List of livestock I'm looking at getting (would like input)

So, I plan on setting up my tank (finally) this week, and although all I plan on doing for the time being is get the water/most (hopefully all) of the rock, and sand in the tank, I am formulating my wish list for the livestock. I'll want to start off with a couple of hardy fish, probably damsels (though, if anyone has any other suggestions, I'm open to them, since I'm not sure I'll keep damsels for too too long, since from what I understand, they get pretty big), but other than that, here is my wish list.

Also, when giving suggestion, know that my tank is a 34 gallon RSM (realistically 29 gallons for livestock, since the built-in sump is 5 gallons).

List is generated in roughly the order I want to get them in.

*Starter fish (again, thinking damsels, or maybe firefish gobies, but open for suggestions)
*Flametail Blenny (I had one when I had my tank set up before, and he was absolutely my favorite)
*Perc. Clownfish (thinking two)
*Coral Beauty Dwarf Angel

Also to consider is that I plan on getting corals in my tank as well, mostly soft corals and anything that doesn't require huge amounts of lighting. The RSM advertises the some SPS/LPS corals will work with the provided lighting, but I'm going to do more research on that when I'm ready.

 

Humm, Damsels are okay but you have to consider which ones. No domino damsels and no jewel damsels. They get too aggressive and big.
Your safe with most of the others. Try not to get too many. At most, two of em because they will establish dominance and provoke your other inhabitants.
The blenny is a good choice but wait for your tank to cycle.
The clowns have been a time tested favorite among aquarists. They're probably my favorite fish
And IMO dwarf angels are a definite hit or miss when you're putting them into a reef tank.
Good luck

 

Try green chromis in replacement with the damsels. They are more docile and school as well. just IME

 

Forget damsels as they become too aggressive toward other fish. Green Chromis are ok but they can get big and tough. Honestly I would just start with the two Percula Clowns. They are as strong as damsels and you don't have to worry about trying to get fish out of a reef tank. I don't know much about the blenny but I like the Yellow Watchman goby and the Diamond goby. The diamond goby spends the whole day sifting the algae out of the sand. Put in some red legged hermits, they clean the sand. Your sand is going to get full of algae early on but it will subside by the sixth week. Don't worry about the dwarf angel pecking at some corals. That's how your going to learn which corals are ok. The angel to me is more meaningful than any coral. I have a Lemonpeel and an Asphur Angel and I've learned to shy away from gonipora or open brain or any similar coral. With a small tank you want to stay away from fish that become nasty. IMO

 

No damsels!!! Don't make the same mistake that some of the lfs recommend... and that is to get a damsel to brake in the tank. I had one before and he turned sooo agressive that I had to take him out of the tank ... and that was a nightmare (had to remove all the rocks).
So, now that I just started my new 110g, I am breaking it in with 2 green Chromis... they belong to the damsel family but are very docile. Only thing is that they grow and with your restrictions, I would also recommend clowns. They are very hardy and acclimate well. But don't stock too fast, the ammonia level and the NO2 and No3 have to be 0 first... so let it cycle for a while... I, myself waited 8 weeks before adding any livestock.... just my opinion.

 

I have a yellow tail damsel and he's fine. If anything he's kinda beneficial as he eats any flatworm that might crop up in my tank. very active too. But i agree, there alot of damsels out there that you should avoid.

 

green chromis good choice i started with 4...2 went to sleep but the other two kick butt

 

I'm definitely not rushing into livestock. I plan to wait at least 2 weeks before I get any fish, and that's after testing the water to make sure the nitrites/nitrates and ammonia are where they belong. Since I don't plan on keeping any damsels/chromis long term, I'll take the perc. route - glad to hear they do alright in the beginning . Since I won't be messing with the damsels, I think I'll go ahead with the fire fish. The only question now is, red or purple... 8)

edit: and just to be clear, there is going to be a large time span between first fish introduced and last fish introduced. I have plenty of experience with fish tank set up (I worked at Petsmart for 2 years, and made a point to actually be familiar with what I'm doing for the sake of my customers). Too much at once = bad, and the worst thing you can possibly do when starting up the hobby is do it on an impulse!

 

Good choice going with the clownfish and not having to remove fish you don't really want.You might already know that you don't need any fish to cycle your tank,just wait a little longer till the cycle is done and your clowns should be fine.You could add a little food or a small piece of raw shrimp to help kick off the cycle and then just wait it out till your ammonia and nitrites have dropped to zero.The clowns would thank you for it if they could.

 

Just another opinion, I cycled with a yellow tailed damsel and he's still in my tank. A great fish IMO, very hardy and very colorful, mine isn't very aggressive at all.