Help Me Decide What Fish First.

[BrianneG]

Attention All Knowing Reefers:

I am so close to being done cycling, it will probably happen this week. So once I do a 15% water change I will be getting some first fish. Tank is 115 gallons reef tank planned.
Below are on my wish list and of course not all to be added at once. I am looking for opinions on who to add first

Maroon Lighting Clown Pair
True Percula Clown Pair
Extreme Snow Onyx Clown Pair
Flame angel
Coral Beauty Angel
Emperor Angel
Aiptasia File Fish
Bicolor Blenny
Yellow Clown Goby
Yellow Mimic Chocolate Tang
Fairy Wrasse
Cleaner Wrasse
Niger Trigger
Ruby Red Draginet
Long Nose Hawkfish
Yellow Watchman Goby
Blue Velvet Damsel
Springer Damsel
Purple Tang
Eventually a Manderian Goby.

Please tell me your thoughts. I know th Manderian I need to stock the tanknwith LOTS of copepods so that will be a bit. This is just the Fish selection, I am still working on my CUC list

 

[cdemoss01]

Attention All Knowing Reefers:

I am so close to being done cycling, it will probably happen this week. So once I do a 15% water change I will be getting some first fish. Tank is 115 gallons reef tank planned.
Below are on my wish list and of course not all to be added at once. I am looking for opinions on who to add first

Maroon Lighting Clown Pair
True Percula Clown Pair
Extreme Snow Onyx Clown Pair
Flame angel
Coral Beauty Angel
Emperor Angel
Aiptasia File Fish
Bicolor Blenny
Yellow Clown Goby
Yellow Mimic Chocolate Tang
Fairy Wrasse
Cleaner Wrasse
Niger Trigger
Ruby Red Draginet
Long Nose Hawkfish
Yellow Watchman Goby
Blue Velvet Damsel
Springer Damsel
Purple Tang
Eventually a Manderian Goby.

Please tell me your thoughts. I know th Manderian I need to stock the tanknwith LOTS of copepods so that will be a bit. This is just the Fish selection, I am still working on my CUC list

Royal Gramma and bicolor blenny

 

[BrianneG]

Royal Gramma and bicolor blenny

Thanks I was thinking about the Royal Gramma but it seems like EVERYONE has them.. But I have not totally ruled them out yet

 

[argiBK]

Honestly, most of these fish would be ok for first adds, with the exception of the Dragonets.

A couple notes:

• I’d avoid fish that get aggressively territorial as first adds, such as a Purple tang and the damsels.
• Biota cleaner wrasses are also the only long-term survivable option and are great entertainment but can be an annoyance to the other fish with their excessive pestering
• Limit yourself to 1 pair of clowns otherwise it will be all out war in your tank (i.e. with Maroons)
• 110 is likely too small for an adult Emperor Angel

I’d probably start with the pair of clowns, dwarf angel, the mimic tang and then add in order of expected territorial-ness once established.

 

[kyreefville]

I went clown pair first and I can’t put my hands in tank with out getting attacked thus I can only imagine what will happen when I try to add another fish

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Attention All Knowing Reefers:

I am so close to being done cycling, it will probably happen this week. So once I do a 15% water change I will be getting some first fish. Tank is 115 gallons reef tank planned.
Below are on my wish list and of course not all to be added at once. I am looking for opinions on who to add first

Maroon Lighting Clown Pair
True Percula Clown Pair
Extreme Snow Onyx Clown Pair
Flame angel
Coral Beauty Angel
Emperor Angel
Aiptasia File Fish
Bicolor Blenny
Yellow Clown Goby
Yellow Mimic Chocolate Tang
Fairy Wrasse
Cleaner Wrasse
Niger Trigger
Ruby Red Draginet
Long Nose Hawkfish
Yellow Watchman Goby
Blue Velvet Damsel
Springer Damsel
Purple Tang
Eventually a Manderian Goby.

Please tell me your thoughts. I know th Manderian I need to stock the tanknwith LOTS of copepods so that will be a bit. This is just the Fish selection, I am still working on my CUC list

Seems like a very big list of fish. 3 clown pairs? Niger trigger gets big fast.

 

[BrianneG]

Seems like a very big list of fish. 3 clown pairs? Niger trigger gets big fast.

These are just ones on my list, I probably won't add them all since sizing will matter and attitudes/personalities will come into play as well.

