Ideal 1st fish for tank?

After reading numerous posts I am wondering what some others think would be a good 1st fish in? Scenario; new 60 gallon tank, live rock , live sand, would like to eventually try a couple of corals maybe, and would desire a mix of fish type and color. I have a few weeks of cycling ahead yet but I am confused by what I am reading. At first Damsels seemed to be the odds on favorite and most logical because they sounded to be very hardy, but then I have been reading where they don't do well in numbers in smaller tanks because they can get territorial. Then I also read where they would be better to add later on after other type of fish. So if not Damsels then what?

 

I think one of the best fish to start with are blue chromisis they are very docile and are a schooling fish. They are hardy and don't pick on other fish. Plus they are cheap so no big loss if you lose one

 

Chromis are good fish to start with. They are pretty active fish within our aquariums (for those of us that have them) and they do great in groups of odd numbers. If it were me, I'd get 3 or 5 for your tank.

Clownfish are very popular as well. Ocellaris and perculas are probably the most common. They look almost identical are are notorious (I don't want to say it...) with the fish movie. I like b/w ocellaris and also skunk clowns, just because they are a bit different.

Hopefully you know this already, but you do not need an anemone in order to have clowns. For some reason that seems to be the mindset of many newcomers. Clowns will take host of just about anything, including the corner of your tank, a powerhead, or some soft corals/LPS.

 

Any low costing fish I'd look at damsels or basslets,maybe ad a golby or a shrimp after 2-3 weeks.

 

skunk shrimp 1st and snails (get a CUC to clean up any mess left from the cycle) then if you got the cash a couple clowns could do fine. yellow tale blue damsels tend to be territorial if you add them first they could take up a large territory attacking other fish you add in future.

fish aggressivity and the order in which you place them should be kept in mind (peaceful fish first, till the most aggressive last)........as far as i know.......

 

Damsels and clowns (which are actually a special type of damsel) are territorial and will pick on other fish. I love them though and have had them in every tank I have ever owned since I switched into the marine side of the hobby. But it really depends on what you eventually would like to do with the tank. My last set-up the first things I added was a Yellow Watchman Goby mated pair and their pistol shrimp. I introduced them to the tank first so they had the ability to create their burrows and establish a home territory prior to other fish staking out the best areas for them to burrow in. Plus Watchman Gobies are pretty harty too.

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+1, very important, and yes by aggressivity go docile to aggressive. But also look at territorial, as you begin to add more fish you will want to the ones that build territorial borders around the same time as this will help them to not establish an entire tank, or half tank territory.

 

Thank you wise ones!