Question on first purchase of live stock?

[droth]

Hi gang I would like some advice from all of you on purchasing my first fish for my 40 gallon aquarium. I purchased some really nice live rock (60lbs) from a local supplier about 3 weeks ago and have had my aquarium cycling ever since. In the last couple weeks the chemistry of the water has been very consistent and yesterday I decided to add some snails & very small hermit crabs. My intention was to go out next week and purchase (5) Three Stripe B/W Damsels and an Ocellaris Clown fish but before I do that I want to ask a couple questions.

(1) Do you think this is too many fish to introduce all at once?

(2) Does it matter if I introduce fish first and coral after or vice versa?

All advice is welcome & appreciated.

David.

 

[BobBursek]

Do your research on the Damsels, a very aggresive fish and so are most clowns, aggressive/deritorial fish are added last not first. Then most people are starting a thread on how to get rid of the Damsels without tearing down the tank. Corals after a few more months when eveything stablizes and you know your tank and tank chemistry. And yes adding 6 fish in that size tank this soon is to early IMO. No it does not make a difference if you add corals or fish first if your tank is ready for corals.

 

[BLAKEJOHN]

If you only just put in live rock 3 weeks ago,your tank may not be cycled. You should have had a spike and fall of NH3, NO2, and then the presence of NO3. The chemistry should not have been stable at all. Although it is possible to not go through a stong cycle if you were able to obtain Live rock with no die off.

My suggestion would be to toss in a small piece of deli shrimp and let it start to decay. Test every day and see how much effect the small shrimp has on the water. If your tank trully did cycle, you will not see a rise in ammonia.

Adding 6 fish so soon will most likely cause a strong cycle which could kill the fish.

Most tanks take around 4-6 weeks to recover from the cycle.

 

[seafansar]

I wouldn't add that many fish all at once to a new tank. And you should really reconsider the damsels. They are very aggressive and would probably beat up on one another and the clown. Look into blennies, gobies and wrasses that stay small.
Also your tank should be covered if you want a clown. They are known to jump. I've lost one that way. Look up mesh tops. They are really easy to make and will keep fish from jumping out.

 

[David Shaw]

No way would i put damsels in my tank, way to aggressive.

I have two tiny clowns in mine that are fine though. The female can get a bit aggressive if you spend to much time in the tank but on the whole they are fine, the male is no trouble at all.

The female never bothers with routine glass cleaning duties or feeding, just if you start moving things around.

I used to have 3 chocolate clowns. I traded them into the LFS as they were way to aggressive, they used to hurl themselves out of the water at me, and if i went anywhere in the water they would keep nipping my hands.

I still see 2 of the chocolate clowns in a display tank in the LFS

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Does it matter if I introduce fish first and coral after or vice versa?

+1 to the above good advise...

fish = bio-load coral = bio neutral cuc = bio good

after my tank cycled, I added my cuc, then I started on my coral, then fish -I added them one a month, except for once when I added a pair of clownfish. Add bio-load (fish) slowly

You can add coral at a faster rate than fish... but go slow ... nothing good happens fast in swt.

 

[droth]

Thanks for the advice gang I will reconsider the Damsels. Sara I'll look into the fish you recomend and look into the custom top.

Blackjohn is the shrimp suppose be regular raw shrimp you'd buy in grocery store?

After reading some of the replies I have a couple more questions.

(1) I really want to have fish with bright colors. Any recomendations for a 40 gallon aquarium?

(2) How many fish should I introduce at first and how long do you recommend before adding more?

Good advice gang, thank you.

David
Ontario, Canada

 

[kospaintball]

+1 to the above

 

[nos2074]

Blackjohn is the shrimp suppose be regular raw shrimp you'd buy in grocery store?

After reading some of the replies I have a couple more questions.

(1) I really want to have fish with bright colors. Any recomendations for a 40 gallon aquarium?

(2) How many fish should I introduce at first and how long do you recommend before adding more?

I would only do 1-2 at a time. And wait 4-6 weeks for the next addition. That way you can make sure everything is still going well.

Percula (sp?) Clowns are very popular first fish. Bright orange and white. Very hardy in my experiences. I would add 1 pair (small). I've had my pair in my tank for 5 years now. Still my fav to watch.

And yes the shrimp you add is regular raw shrimp you get at your local deli market. Get fresh ones. Drop one in and do your test daily and write the results down. Always keep a log of what you do with your tank.

Go slow and remember to have fun:bigbounce

If I said anything wrong some one please correct me please as I'm not new to fish but still kinda new to reefs.

 

[kospaintball]

Sounds right to me

 

[seafansar]

How about:

a pair of neon gobies

a yellow clown goby

a wheeler's watchman goby with pistol shirmp

a trio or pair of firefish

a chalk basslet or two

and of course a clown

And lots of corals!

 

[droth]

Thanks everyone I'm glad I have this resource available to me.

David

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

We love our Nemos clownfish