cheap fish to "test the waters" after my cycle completes?

i was going to get a blue damsel because they look kinda cool, and if i couldn't catch it, i wouldn't mind it being in my tank forever...

but then i hear they can be a bit aggressive?
so i think i'm ruling that out...

and i am really not a fan of green chromis.

does anyone know of any cheaper hardy fish that would be suitable for this purpose?

no fish will be added until AFTER the tank cycles.

i just don't want to add a pair of some more expensive clowns(snowflake) and have them not make it because even after i tested the water, it still wasn't safe enough for them...

or would it actually be safe just to add a couple snowflake clowns after the cycle because clowns are a pretty hardy fish?

 

Can you share details on your tank? Size? Dimensions? If you are using reliable test kits and all of your parameters are within an exceptable range and stable (temp, salinity, pH, alk, nitrates) then you should have no issues adding a pair of clownfish as your first fish. Keep in mind that as a tank "ages" it grows more beneficial bacteria and thus becomes increasingly suitable for livestock. I personally have always waited 60 days before adding fish to a newly cycled tank.

 

standard 55gal tank
coralife quad T5 HO lighting (4x54W, (2)10,000K & (2)actinic)
Reef Octopus BH2000 protein skimmer
Jebao WP25 wavemaker (850-2000gph)
Fluval 406 canister filter (383 gph)
(2) Fluval M150 heaters
Marineland HOB filter converted to Mini fuge (300gph)
45lbs dry rock
80lbs live carib sea reef sand (1.0-2.0mm)

 

I have a Yellowtail Blue Damsel and he is absolutely not aggressive.
Very pretty reef safe fish in my opinion.

However, it sounds like you need to invest in test kits....

 

ha ha my yellow tail thinks it owns the tank and any fish added it will make sure they know who's house they were added to.

 

i've got a couple test kits, API saltwater master kit, and API reef master test kit.

i've just heard that damsels can be aggressive. or very territorial at the least.

 

that's exactly what i've heard they're like. does it chase them around for a long while? like forever? or just for the first few hours? or a day or so?

 

really going to depend what you put in with it but it tends to do bluff rush and flashing its body at them for a while to a couple days at first.

Maybe mine is just a little jerk but it will still harass my clowns even after a year in same tank(clowns blow it off).

I have never really seen it nip at any fish just more of a bluff like I said (all bark no bite)

 

Start with a couple members of your CUC. Snails make great choices. Very little bioload from them, you just need to ghost feed a bit. Then add a Shrimp (if you want one), wait another two weeks, then add your first fish. But you should be QT'ing all new fish anyways, so get that QT tank setup as well (if you are at all possible!)

 

I used this fish with my 55 way back when too. It had been set up for months but I lost a couple fish with no reason. I still have my little yellowtail and he has never been an issue, one of the best looking blue fish.