Banded Archerfish

Care at a glance

Overview

The banded archerfish is a large, social surface fish best kept in a small group, since lone fish can be jumpy. It is mostly peaceful toward tankmates too big to eat but will take smaller fish, so pair it with similarly sized, salt-tolerant companions. It hunts at the top, so leave open surface space and, ideally, some overhanging structure it can spit at. Feed floating foods, live and frozen insects such as crickets and mealworms, plus meaty foods like prawn. It grows large and needs strongly brackish water, so plan a big tank, around 450 liters or more, with a tight lid to stop jumps.

In the wild

Archerfish live in coastal mangrove swamps, estuaries, and tidal river mouths from South and Southeast Asia to northern Australia, hanging just below the surface among overhanging branches and roots. This is brackish territory, so add marine salt to reach a specific gravity around 1.005 to 1.010 rather than keeping them in plain freshwater. Use hard, alkaline water with a pH between 7 and 8 and a temperature from 25 to 30 C. Give them a deep tank with open surface, some roots or branches near the top, and steady, clean filtration.

Good to know

The banded archerfish belongs to the family Toxotidae, the archerfishes. Adults can reach about 30 cm, with a silver body marked by several bold dark bars and an upturned mouth set for surface feeding. The eyes are large and set high for spotting prey above the water. Its most famous trait is a specialized groove in the roof of the mouth that lets it fire a jet of water. Breeding is essentially undocumented in aquariums, and the species is thought to move toward the sea to spawn.

Did you know

The banded archerfish hunts by spitting a jet of water at insects resting on leaves above the surface, knocking them down to eat. Big fish can hit targets two to three meters away, and the fish learns to correct for the way light bends at the water surface so its aim stays true.

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