fish first, or corals?

Once the live rock in my tank is finished cycling, I would like to gradually add livestock. Is it generally best to add fish first, or corals? If adding corals, do they still have to go in a quarrantine tank? Do you have to add them one at a time like fish?

 

I would throw some clowns and chromis in there now to help with the cycle then when the water is right (all parameters) start with easily maintained corals like mushrooms and work your way into it.

 

Once the tank was cycled, we added a mated pair of ocellaris clowns and added one fish at a time after that, several weeks apart. I think I added some palys next. I didn't add anything on the more expensive end until probably 3 or 4 months after cycling. Mushrooms would be a good choice, or zoanthids. My pistol shrimp and goby buried some zoanthids that I had placed and not glued - they unearthed the rock a few weeks later and the zoanthids came back out (I glued it that time)!

 

I agree with the fish first, just not as many as he's recommending. You should add one fish every 2-3 weeks until you reach your "limit". Luna

 

Also, as a footnote, we decided against adding a damsel or chromis - I only added fish that I would want to keep over the long haul. My tank is smaller and I didn't want to take up my "fish space" with something I didn't really want in the first place!

 

Hey JJK

good question and probably loads of different answers on this one

Corals dont add as much Bioload as fish, so for me, I prefer to add fish 1st, and bring levels of bacteria up to equate with the waste being produced and then once I have my fish choices sorted, I start adding corals - as that way the corals avoid the minor spikes that occur with each new fish addition

fish , aside from clowns, (where you might add 2) I add one every other weekend

Corals - I used to add one per month, but thanks to someone on this site, I now add 2 per month and am having no issues at that rate.

thats just my thoughts

Steve