there ar a couple small archer fish in lfs that i thought i migh like to put in my spare 60gtank, just wondering about a couple tips or info seemings the info i have found on google is quite poor, thanks

I don't have any experience with these fish either. However, from what I know of them, they are a fish that often live in the mangroves and feed on insects that they knock out of overhanging branches using a jet of water from their mouth, hence them being called archer fish. I wouldn't advise you getting these fish unless you really understand their needs

X2

Im not sure but i think they need to be kept in groups or they are aggressive to each other. And as OFL says they need some additional height to the tank to accomodate twigs and branches.

Apparently they are fun fish to keep. My dad told me his mate had some years ago. He wouldnt feed them for a few days and then dangle a twig with a piece of string and some foil on the end. They would spit at the foil and hit it every time which is amazing considering the refraction of light of water to air(if you dont know what this is, place a straight stick into water, half in and half out, the branch will then look like it has a bend in it where it hits the water). Another thing that his mate used to do is to put a piece of meet to rot in the branches. As flies came to feed and lay maggots, the Archers would spit at them and knock them into the water and then eat them. One day i will get an archer tank

I remember an episode of a Rex Hunt fishing adventures where he caught an Archer Fish on a small lure so they are obviously quite a predatory fish

well archer fish do not have enough info for me to keep them so im planning to turn the 60g into a community tank,
all i have is 6 zebra danios

A list of possible tankmates or ideas would be great

It really depends on what sort of fish you want to mix. I haven't had small community fish for years. The best advice I could give you is to go down to your fish store and see what they have available, you will that there are absolutely loads of different types of small community fish that you can get. Tetra (loads of different species), Guppies, Danios, Platys, Sword Tail, Hatchet Fish, the list goes on. Many of these originate from South America said it would be nice to create a South American community theme. Get some nice plants, a nice piece of wood and he should have for a very nice tank, a 60 gallon is the perfect size for a community tank.

archers are native australian fish, they are awesome. They shoot streams of water to knock bugs and flies into the water although they are not very accurate when they are still young. They are relatively easy to look after, ph 7-7.5 pretty standard. Temp 23-27 but 25 is perfect. They live well with most cats, small trout suck as rainbow. They also live with turtles although often after a few years the turtles will outgrow and eat them. They also require a lid due to the water but this makes it hard to put in crickets and stuff to watch them shoot. Its best to have a dock or large floating square at one end to create a kind of land and a few sticks hanging out of the water so the bugs dont drown but are withing shooting distance. they live quite well in a land/water setup with water dragons (gippsland water dragons are the best? as the both like similar conditions and eat the same food but make sure the lizards are smaller to begin with.

they also eat standard fish food but its not as fun. sorry bout typos

can you get aussie turtles there?

yea i can get aussie turtle because im an austalian in australia lol

would 60 gallon be an appropriate size though

your ideas?

where do you live? yeah thats great size, most turtles take a few years to grow and as long as you have only two and some fish they will be very happy. Murrays get up to 25-30cm, eln's are pretty and get to a bit less, saw shells are about the same but are a bit more hassle and broadshells get very big. Be aware they live for a long time though. I have two murrays and im about to get some eln's but i need more space first. painted are very good looking but stupid and not legal in vic. 60 is more than enough for some archers a couple of turtles and a few other fish although they will prb eventually eat the fish.

im in melb btw