What first livestock to get?

[tutmatt3]

Hey guys!

So tomorrow/friday I can begin to introduce my first livestock. Water parameters seem great, and I wanted to get your input on what might be good to include?

My original plan was to grab 2x smaller cheap fish & make sure they survive a week before introducing additional fish. Problem is, I only see damsels as the cheap ones -___- (gotta find a new LFS)
I like how the 3 stripe damsel looks, but not too fond of it's behavior I've researched.

Should I avoid introducing snails/clean up crew as I don't have any algae for them to eat?

55gal with 35lb dry rock, 60lb live sand.

Thanks!

 

[melypr1985]

You don't need cuc until there is algae to eat. Do you not have diatoms yet? They will eat that.... at least hermits will and some snails.

Clowns are good first additions. I would avoid damsels in general because you'll likely never be able to get them out again without tearing apart your rock work. There are some gobies that would be a good first addition. Go slow.... there's no rush

 

[tutmatt3]

You don't need cuc until there is algae to eat. Do you not have diatoms yet? They will eat that.... at least hermits will and some snails.

Clowns are good first additions. I would avoid damsels in general because you'll likely never be able to get them out again without tearing apart your rock work. There are some gobies that would be a good first addition. Go slow.... there's no rush

Not gonna lie, didn't know what diatoms were until now. Don't see any

My tank is pretty empty. There has been no 'life' from the ocean / other tanks in this besides the sand.

In addition to the dry rock, I added bio-spira/dr tims ammonia. Never used any live rock.

Yeah I def want some clowns! Figured it would have been safer to test the waters with cheaper fish before dropping $60-100 for a pair of clowns.

 

[melypr1985]

Not gonna lie, didn't know what diatoms were until now. Don't see any

My tank is pretty empty. There has been no 'life' from the ocean / other tanks in this besides the sand.

In addition to the dry rock, I added bio-spira/dr tims ammonia. Never used any live rock.

Yeah I def want some clowns! Figured it would have been safer to test the waters with cheaper fish before dropping $60-100 for a pair of clowns.

If you haven't been running your lights during the cycle, the diatoms will come once you do. They will show up no matter what you start your tank with.

 

[peterthegamer]

Have you seen a cycle happen in the tank?

 

[tutmatt3]

If you haven't been running your lights during the cycle, the diatoms will come once you do. They will show up no matter what you start your tank with.

Ran them for about 8x hours a day. Just some cheap standard LEDS that came w/ the 'starter tank', but have my official light set up coming in tomorrow!
Thakns!

Have you seen a cycle happen in the tank?

Yup! Cycled w/ bio-spira / dr tims ammonia
Numbers are all good now, and did a 50% water change too. Just giving a few extra days to monitor after the change, make sure nothing randomly spikes.

 

[peterthegamer]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+1926+2672&pcatid=2672
Cardinal fish are one of the easier fish to keep and some even have a stripes as well.

 

[tutmatt3]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+1926+2672&pcatid=2672
Cardinal fish are one of the easier fish to keep and some even have a stripes as well.

Yaaaaah I saw some of these guys and def wanted them in my tank!! I guess I'll start off with a pair of them then!

You ever order form this site btw? I was just gonna grab from a LFS but interested in how ordering online works.

 

[peterthegamer]

Yes, many people from this forum tend to buy from live aquaria and diver den (WYSIWYG), which is part of live aquaria but ship from different location.

 

[Mel 2038]

Yes, I believe "Live Aquaria" is a good place also. You might want to list your location, and others in your area may be able to help you out with some local places. So, what kind of lights did you order? Just interested. Good Luck!

 

[tutmatt3]

Yes, I believe "Live Aquaria" is a good place also. You might want to list your location, and others in your area may be able to help you out with some local places. So, what kind of lights did you order? Just interested. Good Luck!

Awesome, will do! I'm close to LA in California.

I ordered this bad boy!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GFTSV24/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Really love the controller system (and who doesn't love thunderstorms?! lol). But a lot of people seem to have success with corals as well.
This is my first tank ever, so I wanted to stay flexible in terms of what I could introduce into the tank, but not go TOO advanced. Tanks main purpose is to educate me for my next in a few years

 

[Mel 2038]

Awesome, will do! I'm close to LA in California.

I ordered this bad boy!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GFTSV24/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Really love the controller system (and who doesn't love thunderstorms?! lol). But a lot of people seem to have success with corals as well.
This is my first tank ever, so I wanted to stay flexible in terms of what I could introduce into the tank, but not go TOO advanced. Tanks main purpose is to educate me for my next in a few years

I believe there's quite a few people from the LA area, that participate in these forums on R2R. I hope some will chime in and give you some ideas for lfs's. I like the light! I don't have any personal experience with it so keep us posted. Good idea on trying to stay flexible, and having a purpose.

 

[tutmatt3]

I believe there's quite a few people from the LA area, that participate in these forums on R2R. I hope some will chime in and give you some ideas for lfs's. I like the light! I don't have any personal experience with it so keep us posted. Good idea on trying to stay flexible, and having a purpose.

Thanks!

It looked decent for the price range & watt usage. Plus being able to sit right ontop of my tank is a huge +1

Initially I was going to do FOWLR, but since I want to introduce coraline algae (hopefully from frags / snails), thought why not just buy a light from now that can support basic corals. =)

Will def keep ya posted!!!!