Archerfish data sheet
German name:
archerfish
Scientific name:
Toxotes jaculatrix or Toxotes chatareus
Origin:
Asia
Size:
Body length 20 cm
Aquarium
Length:
Length from 200 cm width and from 80 cm width
Contents:
from 600 liters
water values
Temperature:
25°- 30° C
pH:
7 – 8
GH:
10° – 20° dH
Behave
Area:
upper area
Lining:
carnivor – living insects
Behave:
chasing, briefly aggressive
Number:
Group of 5 animals or more
Difficulty level:
Intermediate I, Chrrumps, Toxotes jaculatrix, CC BY-SA 3.0
Origin
The natural range of archer fish, also called splash fish, are the tropical waters of Asia. They can be found on the Red Sea, on the coasts of India, China, Thailand, Australia and the Philippines. There they prefer to live in coastal regions, especially in estuaries and in the brackish water of the mangrove forests. The water table is flat and the temperature values and salinity are subject to the ebb and flow.
Look
Archerfish belong to the archerfish family (Toxotidae) and to the order of perch fish. There are five different species in total: Lorentz archerfish, small-scaled archerfish and large-scaled archerfish. All differ in color, pattern and number of fin rays.
The common aquarium fish is the archer fish Toxotes jaculatrix and the toxotes chatareus. The T. jaculatrix carries only 4 instead of 5 spiny rays in the dorsal fin. The T. chatareus has a pattern of large and small dots.
Other identifying features are the compressed, flat body and the pointed head, they form an almost straight back-forehead line. The mouth is upright and the large eyes are mobile. The dorsal fin sits just in front of the caudal fin and the pectoral fins are remarkably well developed.
food
Archerfish got their name because of their uniqueness hunting technique. Included shoot the insect prey with a jet of water from the nearby leaves and branches of the riparian plants. The fish should be able to spit at ten times their body length. They then catch the prey on the water surface and eat it. For this reason the hunter prefers to stay just below the surface.
attitude
Archerfish are Sschool fish and only feel comfortable in a group. They can be in fresh water, or salt water live in brackish water, with the brackish water most closely matching their natural habitat. The water temperature measures 25 to 30° Celsius.
The animals need seYou have a lot of free living and swimming space, which is why the pool must be at least two meters long. The water must not be very deep and only fills the pool up to a third. Since the fish like to jump out of the water when eating, one cover on the aquarium indispensable.
It is set up by a loose planting in the edge area with shelters made of wood or protruding plants and some floating plants. Used to hide mangrove roots.
Also in the aquarium eThe fish species feeds exclusively on living insects, spiders, insect larvae and small fish. They only take food from the water surface. In order to observe hunting behavior, insects need to fly above the water surface.
It is possible to get used to small crustaceans (live and frozen food, pellets).
Archerfish:
gender differences
Males and females look and are very similar hardly distinguishable.
breed
To date, the breeding of toxotes in the aquarium has not been successful. The captive animals are from exclusively from wild catches.
socialization
The fish are in competition with each other, which is why larger specimens are often aggressive towards smaller conspecifics. For this reason, only very small groups are allowed live together with conspecifics of the same size.
Also one Socialization with other larger and more peaceful fish is possible. Glass perch, larger gobies, rainbow fish and sleeper gobies are suitable. Small fish are seen as food and are hunted.
With species-appropriate keeping, the archerfish can Age up to 12 years to reach.