Good Beginner Fish?

[Uncle Boo]

My tank has cycled and I've added a cleanup crew. They are doing a great job of cleaning the rocks and sand. The coral banded shrimp I added looked great in the shipping bag but since I've added him to the tank I've never seen him again:mad:

In the next month as long as everything stays stable I want to start adding fish. I have lots of caves, hiding places and decent overall water flow. What would be a good selection of beginner fish for a 120?

[fatdaddy]

I really like damsels. Unfortunately, they've gotten a bad name because they were sent in on suicide missions to cycle tanks, but they are colorful and a delight to watch. Clownfish, Sgt. Majors, blue fins etc. are all in the damsel family, and are robust fish to own.

Guests at my house often look at the damsels and immediately fall in love. Other exotic fish seem to be ignored.

[Lotus99]

Do you have any idea on what kinds of fish you want to keep? Is there any particular fish you really want (or don't want)?

I basically decided my stocking around some fish that I really wanted (banggai cardinals and orchid dottyback), and went from there.

[sonic1634]

he like to hide...if u want just place all your rock on the backof your tank that what i did he has nowhere to hide now haha...i bought a colt tang for my first fish

[demonsp]

The shrimp will molt and after this they hide while new shell hardens. If this isnt the case then your tank may still be cycling, and he died.
There are alot of great fish to start with but i reccommend preparing the stock list upfront. This helps with stress reduction and trouble later. You can check if any fish dont get along or arent reef safe, and it is easier to add least aggresive to most for less stress.
So figure out all your stock and start adding your least aggresive first.

[t5Nitro]

Go look at liveaquaria.com and check out their fish. They have a good variety to look at. Make a list of what you like and post it here. People can tell you which fish out of the list would be OK together, which out of the list that are easy to care for, and in what order to add them. Along with that, decide on if you want a reef. Decide if you want a softy reef or an SPS reef later on. That will also help people decide on your fish load, as for an SPS reef it should be a lighter stock unless you have heavy filtration.

[bertoni]

Scott Michael's book "Reef Fishes" is a good investment, in my opinion. He has a number of books that are good to have.

[Archmagev]

Damsels are awesome (fav is the electric blue with the yellow tails) and are great for beginners. I really feel that their use in "cycling" a tank is a poor practice...get the fish because you love watching the smallest fish in your tank with nice colors and an attitude :)
Also good are clowns (tank raised only...wild ones are tougher), blue hippo tangs (tank size permitting), yellow tangs (hate them...), royal grammas, pajama cardinals, dwarf angels (if you have alot of live rock). Just read up on them and see what fits your tank...there are some gobies which are pretty good once your sand bed matures a bit too.
stay away from triggers, most other tangs, anthias, non dwarf angels, mandarins...
It is always a good idea to find some you really like, then research them and see what their needs are.
b

[Jocephus]

In addition to which fish are good "beginner fish" I'd encourage to you be aware that certain fish should be added before others due to their shy nature. If you add damsels first, they will almost certainly bully new additions in a month. I would think hard about a list of all potentials, then begin by adding the least aggressive of the bunch. Ideally, you want the roughest and toughest going in there last.

Just my .02

Joe

[demonsp]

Also make sure there is enough hiding spots so fish dont fight over the only few spots.

[thecichlidpleco]

Since you have room to play, you must get purple or red firefish and a six-line wrasse. But, clowns are a good starter off the bat also. If you are looking for bigger fish like tangs, let your tank get established first and then do homework on what would work and what you like, not the other way around.

[Archmagev]

almost forgot,
If you get a Maroon Clown (esp gold striped), add them LAST....females especially can be brutal to tankmates....I swear mine thinks it's a damn barracuda

[Peter Eichler]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1158122 :)

[Am4nn]

I only have 1 fish in a 10g. a blue and yellow damsel, he is my first SW fish and is doing great.

[sonic1634]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10293557#post10293557 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by demonsp
The shrimp will molt and after this they hide while new shell hardens. If this isnt the case then your tank may still be cycling, and he died.

they well still find hiding places I can just see him better now someone would have to work pretty hard to make it where nothing can hide in a reef tank.:D

[kevin2000]

Stay away from damsels .. they are inexpensive and colorful but they are very aggressive and can make life a living hell for other fish in the tank. Further .. once you stick a damsel in your 120 good luck on trying to get it out.

In general .. stick with peaceful fish that are compatible with each other. Aggression increases stress which reduces the fish's immune system.

[Sk8r]

Go to the reef fish forum and read in there, too: there's a lot of info. Nothing like bringing home two items only to discover one is food for the other.

[fatdaddy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10295910#post10295910 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kevin2000
Stay away from damsels .. while they are inexpensive and colorful but they are very aggressive and can make life a living hell for other fish in the tank. Further .. once you stick a damsel in your 120 good luck on trying to get it out.

I've only had one damsel go aggressive on me which was a large blue fin damsel which are notorious for being aggressive when they mature. They turn a solid dark blue and are large. Mine is about 4 inches long and meaty.

However, the more aggressive they are, the easier they are to trap out using a simple bottle trap because they are first in to take the bait. For example, I just trapped an angel fish, blenny, and my target a naso tang in the the time it took to write this. I moved my naso tang to a different tank because he was attacking another naso tang.

I have 3 electric blue damsels that I bought the first week I had the tank. I still have all 3 and they rarely bother other fish.

I also have a mated pair of 4-stripe damsels (black and white). They will nip at any new fish, but they settle down quickly. They are also getting large.

[nick063]

I put in two damsels a 3 spot and a yellow tail damsel and now the 3 spot is very aggressive! lol

[Victor1046]

I think the rule is least agressive fish first.....good rule!!!!!!