Coral or fish first?

[Shawn O]

In the planning stages for a 70~100 gallon reef tank (my first tank).
Just wondering if it would be better (after cycling) for all the inhabitants to :

A: add a small CUC, then add a bunch of coral frags and THEN add fish.

B: add CUC, then slowly add a couple fish and a few frags each month

C: add CUC, all of the fish (a couple each month) then start adding a few frags each month once the fish are all in there.

My concern is if the fish should be put into a DT that is already somewhat established, reef-wise, to reduce the stress of entering captivity. I imagine it would be like moving into an apartment with only one chair in it and no other furnishings without all the coral.

How long do you think it would take for a tank full of frags to start to fill out and not look like, well, a tank full of just frags? Do you think the fish would even notice that all of the corals are just frags and be put off?

I know it sounds pretty weird to think (worry) about this but would like to eliminate as much stress on the livestock as possible.

 

[pyithar]

option "A". that depends on corals. it will take a while to "fill out" the tank. i think wild caught fish will be happier in the ocean. however you fill out the tank, it would not be the same as natural reef to the fish. tank bred fish would not care much as they've been living in studio apartment type glass tanks all their lives. so it would be like moving to a new big house for them. only one chair at first but it will be fully furnished over time. all they need to do is eat, sleep, and chill.

 

[oldsaint]

IMO, add a small CUC first. Depending on the available food supply. Stay away from the CUC "packages" that suggest x amount of critters per gallon. Then fish then corals. Fish don't need corals. There are plenty of fish only tanks out there.
Fish add considerably more bioload than corals. Adding fish first gives the system and aquarist time to mature. If you're doing a mixed reef, I would then start with easy LPS or softies and then once your dosing and maintenance routines become consistent you start adding SPS.
Personally, with a new systems I don't add fish until the 90 day mark and corals I wait to about 6 months.

 

[salajander]

And use the time you spend adding fish slowly to make sure your maintenance plan is do-able, and your tests are consistent, and you have a system for dosing KH/Ca/Mg.

 

[oh207]

B is safest in my opinion. Depending on the type and size of fish and/or coral added, you can drastically change your tank's parameters.
There is really no need to add coral first and then wait to add fish. Unless if you are treating your fish in a QT for a few weeks before adding them to the DT. Then you can stock up on corals during this time. Some corals are more sensitive, especially SPS. So if you intend to stock up to SPS frags, then you will need to monitor you Ca/Alk/Mg levels and perhaps will even need to start dosing early on.

Typically CUC is added first after the cycle is complete. And they don't usually count towards the bioload. Fish and coral selection usually takes some time to find just what you want. But there should be no problems if you plan to add both simultaneously, just as long as you take it slow. And depending on how sensitive the coral is, you might want to wait a bit after adding fishes, but again, thats just my opinion.

 

[tmz]

Use the time to quarantine and treat new fish to have a disease free tank going forward. The order doesn't matter very much,imo, if enough time is given for the tank to cycle and become stable. Corals may require additional supplements like alkainity and calcium though .

 

[Sk8r]

Depends on size of tank. If a tank under 30 gallons, best to build a reef first, and get it going. Then the fish. Tank over 50 gallons, corals when starting are generally too small to have enough filtration effect to assist the fish, and therefore the advantage of starting by building coral filtration is lost.

 

[BlueFyre]

I've always done coral first. But I tend to wait longer than most to add fish (1-2 months after cycle is finished).

 

[DDon]

use the time to quarantine and treat new fish to have a disease free tank going forward. The order doesn't matter very much,imo, if enough time is given for the tank to cycle and become stable. Corals may require additional supplements like alkainity and calcium though .

+1

 

[Shawn O]

Thanks, folks. Sk8r, I never even thought of the corals as a filtration method. Mostly I was thinking that if the fish are wild caught, they would feel more at home around live corals. That, and that the corals may do better without fish in the tank eating the food and creating waste?

Either way, I know jack about corals so assumed I should do hard corals first and then try softies. Will have to look into soft corals first then. Anyway, I have months to read up and form a solid plan since this will be waiting on my tax return to buy a DT, QT, sump, lights, skimmer and build a stand and canopy. All the rest will be a piece at a time as needed.

Thanks for the replies guys (and gals).

 

[Bhuamani32]

Option A is what I would go with