who comes first?

[dwd5813]

okay ladies and gentlemen, i am almost ready to start setting the 55 gallon up, and i have a few other questions about the order of introduction. i plan on having corals, fish, and inverts in this tank, and i wonder what to put in first.
does it matter?
i was thinking that, after the tank is cycled with live rock and sand, i would add the inverts, then the corals, and then the fish. what did you folks do when you set up your tanks?

THANKS

[eckrynock]

Exactly that! Actually, I added all of my inverts first. Then, I added corals at a pretty rapid pace and since I quarantine all of my fish, I was able to add one fish a month which worked out well.

[dwd5813]

thats cool. i figured that the inverts would take care of any remaining decay on the liverock, thus making the water relatively clean and good for corals. then when those are situated i could slowly add fish, probably at no more than one per month. my fish list includes one pair of clowns and one trio of chromis. i am gonna set up a qt tank for these guys. after quarantine, should i add the pair at the same time? how about the trio? i plan on getting juvie fish, so i think the bio shock would not be too bad. what do you think? ? ? ?

[Andrew]

I wouldn't add the clean up crew until you need them. Don't add them when theres no cleaning up to do from the fish or no algae growth for them and ect. Add the chromis first at the same time and then you can add the clowns. I added 4 chromis to my 75 and shorty after added them clowns. Yes, you can qt the chromis at the same time and then qt the clowns at the same time. Ive had up to 5 fish being qted at the same time in the same tank.

[Lpabsolute]

Sounds like you've got it figured out.
Inverts aka ''clean up crew'', Corals, Fish
Just make sure the Clean up Crew have enough to eat

[eckrynock]

Most new tanks go through several algae stages. It's nice to have a nice clean up crew ready to handle these. Don't know about anybody else, but, I've never starved a hermit.

[dwd5813]

hmmm.
would i be stripping too much life off the live rock by adding cleaners before fish?
what about using lr and a cleanup crew to cycle the tank?

[dwd5813]

so ideal fish intro order would be
trio of chromis
pair of clowns
then i was gonna get a yellow watchman goby and a midas blenny and a wormfish.
could i do these at the same time, and would you change the order around any?

[BlackOnyx]

be sure to add least agressive fish first and continue up to the one who maybe the bully.

[One Eyed Bunny]

It goes by two scales.

First, add a fish. Something fairly passive and docile. Second, add a clean up crew, third add some more fish to feed your clean up crew. Next, add your inverts if you've got anymore and lastly add your coral.

Now, the most passive fish should be placed in the tank first followed by the next least aggressive fish, so on and so forth. By doing this you allow each fish to acclimate with its tankmates without them going at each other's throats in the first 24 hours. By adding aggressive fish first you will risk them attacking and possibly killing a new tankmate while it is still already afraid and unsure of its new surroundings.

[One Eyed Bunny]

I didn't realize you had already posted your fish line-up.

Gobies and Blennies are typically the least aggressive. I would add them first.

Next up would be your wormfish. Third, your trio of chromis. Lastly the paired clownfish.

This is working from the least aggressive to the most aggressive. By adding the fish in this order you're more likely to have a less aggressive tank over all seeing as the bullies will now be the new kids on the block, not the kid on the corner.

I hope this helps you, and g'luck with your tank. Remember to take it slow!

[dwd5813]

not to twist this into a poll, but can you guys tell me the advantages/disadvantages of adding corals before fish or vice versa?

[NCreefwannabe]

One thing is, coral tends to cost more than fish. If your water parameters arent perfect, your coral wont last. Most beginner fish can handle slightly off water alot more than corals can.

[dwd5813]

okay.
i was thinking originally that i would want to add corals first because that way the water wouldnt yet have been "fouled" by fish. upon furthur thought, and review of my replies, i am now of the opinion that if i can save my corals from experiencing the inevitable mini cycles that will occur each time i add fish, they will be better off. damn helmet.

[eckrynock]

On a 55, there should not be a "bio shock" from adding a small pair of clowns or a trio of chromis if it's done like you said. That is if you have ample live rock and a decent skimmer, shouldn't be a problem at all. What kind of corals are you looking to get. Most softies don't demand 'extremely' high water quality. I would wait at least 6 months to add sps or lps to a new tank. I think the order you add livestock is a personal preference. I wanted to start slow with fish to give my LR and microfauna a chance to flourish. Also, there are some fish that will nip at lps, sps, and clams. Most of the stories I have heard were they only did this to corals added after them. So, I wanted to have my corals established before they needed to compete with the fish. My .02.

[dwd5813]

the intended fish list can be found a little ways up the thread, and as for corals i am planning on euphyllias only (hammer, torch, frogspawn) lps in other words.