Totally Toxotes

The Banded Archer Fish was made for a nature documentary being voiced over by Sir David Attenborough, that might go something like this... Here in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, we have Toxotes jaculatrix, who in his natural habitat, doesn't look underwater for his prey, but has a much more interesting way to hunt. You see, he was named Toxotes because that is the Greek word for archer, and this interesting little fish can shoot an “arrow” of water at insects that cling to the leaves and grasses above the water's surface. When it connects, the bugs fall in, and quickly get gobbled up by our amazing aquatic archers...

As a side note, the jaculatrix part of this fish's name is Latin based and is the feminine form of a word for someone who throws a javelin. Whether we describe what it does as an arrow of water, or a javelin of water, all of us really know this fish is just a supremely gifted spitter! This talent is a pretty incredible trait, as anyone who has ever tried to pick up something underwater can attest. The surface of water acts like a lens and distorts the location of anything on the other side of it and somehow, the Banded Archer Fish has learned to compensate for this! These jets of water can shoot at least five times their body length, and there are reports of large adult individuals shooting water over six feet (you're probably going to want to cover the tank.)

Digging deeper into the amazing, Banded Archer Fish can move back and forth between freshwater and saltwater (and it doesn't have to be spawning related). This characteristic is called being “amphidromous” and makes them the perfect fit for their homes in brackish mangrove forests everywhere from Northern Australia to China and everywhere in between. Toxotes jaculatrix doesn't need saltwater and they are often found in rivers, lakes and ponds far away from any marine environment whatsoever. This makes them incredibly adaptable in the home aquarium. They tolerate a wide range of salinity, temperature anywhere from 72 up to 85 F, and a pH between 6.5 and 8.

Archers are pretty likely to get at least seven or eight inches long, and occasionally get harvested as food fish up to foot long. This means they'll need a reasonable amount of space. A single fish could be kept in a tank as small as 75 gallons, but a group of fish (which should always be more than five individuals) should be held in an aquarium in the range of 125 gallons or up. Flow in these tanks should be fairly gentle, focusing on not overly disrupting the surface if you'd like your fish to be able to hunt. Toxotes jaculatrix don't need a massive footprint and are ideal fish for “tall” aquariums and especially paludariums.

Some of you may be asking yourselves what exactly is a paludarium? Well, a paludarium is a terrarium / aquarium hybrid. There is an aquarium on the bottom portion, and a dry portion above it that are usually planted, though artificial plants could be used there as well. Mangroves make excellent plants for these displays, especially for those of you who choose to use a brackish display. One of the coolest reasons to keep your Banded Archer Fish in a paludarium is you actually get to watch them hunt. Usually, people add crickets to the terrarium portion of the tank, and once they venture out onto the vegetation over the water, they can get picked off by the fish! Other commonly available insects will also work. Lighting should be based on the needs of the plants as the fish are not all that picky, and in the absence of plants will look for shade or other cover to hide from lighting.

Banded Archer Fish don't actually need live food, though they will relish small worm, crickets or even meal worms, all of which can just be dropped in the water, but none of it is necessary; they'll take most flakes or pellets readily. They will also greedily consume thawed items like Gamma Bloodworms or Mysis, and for smaller fish, Brine as well. In house they get the Nutramar Complete Pellets and a mix of meaty foods from Gamma.

Banded Archer Fish are usually kept one of two ways, there is either only one of them, or a group of at least five of them. They can be aggressive with each other and keeping less than five can result in fish that get targeted too much and suffer stress and physical damage. Regardless as to whether you keep a single or a group, they can be kept with other fish. While our water spitting friends prefer hunting for bugs, they will most certainly eat fish that are small enough. In a brackish set up, other good tank mates could be things like Scats, Tire Track Eels, and Monos (among others).

As of the writing of this article, there isn't really any commercial captive breeding of Toxotes jaculatrix, and so all of the fish you see in your local fish store are almost certainly wild caught. We've seen a few (very rare) reports of successful breeding in captivity over the years by super hobbyists and public aquariums in massive displays. There is much conjecture on whether or not it takes a shift to full saltwater or full freshwater to trigger spawning activity.

If you want an incredibly interactive aquarium display, that is absolutely different than pretty much anyone else you know, Banded Archer Fish as the anchor of a paludarium might be the way. There aren't very many fish that are cooler than this, and they are hardy and attractive to boot! Sound like something you'd be interested in? Head to your LFS and ask them about getting you some Toxotes jaculatrix from Aquatropic!