Add last??

Okay, I have been reading about different fish and their temperaments... I read many threads talking about Clownfish, Dottybacks, Angelfish, Damsels and others. All of which say that each should be add last due to their temperaments. How can you add an some of these to your aquarium if they are supposed to be added last? lol

 

lol, going by the 4 fish you mentioned.
Depending on the clownfish you can add them at any time unless you have a 6line. IMO

Dottyback are territorial once they have a shot or a cave to call home they will fight any fish that comes near it.

Damsels, you don’t want them, even thou clown are in the damsels family. 3 strip, domino, blue fin, etc they will always pick on their tank mates, no matter if you put them in first or lasts. It’s more of a questions not “IF” they will do it , but more of a “WHEN” will they start.

 

A lot of people have had some damsels for many years and that are fully grown without problems - it just depends on the species and individual (and often whether it was added last). With the exception of a few species, dottybacks tend to be worse overall, though the most popular damsels besides the yellowtail also tend to be really bad.

It ends with choice. You'll just have to have more known peaceful fish and add one or two possible bullies at the end, or else you're just asking for trouble. People also often add two possible bullies at the same time for their last fish and have success, but not always.

 

Seeing the fish interact is what I want to see. I think it is cool to watch different personalities in a tank. I couple of fish that tend to be "bullies" would be okay with me as long as they do not kill the other fish.. I am composing my list of fish I want to keep now and I am hoping to start QT in 1 month and stocking in 2 months.

 

It's ok if they don't like being touched or cutoff, but if they nip fins and chase then it's just one fish that's unhappy from being chased and becoming more reclusive and another that's unhappy from not having enough of its own space. This not a good goal for various reasons, including disease problems that will arise from stress.

 

once you decide on your list, perhaps post that and you can get advice on what order to add. I know that damsels get a bad rap but in my own personal experience, it's an accurate rap. Chromis and yellow tailed are relatively peaceful. The absolute worst in terms of aggression IME are convict (oh my - tore my tank apart trying to catch 2 of these) and domino. 3 and 4 stripe can be hit or miss.