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So, I'm setting up a new tank in probably a month or so. It's a homemade 60 gallon and quite frankly... I have no idea what I want to stock it with.

I do know that I want it to be a biotope aquarium, but beyond that I'm not sure what type.

I've been thinking Amazon and trying some puffers or perhaps I'll do a marine tank as I've been interested in trying a mandarin dragonet or two. But basically I'm open to anything.

I guess my question is... if it were you, what would you put in it? So, let's here those suggestions!

Once it's set up I'll post photos.

Thanks, all!

"A fish swims through the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish."
-mewithoutYou

If I had a 60 gallon; assuming it is a tall tank, I would stock it with Angels. The Amazon biotope sounds like a great idea. I have allways wanted to get serious about trying to breed angels. They are such a beautifull fish. I have always wanted to try my hand with puffers too but I hear they do not get along with others and are e to problems. Do your research on that one first. Well that is what I would do. I hope my idea helps. Later!

"Talk is cheap. Action can be almost as affordable"

If I had a 60 gallon tank I would do a marine tank. Maybe a reef tank would be nice.You can check out my 125 gallon reef tank in my profile. I`d be glad to help you out as would others on this site.

im no good with stocking sugestion my my idea for you is do your stocking aroung your favourite fish then revolve around what that fish likes if it was my tank id try revolving it aroung bala sharks

33 gallon 7 neon tetras-5 platys-3 bleeding heart tetras-2 corys-1 rainbow shark-2 L83 gibby plecos

My next tank around that size is going to be marine. However skip the mandarins. They require a specialized setup and are not a good idea for beginners. It would be possible to keep 1(most definitely not 2) in that tank if your willing to put in a heck of alot of time, money, and research to setting it up just right. Otherwise they probably won't make 4months before they die or are at least on their way to a slow death by starvation. If you really want dragonets scooter "blennies" are actually the best choice. Still have some of the requirements of a mandarin but hardier and can live on mostly frozen food unlike the mandarin.

Hey all ... thanks for the suggestions so far... they're great. Although, I'm not exactly a beginner (I've been keeping fish for about 6 years). That's not as long as I'm sure most people here have been at it.

I am however a marine beginner and would like to try a larger reef tank at some point (my wife and I have already set up a nano tank). I've been reading a lot about mandarins and hear that with a good "pod" culture they can be quite nice fish to keep and some have even managed to wean them off of "pods" and on to "normal fish food". Though it is true it would be a lot of work.

I'd love more suggestions... especially in terms of marine setups, but any ideas would be welcome.

I've also thought about going back to African Cichlids, though for some reason the Amazon keeps calling me. Hmmm...

Thanks!

"A fish swims through the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish."
-mewithoutYou

Mandarins cannot survive on frozen food alone. Even if you can get them to eat it they just don't do as well without a steady supply of live foods and they won't eat hardly any live foods but pods and brineshrimp(not nutritious enough). Without alot of effort put in 1 can also strip a 60g of pods within a couple weeks and then slowly starve. If it's eating frozen food it will just take it an extra month or 2 to starve to death instead of right away. You will need a very large sump designed to grow the maximum number of pods, pod stacks where you take reef rubble or small rocks and build tight piles that the mandarin and other fish cannot get into(tucked behind your larger rock structures works best), and the tank will still probably need to have the pod population boosted with cultured pods which can get expensive if you haven't already maximized pod production. You also want to make sure you put no other fish or inverts in the tank that are heavy pod eaters. Although nearly all fish will eat a pod if they get it some spend their days purposely hunting them down. It's by no means impossible to keep a healthy mandarin in a 60g but it does require you to think ahead and plan the tank from the beginning around the needs of the mandarin.

Like I said scooters can survive on frozen food diets and more frequently are willing to eat it. It's still best to try to keep pods around since they do benefit from eating them and pods help keep the tank clean but if you run out they won't starve. Scooters just aren't as colorful as mandarins.

I agree that the mandarins will be quite hard. They need an established tank with plenty of LR for the pods. You`ll need 1.5 to 2 lbs of LR per gallon. I`d say you`ll need at least a year old mature tank. But dont let that stop you. There are thousands of choices out there for your tank. Fish, corals, inverts and many other groups out there.If you decide you want to go SW let me know and I`ll get you some stocking ideas.

If you are set on mandarins I suggest you try to get the articles published in a recent issue of "tropical fish hobbyist" . One of the reports describes successful maintenance of a mandarine in a nano set up, the other one in a larger setting. Nevertheless, bothe articles describe the difficulties of keeping these fish irrespective of the size of the tank.

I have read those articles as well as others online. But really I don't think I currently have the funds to keep a mandarin properly at the time being. So, how about a south American brackish water tank (ie. scars, archers, or puffers). I think this is more towards where I'm leaning at the moment. But I'd like more info about their actual habitats and how to set up a biotope as well as possible tank mates/a clean up crew that would actually be found with them in the wild, etc.

Anyone have any suggestions here?

"A fish swims through the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish."
-mewithoutYou

Brackish tanks have far more possible inhabitants than people realize. Bumble bee gobies are my favorite. They can survive a very wide range of salinity with most species doing fine from very low brackish around 1.008 all the way up to 1.015 which is a little shy of true saltwater. I keep mine around 1.012-1.015. The only problem with trying to keep them in a tank with other brackish fish is that they are tiny. You can't put them with large fish or they'll be a snack. With other midsized to small brackish fish they would work out well and make nice bottom dwellers. They prefer to perch on the sand or rockwork. There are also some larger brackish gobies [link]http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=545 [/link]
As well as several puffer species. The puffers have more specific salinity requirements so research each species well before deciding. Usually they are kept alone since they are quite rough on their tankmates.