were so aggresive.

If, as I've read, it's best to add the least aggressive/territorial fish first, then maybe I should leave the clowns til later.

Any suggestions on fish that are less aggressive/territorial? Firefish? Damsels (have read certain types are OK)? Cardinalfish?

[plateboy3293]

Gobies are pretty good. So are firefish and cardinals they are not very agressive. I put a clown in as my first fish and its not agressive at all. Good luck on yyour first fish.

[jkst06]

my clowns are more agressive toward me than their tankmates!

I had many of the fish on the list above, but also had good success with Blue Green Chromis and a Royal Gramma - no issues with them.

[Bernie21]

My clowns are super aggressive towards only me, I have never seen them go after any thing other than my hand in my tank. Becareful w the firefish, they are peacful but if you have another firefish they get aggressive towards them.

[JKC67]

THis is getting more confusing by each post!

I thought this was going to be a simple question and you'd all come back with the same answer, well I suppose you have - there aren't many non-aggressive fish!!

[michellejy]

I've had a tomato clown, which is considered one of the most aggressive, and now I have two ocellaris clowns. I've never seen aggression from either of them. My ocellaris were purchased as juveniles and haven't started displaying any sort of spawning behavior yet, so it's possible they will be come aggressive later on. Either way, I love clowns and wouldn't have a tank without them.

[carhockeyguy]

i think it depends on the type of clowns like the maroon clowns i have heard to be very aggressive and same thing for the tomatoe clowns. I would stick with the tank raised common clowns

[plateboy3293]

Ocellaris are what most people would consider the least agressive clown. Chromis are another good starter fish that you could keep 5-7 in the 130 gallon.

[dse18612]

What ever you do stay away from the Domino Damsel it was cute when little but got quite large and very aggressive now hes in the fuge until I can decide what to do with him.