Archerfish: Toxotes Jaculatrix
Found: India, South East Asia, Australia and the Western Pacific regions
Diet: Insects, small fish, shrimp
Size: 25-40cm (10-16 inch)
Organization: Shoaler when younger, becoming more solitary when adult
Sexing: no discernable difference
Breeding: Difficult to near impossible as the adults require more salinity in the water during breeding time, but youngsters prefer more brackish water conditions and seak it out when hatched.
Archers are found naturally in mangrove swamp areas where they lurk amongst the roots of mangrove trees seeking their prey. Archers are excellent hunters and are capable of devouring small fish, so please do not think that they are a peacefull fish! As many people know, the unusual quirk of this fish is that it can fire a jet of water from its mouth to hit prey above water. This is achieved by placing its snout out of the water and slamming its gills shut, forcing the water up to the roof of the archers' mouth. This is then directed by the archers tongue, which it rolls to form a tube to aim at its prey. These fish are incredibly accurate, but they have been known to miss.
Recommendations for this fish would naturally be a brackish set up with a soft sandy bottom. This fish loves plenty of cover so mangrove roots should be placed in. To fully appreciate this fish an open top aquarium with plenty of plants hanging over the tank or growin out of it. This can be used as a staging area for some crickets to be shot off of the plant leaves
Be warned that your hanging lights should be covered by a clear plastic sheet as if the fish misses and hits the light it will explode, making a mess and potentially harming you and the fish. Also these fish are excellent jumpers so the glass of the tank should be considerably higher than the water level, i would seriously consider having a tnak custom built for them
They prefer hard water and a pH of 7 - 8.5 in a temperature range of 25-30 degrees C needing a tank of 48 inches or longer. I would recommend buying premixed water to start off with, but two teaspoons per 1.4 gall of water seems to be the guide line
Archer Fish