Stock Order

[BRDrew]

Im starting a reef tank and was wondering in what order I should add my fish. 37G display with 20G sump. There will be a refugium eventually.

My stock so far is only 2 mushroom corals, some zoas and 2 kenya trees as far as coral goes. I also have 10 hermits and 10 snails (not sure what type).

For fish I would like:
a pair of clownfish
a pair of banggai cardinals
1 firefish or purple firefish
at least one goby of pretty much any kind

maybe a wrasse
maybe a mandarin dragonet a long way down the road
maybe a juvie yellow tank while it fits

As you can see Im suffering from new SW hobbyist syndrome as in I want every single fish out there. The first part are ones I would prefer to have and the second the ones I like but dont mind not having.

What would you go with and what would you put in the tank and why?

 

[HarryPotter]

Clowns last due to aggression, the dragonet needs a BIG supply of pods (most die in that sized tank unfortunately) so also later on once the tank may have a larger supply of pods.

 

[BRDrew]

Clowns last due to aggression, the dragonet needs a BIG supply of pods (most die in that sized tank unfortunately) so also later on once the tank may have a larger supply of pods.

I was planning on putting the clowns first but I had forgotten to consider aggression, I guess Im to used to your standard FW community tank.

I know the dragonet is a really tall order for this size tank but I have managed to find an algae barn like company here in Brazil that can provide a good culture of pods for me to start. Also when the refugium is set up I think the pod population should be high enough for 1 dragonet.

 

[HarryPotter]

I was planning on putting the clowns first but I had forgotten to consider aggression, I guess Im to used to your standard FW community tank.

I know the dragonet is a really tall order for this size tank but I have managed to find an algae barn like company here in Brazil that can provide a good culture of pods for me to start. Also when the refugium is set up I think the pod population should be high enough for 1 dragonet.

Clowns can absolutely be real jerks. I have a pair of true perculas (for three+ years) that I love, but if I add any fish under three inches the female will immediately drag the newcomer into the bubble tip anemone. Expensive meal.

 

[Jesterrace]

I agree. I had to remove my snowflake occ after it contributed to the death of my Scissortail dartfish (biting it repeatedly) and I wouldn't be surprised if it contributed to the death of my purple firefish as well. The little bugger was only 1.5 inches long. My wrasse and diamond watchman goby were the only two who made it very clear the little brat wasn't going to push them around. My Wrasse actually spent a day beating the **** out of the clownfish and it never attempted to bite it after that. I also agree on the dragonet. I had a green mandarin that learned to eat Frozen Mysis and Frozen LRS Reef Frenzy, spent $250-$300 on pods and it still starved to death in about 3 months. Mandarins are very slow methodical eaters (imagine a slow motion underwater hummingbird and you have a mandarinfish) and even when target feeding and dropping the food a couple of inches from it's face other fish would still get the food first. It was actually bad enough that my Mandarin would fight my cleaner shrimp for food (the Mandarin usually won that contest though). I would say if you want a Dragonet to stay happy long term you need at least 75lbs of live rock with a well established, healthy copepod population or you need a small but dedicated tank with a Mandarin that clearly will eat frozen foods and feed it 4 times a day (most don't have the time or schedule to accommodate that). Here is a vid of my old tank with my Green Mandy when it was alive:

A couple of more:

 

[BRDrew]

I agree. I had to remove my snowflake occ after it contributed to the death of my Scissortail dartfish (biting it repeatedly) and I wouldn't be surprised if it contributed to the death of my purple firefish as well. The little bugger was only 1.5 inches long. My wrasse and diamond watchman goby were the only two who made it very clear the little brat wasn't going to push them around. My Wrasse actually spent a day beating the **** out of the clownfish and it never attempted to bite it after that. I also agree on the dragonet. I had a green mandarin that learned to eat Frozen Mysis and Frozen LRS Reef Frenzy, spent $250-$300 on pods and it still starved to death in about 3 months. Mandarins are very slow methodical eaters (imagine a slow motion underwater hummingbird and you have a mandarinfish) and even when target feeding and dropping the food a couple of inches from it's face other fish would still get the food first. It was actually bad enough that my Mandarin would fight my cleaner shrimp for food (the Mandarin usually won that contest though). I would say if you want a Dragonet to stay happy long term you need at least 75lbs of live rock with a well established, healthy copepod population or you need a small but dedicated tank with a Mandarin that clearly will eat frozen foods and feed it 4 times a day (most don't have the time or schedule to accommodate that). Here is a vid of my old tank with my Green Mandy when it was alive:

A couple of more:

Thanks for the great info. I thought I would need a lot of live rock for a mandarin but I didn't picture 75 lbs. I already have about 12-15 lbs in the thank and my plans are to add about 20-25 lbs every month until Im sattisfied with the hardscape.

I will probably start with the firefish since I have been in love with it forever.

On the other side of things a LFS I go to has recieved a REALLY small cardinal banggai from a client (the only remaining baby from the batch) and its the cutest thing I have ever seen, its about 8mm in lenght, a little over a 1/4 of an inch. I might go with the banggai when he starts eating prepared foods.

I was wondering about an Engeneer goby. I like the snowflake eel looks but since they will eat fish I though the goby would be more fitting. I also like Neon and Hector gobies but I believe they are just too small in the long run.

 

[Jesterrace]

Just be aware on the firefish that they tend to be very skittish and can spend lots of time hiding. My purple firefish was also the number one target of more assertive fish. Like you I was in love with them when I first got into the hobby, but I grew to loathe mine since it spent so much time hiding it wasn't worth it to have it in my tank. The engineer gets way too big for your tank (roughly a foot long) and is known for burying wildlife. I had a Diamond Watchman Goby in my 36 gallon and it stirred up a sand storm. I would look at something more like a Yellow Prawn Goby for your tank:

 

[BRDrew]

Just be aware on the firefish that they tend to be very skittish and can spend lots of time hiding. My purple firefish was also the number one target of more assertive fish. Like you I was in love with them when I first got into the hobby, but I grew to loathe mine since it spent so much time hiding it wasn't worth it to have it in my tank. The engineer gets way too big for your tank (roughly a foot long) and is known for burying wildlife. I had a Diamond Watchman Goby in my 36 gallon and it stirred up a sand storm. I would look at something more like a Yellow Prawn Goby for your tank:

I like the Yellow Prawn Goby but it is not as readly available here as the engeneer is but its sure something to consider.