let the games begin!!!

[dono]

after 5 months of work and setting up my 14-gallon nano tank and waiting for it to stabilize, i am now ready to stock!

question #1: does it matter whether i put coral or fish in first?

question #2: any suggestions? what's your favorite fish in your nano!

[rbmount]

If everything is ready, i would add 1 fish at a time over a period of time to let everything catch up with the bioload, until you are where you want to be. Then after a couple of months is when I would start adding corals. This is to give your tank time to really get established.

[gman0526]

As to where to put ur corals at first, it really depends what corals you are planning to stock. Now is the time to research what corals u like and what their particular needs are.

[dono]

thanks so much for the great advice!

[Sugar Magnolia]

dono, if you don't have it yet, pick up Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals book. It's an excellent reference book with pictures and descriptions of each coral as well as the specific needs of each coral. I think I paid $30 for it....well worth the money IMO.

I'd suggest starting with te easier to care for corals such as mushrooms, zoos, rics, colts, that sort of thing. They are pretty forgiving of newer systems and are pretty adaptable to changing tank conditions.

[dono]

hey sugar mag, you're the best!

you always give such great input.

i'm going to name a fish after you

i'll also go pick up that book.. thanks!

[Sugar Magnolia]

wow...a fish named after me. I'm speecheless. :)

BTW, no one answered your question about what kinds of fish to put in the tank. I'd go with the non aggressive species of fish before putting in any type of clown or (heaven forbid) a damsel. Also stay away from the dottyback/psuedochromis/basslet species until you've stocked the non aggressive fish. Another no-no would be the scooter blenny or a dragonette of any kind. they are voracious feeders and a 14 gallon tank can't provide enough pod life for them to survive. Another thing to consider is if the fish has a tendancy to jump, like the firefish and some of the larger wrasses. (lost a Scotts velvet wrasse due to carpet surfing not long ago)

So, that being said, there are plenty of fish to start with that are active and easy to care for. Many of the goby species are quite colorful and if you're lucky you can pair them up with a pistol shrimp. The bicolor blenny is a great fish, very active and will establish several perches throughout the tank that it will swim back and forth to during the day. Six line wrasses stay fairly small, under 3" if I'm not mistaken and are colorful and active and will spend their time cruising in and out of the rockwork picking at the rock. I like to balance the tank with a fish that is a bottom dweller, a couple of perchers and some free swimmers. Just my preference, I'm sure others have their own as well.

With a 14 gallon tank, you probably won't want to go with any more than three fish. Keep in mind that the more fish you put in there, the higher the bioload will be so you'll have to be diligent with the weekly water changes.

[dono]

you rock!

thanks again for the great advice!
i really like pistol-goby pair idea... :)