Tank cycled, ready for fish! (pic)

[rfdoc]

Tank has been up and running for 6 1/2 weeks now and I think I am ready for fish! Tests show 0 for Ammonia & Nitrites and 10ppm for Nitrates which is steadily decreasing. I added the live sand this past weekend and the milky water cleared within 18 hours. I think I read in a previous post that means I have a lot of good bacteria present for it to clear up so fast. I do not have a sump yet but hope to set one up as a future upgrade in the next couple of months. Here is a pic of the current tank -

I made my first purchase of livestock this past weekend, a small cleanup crew of 10 small hermit crabs and 3 Turbo snails. I do not see much algae present in the tank yet so I didn't want to buy too many all at once. Here is what I want to add over the next couple of months -

Pair of false perc clownfish
Bubble Tip Anemone
Pair of Clarkii clownfish
Carpet Anemone
a couple feather dusters
1 or 2 Cleaner shrimp
Sand sifting goby

After the tank has been up for a couple of months then I'll start adding some corals if I feel comfortable with my saltwater skills. Can anyone give me some advice as to the order of which I should add the above list to the tank? Should the clownfish go in first or the anemones? Also what about cleaner shrimp, I was thiking of adding him next but wasn't sure if fish need to be present in the tank first? Thanks.

 

[papagimp]

I'd probably get that sandsifting goby in there first, I would avoid adding two pairs of clowns, same with the anemone's. If you add two of them in that small of a tank, and then add corals at a later date, you may end up with alot of dead corals if the anemones decide to walk around. If you want 2 cleaner shrimp, add them together. And personally, I'd would recommend the Ocellaris over the clarkii. I like them better and they tend to be one of the least aggressive and territorial of clowns. More timid and peaceful. Read up on how large carpet anemone's get too. bubble tips can get good size as well, but also easy to induce a split. I'd add more snails in there, turbo's are nice, but so large they'll miss an awful lot, and the hermits will not do much for algae despite what you may have heard. They're strictly opportunistic feeders and in all likelyhood will avoid algae and learn to wait until feeding time to get their fill. You'll need a larger assorment of snails for that size tank, several nassarius, cerith, astreas, trochus, ect. ect. ect. Different snails all go for different parts of the tank, and all parts should be getting attnetion. And make sure your rockwork is secure, turbo's are notorious for knocking crap over wheather it be rockwork or corals.

And more importantly, wait a month. I know the cycle is done but get the cleaning crew (detirtus and algae eaters) stocked first, let them rummage through that tank for a month cleaning up after the initial cycle and the upcoming algae phases, and do some more reading on various fish, compatibliltiy, and just general alternative options. The extra time for maturation of the tank will only help when you add the fish later. Patience can make or break your system. There is so many stocking options, you wanna make sure you have given yourself sufficeint time to plan, so you don't get the cool fish you happen to see at one store and then find something else later on and wind up overstocking the tank. If you have done plenty of research and this is what you want ultimately, than simply take the added time to read into each of these species as much as possible. The more prepared you are for your fish, the better you'll be able to care for them and recongize certain symptoms and behavoirs that come about.

 

[Nano Chris]

I added my clean-up crew than i added my 2 cleaner shrimp, than later on 2 fire shrimp, than fish. I had put my clown fish in first, than had gotten the anemone later on, a bit after i put it in the clown fish hosted in it.

Also i wouldn't put an anemone in a tank till its established a year or so, i have read they are a bit harder to take care of when the tank needs to mature.