Damsels are great starter fish because they are very hardy but they are little brats IMO. They can be very aggressive and claim the whole tank as their territory and bully the other fish. Especially if they are the first ones in the tank.
I started off with a yellow belly damsel (which are supposed to be nicer) in my 75g fowlr and a few weeks later I added a Maroon clown, which was my mistake because damsels and clowns don't usually get a long very well because they are in the same family. My poor Maroon clown was confined to a little corner and if she tried moving the damsel attacked. I had to trap the damsel out of the tank because he was too mean and picked on my Rabbit fish as well. Since you plan on getting a clownfish pair I wouldn't get a damsel, thats my opinion.
People will also suggest Chromis to start off with because they are so hardy, I personally think chromis are boring to watch and not very colorful and LFS will say they do better in groups of three which is way to many for your tank. Clownfish are very hardy and it would be ok to start with them as your first fish. Just make sure that you have tested your water thoroughly before you add anything.
It is a very good idea to add a clean up crew to your tank first. In the cycling process you want to see signs of life such as algae forming. Once you see this, usually at least 2-3 weeks into the process, then you want the snails and hermits to clean it up. Then test the water and with in a couple of weeks it should be ok to add your fish.
As far as the starfish go...If you never plan of getting corals chocolate chip stars can be pretty hardy. Stay away from linkia stars, epecially the blue ones, in the begginning because they can be more demanding. As onefish2fish said waiting is a good idea because it takes time for the tank to create a substancial food source. To be completly honest I added starfish about 2 months after my tank was set up
BUT I have my reasons...
I made my fish list way in advance (like onefish2fish suggested
) and knew that I was going to add a puffer and trigger in the future so I couldn't have snails and hermits to scavenge the tank, therefore I didn't have them to compete for food with the star fish. I did get a few snails and hermits first but transferred them out of my FOWLR and into my reef. Whenever possible I drop shrimp/food on their mouth just to make sure they are getting food.
I really appreciate that you are asking all these questions because to me that shows you really care and you are getting great advice from everyone. I can't wait to see how your tank turns out so keep us updated!
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