Choosing first inhabitants

[Frank H]

:deadhorse:

65 gallon tank going through cycle. Wanting zoa's and mushrooms, other corals (new to all this.)

100lbs dry rock
dry sand
tunze 3163 filter
tunze 9012 dc skimmer
jager heater

Dosing with microbacter7 and doing fishless cycle with ammonia.

Eventually, I want a sufficient clean up crew, pair of clownfish, watchman goby, cleaner shrimp, maybe a wrasse? I dont know what else but the clownfish and watchman are #1 and 2 on my list.

Once tank is ready, what is recommended to be added first? Fish before corals?

 

[ReefEco]

Hey Frank - lots of schools of thought on this, I usually add some corals before fish (as long as you continue to phantom feed) - clowns are pretty hardy so you can add them after you know you are done with the cycle (30+ days usually). Just one thing about mushrooms - great beginner coral, and available in a wide variety of colors. Just be careful, as they can spread quickly and take over a tank. So, if you want to try other corals as well down the line, perhaps place them strategically (isolated on a couple rocks, etc.) so they can't overtake the tank.

You mention clean up crew - take it slow. Often people add a ton of CUC, and really they have little to eat, so slowly starve. Bulk Reef Supply's YouTube channel has a good video about the sometimes vicious cycle involving clean up crew - a good watch. One place I would highly recommend is Indo Pacific Sea Farms and their $99 Mix and Match special (ipsf.com) - all captive-bred tank life. You can choose pods, micro hermits, snails, live sand starter kit, micro brittle stars, pods, etc. that really adds a great amount of diversity to your tank. That $99 special really should be all you need to start off your CUC.

If you are being really careful - add the Mix and Match and wait 30 days before adding fish - which you should be quarantining anyway for at least that long

Good luck!

 

[Frank H]

I like that $99 special. Leads me to more questions tho haha. Wouldnt I be starving my new cuc if I add that first? Which ones? I like wondermud, adult hermits, nerite grazers, but not sure what else.

I'd love to pick up a pair of clowns first. Give my family something to look at.

If I got mushrooms to spread, I'd be stoked! haha I tried 20 years ago (before I had internet) and failed after hanging on to a few for a couple months. Going about it all different this time.

 

[ReefEco]

I like the live sand activator best - lots of life. you can add on some mini-stars to for $20, lower on the web page. Baby bristle worms are good as well. Yeah, you'll have to feed the crew if you don't already have fish and are adding fish food, which they get leftovers of...

 

[Frank H]

So what would you get first?

 

[ReefEco]

I'd get the Mix and match and order the clowns at the same time. Quarantine the clowns for 30 days at least, and feed the tank a little to keep the CUC happy.

 

[scooter31707]

IMO, I would purchase the wrasses first and have it in quarantine. At the same time, you should add the CUC first to the DT after the cycle is complete.

 

[neoh74]

"Often people add a ton of CUC, and really they have little to eat, so slowly starve. Bulk Reef Supply's YouTube channel has a good video about the sometimes vicious cycle involving clean up crew - a good watch"

Amen!