Banded Archerfish

About

The banded archerfish (Toxotes jaculatrix) is best known for one of the most remarkable hunting strategies in the animal kingdom. It spits precisely aimed jets of water at insects and other prey resting on vegetation above the surface, knocking them into the water from distances of up to around 150 cm. Even more impressive, it compensates for the way light bends at the water's surface when lining up a shot. Found across a wide range from India through Southeast Asia and down to northern Australia, this species spends most of its time in brackish mangrove estuaries, though it also moves into rivers and coastal reef margins. In the aquarium, it needs a brackish setup; keeping juveniles in freshwater is sometimes mentioned, but a proper brackish environment is always the better call. These are active, social fish that do best in small groups of four or five, which also helps reduce the squabbling that can occur between individuals. They're generally peaceful toward tankmates of comparable size, scats, monos, and green chromides are popular companions, but they will make a meal of anything small enough to fit in their mouths. Breeding in captivity hasn't been documented, likely because spawning is thought to occur in full seawater. A rewarding species for intermediate keepers with space and the right setup.