Fish or Corals first?

[John M]

Now that my 32BC just started cycling, once it's finished should I start with 1 or 2 small fish or a couple of corals - Zoas or softies. At last months meeting a couple of people I asked ( sorry bad with names, I think one was Mark? ), he said fish and other one said corals. I've seen on many forums & YT , opinions are varied - fish first, corals first, a fish or 2 and some corals together. Any suggestions and why? TIA
John M

 

[Mark_C]

Best bet is to start with a small CuC (clean up crew). CuCs are made up of, usually, hermit crabs and/or snails.
Hermits scour the rock and sand eating detritus, and may nip corals occasionally.
Snails work the sand and the glass and leave corals alone.
A mix of the two won't work long term as hermits will kill snails.

IMHO snails are the best of all worlds due to variety.
Nasarrius snails live under the sand with small smell-o-scopes extended, coming out when food added to the tank - they help clean and turn over sand.
Margaritas, Ceriths, Astrea, Trochus clean rock and glass.
Microceriths, Nerites, Bumble Bee snails do precision work on rockwork.
All have different interesting shells and color patterns.
Avoid conch and turbos as they will plow down corals.
Here's a great link on snails...
What’s the Best Snail for a Reef Tank?

Hermits, they run around and kill things, plus they need new shells on a regular basis (if they haven't killed something out of its shell).
Not going to provide a link as I hate them. The one I have that slipped into my tank killed half my nassarius snails and dragged off a zoa.
He now lives, alone, in exile, in the sump.

Run the CuC for a a week or two, dropping very small amounts of flake or pellet food in the tank.

With my current tank, post CuC, I plan on adding 2 fish (a filefish and a tanaka wrasse) as well as one or two corals.
I like to add the main fish at the same time as it prevents them from establishing territory and they begin to scout and share.
If you have a list of fish you plan to add, always add the least aggressive first leading up to the most aggressive, prevents territory battles.

I've always added fish and one or two small coral frags to a tank at the same time. Coral loves fish poo, especially softies like zoas, so its usually better to have fish in a tank pre-coral in many circumstances.

BTW, zoas are softies. Anything which doesn't use calcium to build a base is considered a softie.
Here's a fantastic guide...
best beginner corals – Successful Reef Keeping

Once CuC, a fish or two, and some corals are on board, you can start going for larger inverts... cleaner shrimp, emerald crabs, etc as the tank needs them.

Just be sure not to add too many fish at once initially (one or two at most), know your tank limits, increase fish stock slowly (1x per month?) over time.

All this MHO, but working for me quite well for years.

 

[Tyler]

Is this your first saltwater tank? If it is I would put in 1 or 2 easy fish you like first for a month or two and then go ahead and add some easy corals you like. Some of my favorite corals to put in early are zoas, leathers and montipora. Good luck


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[myrjon]

fish first id say then after a stable period .no algae blooms then easy coral kenya tree then wait for stable tank, before harder corals are added.. jm2c(just my 2 cents)

 

[Jeremy Brito]

John,
From my experience I would start with one or 2 fish. These fish help the cycle and the water mature, one thing I've learned over time is water maturity makes a big difference, first of as the water in,the tank ages the water chemistry doesnt have as many swings.. The first few months in,the tank even when you test and treat and believe you have perfect water the slightest change such as a new fish, temperature swing, algae bloom ECT can easily throw the rest of the chemistry out of whack but as it gets old this doesn't happen as much and the swings tend to be smaller and easier to manage. Even the hardiest corals can drop dead on you over night with out warning in a young tank.
If your absolutely set on starting corals, then you should stick to a few softies with a reputation for being survivers like zoas, Kenya trees, mushrooms, and leathers. Also it has been my experience that larger colonies tend to be more successful then smaller frags.. Idk if this is just because they are usually older or aren't weak and healing from being fragged in the first place.
Another tip is get a good salt, one that has elements premixed such as calcium and mag. This of it as a added bonus and less work since you dont have to figure dosing,math which depending on what doseing kit brand you choose could be extremely confusing and complicated.
Start slow and,have fun

 

[erics210]

John M, If attending the meetings I can bring a couple easy corals for you. Green Star Polyps(GSP for short) and Violet Cespitualria.
Both are pretty easy to grow but recommend isolataing onto their own rock structure as they both do not easily cross sand. Otherwise if they do well in your tank, they could spread to unwanted areas. Message me if interested.

 

[John M]

Thanks everyone. Lots of info to digest and consider. I do have ( learned the hard way ) the patience to go slow. Like the pix I provided when I first joined, of my 120g planted tank. To get to look like that took almost a year. It took lots of trial & error - and occasional hair pulling - and $$$!!

 

[erics210]

But as i mentioned Meetings is the way to go. I know when I come I always bring a few items. Nothing too fancy but something to trade or give away depending on what it is

 

[MadReefer]

I agree with Jeremy. Fish first as you add food and then there will be fish waste can spike some levels. Once that's under control corals.