Mekong archerfish

Care at a glance

Overview

Unlike most archerfish, this one lives entirely in fresh water, and it does best as a small group in a large, calm tank. It patrols the surface, so give it open space at the top and a tight lid, since it hunts by watching the air above the water. It is mostly peaceful with fish it cannot eat, but treat tankmates with caution: choose robust, similarly sized companions and avoid anything small enough to be taken as prey. Feed floating and surface foods along with insects such as crickets, and let some food sit on top so it can shoot and snatch. A tank of around 400 liters or more suits a group of these active swimmers.

In the wild

The Mekong archerfish comes from the Mekong basin in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, hunting insects along overhanging banks and flooded margins in pure fresh water. Give it a tank with open surface, some overhanging or emergent plants and branches to mimic the bankside, and steady clean water. Keep it warm at 24 to 29 C with a near-neutral pH of 6.5 to 7.5.

Good to know

Toxotes mekongensis is a member of Toxotidae, the archerfishes, and reaches about 20 centimeters. It was described by Kottelat and Tan in 2018, split from the smallscale archerfish as the Mekong basin's own freshwater species. Breeding is moderately difficult and rarely done in aquaria, as archers scatter large numbers of buoyant eggs that drift with the current.

Did you know

Archerfish hunt by spitting a jet of water to knock insects off overhanging leaves, aiming so well that they correct for the way light bends at the surface. This species did the trick for generations before science formally named it in 2018.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Clouded archerfish

  Toxotes blythii

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)106 gal (400 L)75–84°F (24–29°C)

• 

  Seven-spot archerfish

  Toxotes chatareus

  Freshwater·Brackish

  15.7 in (40 cm)106 gal (400 L)77–86°F (25–30°C)

• 

  Red wolf fish

  Erythrinus erythrinus

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)40 gal (150 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)
• Ericotaenia hap

  Mylochromis ericotaenia

  Freshwater

  8.1 in (20.5 cm)119 gal (450 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Yellowhump eartheater

  Geophagus pellegrini

  Freshwater

  7.1 in (18 cm)106 gal (400 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)
• Darter characin

  Apareiodon affinis

  Freshwater

  7.1 in (18 cm)53 gal (200 L)64–77°F (18–25°C)