 

[BrianneG]

I went clown pair first and I can’t put my hands in tank with out getting attacked thus I can only imagine what will happen when I try to add another fish

yikes. And clowns are so cute, who knew they were vicious attack fish. Maybe I won't add them in first

 

[BrianneG]

Honestly, most of these fish would be ok for first adds, with the exception of the Dragonets.

A couple notes:

• I’d avoid fish that get aggressively territorial as first adds, such as a Purple tang and the damsels.
• Biota cleaner wrasses are also the only long-term survivable option and are great entertainment but can be an annoyance to the other fish with their excessive pestering
• Limit yourself to 1 pair of clowns otherwise it will be all out war in your tank (i.e. with Maroons)
• 110 is likely too small for an adult Emperor Angel

I’d probably start with the pair of clowns, dwarf angel, the mimic tang and then add in order of expected territorial-ness once established.

Good points here. Thank you for your response. I was thinking of the angels first, damsels I am jot set on since I have heard lots of people saying they are mean and aggressive.

 

[Peair]

Attention All Knowing Reefers:

I am so close to being done cycling, it will probably happen this week. So once I do a 15% water change I will be getting some first fish. Tank is 115 gallons reef tank planned.
Below are on my wish list and of course not all to be added at once. I am looking for opinions on who to add first

Maroon Lighting Clown Pair
True Percula Clown Pair
Extreme Snow Onyx Clown Pair
Flame angel
Coral Beauty Angel
Emperor Angel
Aiptasia File Fish
Bicolor Blenny
Yellow Clown Goby
Yellow Mimic Chocolate Tang
Fairy Wrasse
Cleaner Wrasse
Niger Trigger
Ruby Red Draginet
Long Nose Hawkfish
Yellow Watchman Goby
Blue Velvet Damsel
Springer Damsel
Purple Tang
Eventually a Manderian Goby.

Please tell me your thoughts. I know th Manderian I need to stock the tanknwith LOTS of copepods so that will be a bit. This is just the Fish selection, I am still working on my CUC list

On your list I would go with the Percula Clown Pair, smaller size the better, one slightly bigger then the other, make sure they are a pair.

 

[argiBK]

yikes. And clowns are so cute, who knew they were vicious attack fish. Maybe I won't add them in first

Oscellaris will generally mind their own business, unless they’re caring for a clutch of eggs and you stick your hand near the nesting site, then your hands are fair game to them . Have had my pair for nearly 10 years and they never bother other fish.

 

[Tamberav]

Maroon Lighting Clown Pair - pass, too mean
True Percula Clown Pair - pick one pair of clowns
Extreme Snow Onyx Clown Pair - pick one pair of clowns
Flame angel
Coral Beauty Angel
Emperor Angel - too big imo
Aiptasia File Fish
Bicolor Blenny - ok but coral nippers
Yellow Clown Goby - ok but can be picky to feed
Yellow Mimic Chocolate Tang
Fairy Wrasse
Cleaner Wrasse
Niger Trigger - too big
Ruby Red Dragonet - add 1-2 years down the road
Long Nose Hawkfish
Yellow Watchman Goby
Blue Velvet Damsel - pass, too mean
Springer Damsel
Purple Tang - might be a bully
Eventually a Manderian Goby - add 1-2 years down the road

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

The bread and butter stuff everyone has is super popular for a reason. I've been doing this for over 20 years and I've got a royal gramma. One of my favorite fish. They've very brightly colored, they're hardy, they're active, mostly peaceful, and they'll eat dang near anything. My absolute favorite is my pair of wild percs. Personally I like to have a lot of small peaceful fish in a tank. To me it's more interesting than having a few bigger or high end fish. There's a lot more going on in the tank.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Agree on only one pair of clowns. That's probably what you'll end up with anyway at the end of that battle. Also, be aware that the Velvet damsel only looks awesome as an adolescent. They lose those cool stripes as they age (I was unpleasantly surprised at this). The Coral Beauty and Flame Angel may not get along either. One or the other but not both. The Emporer Angel is going to be too big for that tank and so is the Purple Tang. For your tank size I'd MAYBE so 2 smaller tangs (like Yellow, Tomini or White Tail Bristletooth). And yes to the Mandarin at least one year down the road. Are you gonna have corals? Cause that trigger is a no-no in a reef tank and the filefish is borderline.

