tmccaffery
Member
My cycle is complete. What should be first fish or coral?
Finally cycled..Fish or coral?
- Thread starter tmccaffery
- Start date
themagicman
Member
I prefer to start off with a few invertebrates first. (snails, hermit crabs etc) See how these do for the next couple weeks or so and if all is well then move on to fish/corals. Playing it safe I guess.
on the spot
Active member
Easy E
New member
I don't want to go off on a rant here, but I find it to be a disturbing trend that literally every time a newbie has a stocking question, someone suggests they get a pair of clowns.
Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk
mrsixstrings12
New member
I'd go with fish first. It seems that corals will be happier when there is fish pooing in the water. This is a VERY general statement but once you REALLY get into it, it tends to be true. There are people out there dosing nitrate and phosphate, so it only makes sense to add fish before coral.
Drewbe147
New member
My opinion was fish first. I (and many others) enjoy clowns and they are a hardy fish. He obviously can pick whichever he wants but I stand by clowns as a good option. Not stating that there’s not many other viable options. I (<—Keyword there) really like clowns. If you or the OP doesnt thats fine pick a different fish but I would start with fish before the corals. [MENTION=287314]Easy E[/MENTION]
Easy E
New member
I believe it is irresponsible to suggest a pair of clowns to a newbie unless you also alert them to these potential downfalls.
1. If you add 2 adult clowns that are not a mated pair, there is a good chance one will get bullied by the other.
2. Clowns are not likely to become a mated pair unless you add 2 small juveniles or a known female and a small juvenile.
3. Unless the clowns are very small (Ocellaris, Percula) or the tank is very large (over 100 gal), the mated pair will be highly intolerant of any other fish.
4. If you do not have a specialized breeding setup, you will not get baby fish. They will starve, or get eaten, or get sucked up by the filter.
Other than that, clowns are great and I would highly recommend them, even to a newbie.
Tastee
Member
I too am new and started with a few snails and hermit crabs in my 65g. After a few weeks when I was comfortable it was going ok I added a pair of clowns and an Anemone. A couple of weeks later I started adding various corals, around 6 in total. About a month in I started adding more fish, and now have 8 smallish fish.
The Nem was a mistake and only survived about 10 weeks. I would now not consider adding a Nem until I had a tank that was very stable and at least 1 year old.
The corals were a mixed success. 100% of one Zooanthid colony died completely, and only 30% of a second colony survived. The remaining ones of that are doing very well however.
A Sinularia on the other hand went in with the first batch and is going great guns. A brain coral I introduced later is also doing well.
All the fish are doing well. In sequence I added 2 Clowns, 1 Yellow Tang, 2 Fire Gobies, 1 Sixline Wrasse, 1 Orchid Dottyback and 1 Lawnmower Blennie - over about 5 months.
So in hindsight I would start with inverts, and then add hardy fish and corals, but wait until much later to add anything I felt was delicate and/or needed very stable conditions. I'm sure the experts on this forum could help you identify the right corals and fish to start with versus those you need to wait potentially much longer for.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
The Nem was a mistake and only survived about 10 weeks. I would now not consider adding a Nem until I had a tank that was very stable and at least 1 year old.
The corals were a mixed success. 100% of one Zooanthid colony died completely, and only 30% of a second colony survived. The remaining ones of that are doing very well however.
A Sinularia on the other hand went in with the first batch and is going great guns. A brain coral I introduced later is also doing well.
All the fish are doing well. In sequence I added 2 Clowns, 1 Yellow Tang, 2 Fire Gobies, 1 Sixline Wrasse, 1 Orchid Dottyback and 1 Lawnmower Blennie - over about 5 months.
So in hindsight I would start with inverts, and then add hardy fish and corals, but wait until much later to add anything I felt was delicate and/or needed very stable conditions. I'm sure the experts on this forum could help you identify the right corals and fish to start with versus those you need to wait potentially much longer for.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Drewbe147
New member
Bro his question was fish or coral...I'm not saying run out and buy a fish without doing your research (type of clown, tank size, how to pair or buying a premated pair). Buying any fish without doing your research on them is a dumb idea. Your reading way too much into this. My response was to fish or coral not how to mate and breed fish. My vote was for fish. I also think clowns are great starters. Anyone buying a fish should have done some research on them. Again as earlier post your allowed to not like MY opinion but again it is mine. I still think theyre a great choice.
scooter31707
New member
IMO, I would say CUC first.
FoxFace Fish
New member
get some snails then wait a week then get whatever fish tickles your fancy (of course do your research first)
