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Few groups of fishes are as distinctive as the Archers. All six species (of one genus) display a similar profile (deep-bodied, laterally compressed, with large eyes, and markings... overall silvery with black dorsal banding. All display mastery of spitting insect prey through the air/water interface... with large, protractile jaws, and big jutting lower jaw. And all make beautiful, hardy aquarium specimens... given a few simple provisos: meaty, likely live foods, likely some salt in their otherwise hard, alkaline water, plenty of surface area to cruise, forage in, and a paucity of bothersome tankmates. Range: Found in coastal areas of India, the Philippines, Australia, Polynesia in fresh, brackish and marine habitats. Size: Most species, individuals to a maximum length of about six inches, but one to sixteen (Toxotes chatareus)! Archerfish Species, Family Toxotidae
Selection: Sorting through tanks, individual archers is pretty easy. In most cases, they're either in great shape or appallingly bad, and obviously so. Selection criteria I use: 1) Time on hand. Don't buy "new" archerfishes. Let them "rest up", settle in for a few days to a couple of weeks. Most all "mysterious" losses of these fishes occur within a few days of arrival. 2) Bloody markings, especially about the gills paired fin origins/bases are trouble; indication of trauma in collection, holding, shipping. If any specimens show these defects, leave ALL of them. 3) Size. Too small and large specimens are inferior choices. Little ones get too beat in the supply chain and large ones adapt poorly. The best size at purchase (for new, not ones "grown up" in captivity) is about two inches total length. Environment Habitat: Something large... by species at least five lengths the potential of its inhabitants. And with a good cover. In addition to keen spitsmanship, archers are also noted jumpers. Jumping about for an insect, many an archer has ended up on the floor. Keep your water level down a bit and a secure, complete cover over yours. These are shy, retiring animals... at least at first introduction. In the wild, they hide, move about submersed terrestrial and true aquatic plants most of the time. Yours will be happiest with subdued light, filtering through plants, that if you use salt continuously or occasionally are salt-tolerant. Some notable types are Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus), Sagittarias, Vallisnerias, Elodea/Egeria, Hornwort/Coontail (Ceratophyllum), Java Moss (Vesicularia dubyana), Hygro (Hygrophila spp.), and Swordplants (Echinodorus spp.). Remember, plant life is even more sensitive then fishes to rapid changes in osmotic and ionic content in their water. Acclimate them slowly. Chemical/Physical: These are tropical fishes, that require warm water, 25-30 C. Though most do ascend into freshwaters, the species commonly offered as pet-fish do best with at least occasional exposure to salt in their water. I suggest a specific gravity of 1.005 to 1.012 with some important notes to add here. It's a good idea to "match" the spg of current (including shipping) water with what your archers are already living in... and towards that ends to pre-mix and store new/make-up water in a dedicated container (like with a pump/powerhead, heater), using whatever regimen you utilize to keep the density of their water (new and old) about the same. As an example, if you're maintaining your brackish system on the lower end of "saltiness" (let's say about two teaspoons of non-iodized, or better still, synthetic sea salt mix per gallon) then for a given amount of water removed (not replaced due to evaporation, which leaves the salts, other solids behind), you'll want to have added that amount of salt to the make up/stored water per that volume. It's advised to maintain pH, alkalinity and hardness (dKH and GH) at elevated levels... somewhere between "most common" freshwater and marine conditions. A pH of 7.2-7.6, and 20 degrees of calcium hardness are about right. These higher values are helpful in preventing too sudden drops, changes in water chemistry in small aquarium volumes. Some folks vacillate the conditions, thermal, salt-content of their brackish systems. If you do this, do it slowly... like a thousandth of density "point" maximum in any given day. Behavior Territoriality: Though they don't like sharing their open water space with other species, archerfishes are abidingly tolerant toward members of their own species. I've collected Toxotes jaculatrix and T. chatereus in the same net trawl in good numbers in backwaters of Cairns, Australia. Likewise they're displayed together in public aquariums around the world, and crowded in single and mixed species groups at pet-fish wholesalers and retailers. In fact, these fishes are almost always found in groups and are best displayed as such. Reproduction: Some species breed in fresh, marine, or both (T. chatareus). Lay between 20,000-150,000 eggs, about 0.4mm diameter. Spawning takes place triggered by rains after the dry season (May, June). Foods/Feeding/Nutrition: Scientific accounts list insects and floating vegetable material as principal foods taken in the wild. Zooplankton, aquatic insect larvae and worms to a lesser degree. Insects are shot from up to five feet away with accuracy... amazing given the index of refraction compensation necessary for aiming through water into air. In captivity healthy Archerfishes accept meaty foods of all sorts (after initial acclimation)... Cut and whole insects, their larvae like "mealworms", worms, crustaceans are all fine. If you don't grow plants, in part for their ingestion, do supply some purposeful greenery (like a bit of human-intended algae) as a strip, on a "clip" at the upper edge of the tanks water line, for your Archers consumption. Disease Prevention/Cure Archerfishes do get the typical infectious and parasitic diseases of their freshwater brethren. The former (bacterial, fungal, even viral in the case of Lymphocystis) are principally due to consequences of physical stress coupled with poor water quality, and best "treated" with return to stable, improved conditions. The latter (ich, velvet...) can be cured with the usual dye or metal salt solutions, or simple manipulation of the environment (raising temperature and salt content of the water). Conclusion:
Bibliography/Further Reading: Archers Allen, Gerald R. 1973. Nature's sharpshooters. TFH 12/73. Jonklaas, Rodney. 1988. In praise of archerfish. TFH 11/88. Kluge, Klaus 1960. Marksmen with scales. TFH 4/60. Nelson, Joseph S. 1994. Fishes of the World. 3rd Ed. Wiley. 600pp. Brackish Water Systems In General: http://www.geocities.com/rubentolon/index.html Anon. 1981. Where watery worlds mingle... Aquariums Australia 2:1, 1981. Anon. 1975. Tanks with brackish or mixed water. Aquarium Digest International 3:4, 75. Burgstaller, B.J. 1978. The brackish system. FAMA 8/78. Castro, Alfred D. 1996. Fishes for the brackish aquarium. Pt.s I, II. 5,6/96. Dawes, John. 1989. Bolstering sales of brackish water fish. Pets Supplies Marketing Magazine. 7/89. Gibbs, Max. 1995. The brackish aquarium. For the adventurous fishkeeper looking for something different from the conventional tropical freshwater or marine aquarium, the brackish tank offers a challenge. FAMA 4/95. Gos, Michael. 1980. The brackish system, pt.s 1,2. FAMA 11,12/80 Gos, Michael W. 1977. The brackish aquarium. TFH 10/77. Monks, Neale. 2001. Giving into temptation. A personal top ten of brackish-water fish. TFH 9/01. Taylor, Edward C. 1996. Creating a brackish-water biotope. Pet Business Magazine. 11/96. Taylor, Edward C. 1982. Keeping a brackish aquarium, pt.s 1,2. TFH 5,6/82. Volkart, Bill. 1989. The brackish aquarium: Pt. 1, setting up, Pt. 2, plants, Pt. 3 the fishes. TFH 6,7,8/89 Wolf, Jim. 1998. Fish on the brink (brackish). Odyssea. J. of the Mar. Aq. Soc. of L.A. 4/98. |
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