when to add plants

[Renaldo]

When is the best time to add plants to a tank? Should I get plants first or get fish first?

details:
55gal tank
Planning on putting in african cichlids
I am going to use sand as a substrate

 

[rdd1952]

In my opinion, it's actually much easier to add the plants first. You can put them in and move them around without stressing the fish. They also will help in cycling. A heavily planted tank will be able to handle a small fish load immediately without having to go throught the fishless cycle.
Here is a pretty good site about how to get the "look" you want and also how to plant. As for the type of plants, I would suggest fast growing stem plants until you get the tank established and growing well. At that point you can start switching out to more exotic plants if that is what you want.
I know different people have different ideas of what they want their tanks to look like but I can't imagine having a tank that isn't fully planted. I have even considered setting up a tank with lots of plants and not even put fish in it, just a water pump to keep the water flowing so the plants move and sway in the water. Good luck.