first fish
 

If you had a 180 gal tank what would you like to start with? Has to be reef safe though.

I think the general rule of thumb is to add the smaller fish first. What do you want in your tank do you have a list or stuff you want to get?

When I added fish to my 120G I added 4 Juvenile fish at the same thing without a problem they all get along.

Just don't add any damsel! Chromis would make a great choice :) A school of them is a lot of fun to watch :D

No Damsels for sure.They are pretty but not where I want to go.I want to do sps so I need suggestions for reef safe,sps safe.You get the idea. Chromis are awesome but I don't want to purchase 13 to end up with 1 in the end...

I definitely like smaller schooling fish though. I'd like to avoid anything thats going to get to the size of a dinner plate,eats that much,and craps that much.:mrgreen:

Get chromis ;)

A school of Anthias are nice. Planning that for my 210

Anthias hmmm. They are beautiful for sure. I think I will need something like a grid or mesh to keep them in the tank no? Or is it wrasses?

I alaways add Chromis first as well, safe and cheap way to make sure everything goes "good"

And two/three times feeding regime ;)

A whack of Barnacle Blenny's!

I loved my diamond goby! Great fish for keeping the sand clean.

Schooling fish they are plain Jane but it is so cool to watch them all turn on command in the same direction. Also blennies they have personalities those guys do.

Anthias can jump, my boyfriend had 3 now has 2 cause one jumped. Still doesn't cover the tank though, just a risk he takes. He has had the 2 for a few months now (the other one jumped a few days after adding it) so hopefully they'll stay put. Beautiful fish to watch, he also only feeds once a day so it's not always necessary to feed more often.

Anthias are fairly sensitive to water quality and they are not cheap, so perhaps not the best first fish

Getting some pressure to get a false percula.That nemo thing has reared itself up thanks to wife and nieces. Aggression issues later on?

Any more suggestions?

anything but a damsel!

Bangaii cardinal? They do school as well and are actually a really cool fish even though not very active! They are ridiculously cute as babies too, easy to get captive bred ones!!

For a start I'd recommend something a little hardy, a pair of clowns would be a great start. I know many people who actually use them to cycle tanks. Anthias I'd add a few months down the road because of there poor survival rates. If you want a schooling fish (TRUE schooling fish) try Longspine Cardinals - Apogon leptacanthus. I have a half dozen of these with a half dozen Dispar anthias and the amount of life and activity in the tank is a lot more noticeable, guess the rock hiders aren't so afraid with free swimmers roaming!!

Lol everyone hates damsels but I put a three stripe in for my first first and he is the model fish tank citizen so far at about 8 months in

I like the Azure Damselfish. Hardy, very pretty, and peaceful (unlike other damsels). Just be careful not to get the yellow belly or yellow tail one. Those are not Azures. I notice that J&L has the wrong pic for their Azure.

For some reason in my mind (after reading other threads from the OP) I did assume that this wouldn't be the OP's first fish, but just the beginning of a new tank.
Anthia's are definitely not a fish for a beginner, I agree 100%. Sorry for the confusion :redface:

First fish might best be a herbivore, especially if you are starting a new tank and are looking at significant algae...
Any blennie, my fav a tailspot, any algae eating one my choice
Any Escenius species algae eaters
With your tank size, can get a large impressive one!

Just looked at liveaquaria site, starry blennie for your tank size perfect!

not sure if it would be first but a melanarus wrasse would be early on for sure. I love em!