 

[i cant think]

Attention All Knowing Reefers:

I am so close to being done cycling, it will probably happen this week. So once I do a 15% water change I will be getting some first fish. Tank is 115 gallons reef tank planned.
Below are on my wish list and of course not all to be added at once. I am looking for opinions on who to add first

Maroon Lighting Clown Pair.
True Percula Clown Pair.
Extreme Snow Onyx Clown Pair.
Flame angel
Coral Beauty Angel
Emperor Angel
Aiptasia File Fish
Bicolor Blenny
Yellow Clown Goby
Yellow Mimic Chocolate Tang.
Fairy Wrasse
Cleaner Wrasse.
Niger Trigger.
Ruby Red Draginet
Long Nose Hawkfish.
Yellow Watchman Goby
Blue Velvet Damsel.
Springer Damsel.
Purple Tang.
Eventually a Manderian Goby..

Please tell me your thoughts. I know th Manderian I need to stock the tanknwith LOTS of copepods so that will be a bit. This is just the Fish selection, I am still working on my CUC list

I would drop;
Niger Trigger
Purple Tang
Mimic Tang
Emperor Angel
Maroon Clowns

The tank may appear big for now but those fish will grow - I’ve seen a purple grown from a small specimen that is the size of a dinner plate.
The mimic tang will much prefer a larger tank (they can quite easily get 8 inches in length and swim a ton).
The Niger Trigger and Emperor Angel will be nasty in a 4 foot tank. The Niger will also go for your smaller fish (Clown Gobies, Fairy Wrasse, Dragonets).
The Maroons, as said above they’re aggressive. And you only want 1 pair of clowns, unless you do a harem in which case you want clowns from the same brood rather than separate species/morphs for the best success.

I’d also drop one out of either the Hawkfish or the Fairy Wrasse - I have had hawks become nasty towards wrasses in a 4’ tank.

Damsels, I would drop them as well, they’re going to become quite vicious over time and will not like the fairy wrasse or other smaller fish that have the same territory as them.

Another one to drop - the Cleaner Wrasse. Mine (In a 5’ 180G tank) wanted to kill any wrasse and any other small fish I introduced. If you need a cleaning fish, go for an Elacatinus species (Oceanops, Evelynae, Figaro). These do the same job but are much more peaceful.

The next question is, are you going with a reef tank?

 

[i cant think]

Biota cleaner wrasses are also the only long-term survivable option and are great entertainment but can be an annoyance to the other fish with their excessive pestering

I disagree with this. Wild caught cleaners have a much better survivability rate now. I know mine was a good 6-7 years in captivity (5-6 before I got him).
I know a few people with cleaners thriving as well, it’s all down to big fish and a need for cleaning (Ich, Flukes etc. must be present in the tank for these to thrive IME).

 

[jtf74]

Attention All Knowing Reefers:

I am so close to being done cycling, it will probably happen this week. So once I do a 15% water change I will be getting some first fish. Tank is 115 gallons reef tank planned.
Below are on my wish list and of course not all to be added at once. I am looking for opinions on who to add first

Maroon Lighting Clown Pair
True Percula Clown Pair
Extreme Snow Onyx Clown Pair
Flame angel
Coral Beauty Angel
Emperor Angel
Aiptasia File Fish
Bicolor Blenny
Yellow Clown Goby
Yellow Mimic Chocolate Tang
Fairy Wrasse
Cleaner Wrasse
Niger Trigger
Ruby Red Draginet
Long Nose Hawkfish
Yellow Watchman Goby
Blue Velvet Damsel
Springer Damsel
Purple Tang
Eventually a Manderian Goby.

Please tell me your thoughts. I know th Manderian I need to stock the tanknwith LOTS of copepods so that will be a bit. This is just the Fish selection, I am still working on my CUC list

Second the only one pair of clowns and make sure they are much different in size also. Love my maroon pair and my female was actually bought small and put in early with a royal gramma and yellow tang that came with the tank. She was really small and has not been aggressive but really big for a clown.

I would add the flame angel last among the dwarf angels.

Tank is too small for emperor and probably more than 1 tang.

My friend bought a niger trigger, He had six other fish. Next day he had just one. Skip this one for sure.

Have heard cleaner wrasses are hard to keep alive.

The mandarin I would skip unless you get rid of the wrasses and other gobies or it may starve.

I would start with small clown and goby of some sort. Then angels and wrasses. Then damsels and tang. Don't see too much issue with any order if you skip the trigger and keep to one tang. I know maroons get a bad wrap but my pair are model citizens. They are also super quick to host in BTAs as they are their natural nem. I would wait a year or two nad get a much smaller clown once the first one has grown. Did this and had zero problems pairing mine.