Fish first, corals first, or both?

[Zionas]

Hi, as I am about to start preparing the live rock for my tank, what has struck me is the order in which fish and corals should be introduced into the tank. I will be cycling for about 4 weeks using cured / clean live rock, and nothing else. Once the tank has finished cycling, I am not sure whether to introduce fish first, corals first, or whether I can introduce both at the same time.

I have read some who say corals (maybe even soft corals) require somewhat more stable parameters than fish, so it would probably be a better idea to introduce some relatively hardier fish before adding any corals.

My plan for my first tank is a softies only tank with some Mushrooms, Leathers, Duncans, Kenya Trees, Green Star Polyps and Acans. No Zoanthids as I heard they release toxins.

It’s the fish-first school of thought that makes me wonder whether it would be a good idea to run my tank as a FOWLR for the first month or so before adding in any corals.

The equipment I’ve sourced is for a reef tank rather than a FOWLR. If you believe it’s better to go FOWLR for a while, to me that might be a bit boring, but if the extra waiting time is beneficial for making sure my first corals are introduced into a healthier system, it will be worth it.

Let me know your thoughts.

 

[Mikedawg]

Hi, as I am about to start preparing the live rock for my tank, what has struck me is the order in which fish and corals should be introduced into the tank. I will be cycling for about 4 weeks using cured / clean live rock, and nothing else. Once the tank has finished cycling, I am not sure whether to introduce fish first, corals first, or whether I can introduce both at the same time.

I have read some who say corals (maybe even soft corals) require somewhat more stable parameters than fish, so it would probably be a better idea to introduce some relatively hardier fish before adding any corals.

My plan for my first tank is a softies only tank with some Mushrooms, Leathers, Duncans, Kenya Trees, Green Star Polyps and Acans. No Zoanthids as I heard they release toxins.

It’s the fish-first school of thought that makes me wonder whether it would be a good idea to run my tank as a FOWLR for the first month or so before adding in any corals.

The equipment I’ve sourced is for a reef tank rather than a FOWLR. If you believe it’s better to go FOWLR for a while, to me that might be a bit boring, but if the extra waiting time is beneficial for making sure my first corals are introduced into a healthier system, it will be worth it.

Let me know your thoughts.

I like fish first if for no other reason than to provide some nitrate/phosphate for corals. Sounds like you have a good plan.

 

[Zionas]

The current plan is to stock up to 7 fish for my tank, I’ve thought about 8 but thought it would be a tad too many. I’m wondering about the bioload of the species I’ve chosen to include:

x2 Ocellaris Clowns, x1 Marine Betta, x1 Royal Gramma, x1 Flame Hawkfish, x1-2 (2 if I can find a male and a female) Flame / Multicolor / Pygmy / Joculator angels.

Do any of these fish produce a lot of waste?


Maybe I could add everything up to the Flame Hawkfish first, just to be safe (that would probably be a month after I start my tank, that’s when I plan to add my RG and Hawk), and add corals in the intervals before I add the dwarf angel? (Which would be 5-6 months after I start my tank)

 

[Traian]

The current plan is to stock up to 7 fish for my tank, I’ve thought about 8 but thought it would be a tad too many. I’m wondering about the bioload of the species I’ve chosen to include:

x2 Ocellaris Clowns, x1 Marine Betta, x1 Royal Gramma, x1 Flame Hawkfish, x1-2 (2 if I can find a male and a female) Flame / Multicolor / Pygmy / Joculator angels.

Do any of these fish produce a lot of waste?


Maybe I could add everything up to the Flame Hawkfish first, just to be safe (that would probably be a month after I start my tank, that’s when I plan to add my RG and Hawk), and add corals in the intervals before I add the dwarf angel? (Which would be 5-6 months after I start my tank)

Are you planning on having invertebrates in your tank? Shrimp in particular? I love the look of both the flame hawkfish and the marine betta, but adding them first to the tank would likely make adding shrimp later an expensive feeding event.

Same for that flame angel in a softie tank. If you add the soft corals after he's been in there, he may be more inclined to pick on it (may or not happen regardless of order of introduction).

I'd suggest just 2 or 3 fish at first (The clowns+ Royal Gramma), and then slowly adding the corals and any invertebrates. Make sure your tank's water parameters are stable. I'd probably add the flame hawkfish last. They're awesome fish with great personalities.

 

[Zionas]

Are you saying to add the dwarf angel even before the Flame Hawkfish? From what I’ve heard dwarf angels can get pretty aggressive to newcomers. What about the Flame Hawkfish? Is it a peaceful fish compared to the rest of the species I’ve listed?

As for inverts, I don’t know much about them and I don’t know if my LFS in China has a good selection of them. The Hawkfish along with inverts also concerns me so I’m a bit on the fence when it comes to inverts. If I get inverts they’ll have to be hardy, beneficial ones to have around.

As for the corals, I will be adding the softies before the dwarf angel. That’s pretty much certain.

The angels I’m considering are the Flame, Joculator (expensive, I know), Multicolor, or one of the Pygmies.

 

[Squidward]

Ether way I would advise you qurantine both so you can have an ich free tank to begin with. That will save you a lot of headache and time.

 

[OrionN]

I would avoid Kenya Tree. Although not colorful, it is a very beautiful coral. The problem with this coral is that it have very strong sting and once it reach any size at all, 3 inches or so, it will drops babies like crazy. When this happen, you will have to hunt and fish all the dropping out or else you have colony start at various place that will sting other animals that you like to keep.
I would consider it a pest that I cannot get rid off out of my tank.

If I can keep this coral from spreading, it would b a great coral to have in any tank.