Archerfish
Contents:
- Archer fish
by akom-at-eznet.net (A.K.) (Wed, 19 Apr 1995)
- Archer Fish
by mengerin-at-cs.utexas.edu (Matthew William Mengerink) (19 Jul 1995)
- Archer Fish
by mengerin-at-cs.utexas.edu (Matthew William Mengerink) (19 Jul 1995)
- Archer Fish
by Neale Monks <N.Monks-at-nhm.ac.uk> (20 Jul 1995)
- Archer Fish
by Neale Monks <N.Monks-at-nhm.ac.uk> (21 Jul 1995)
by akom-at-eznet.net (A.K.)
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995
Newsgroup: alt.aquaria
In article <3mnmsg$p24-at-mark.ucdavis.edu> Robert Fairclough wrote:
>john suffill (john-at-culloden.demon.co.uk) wrote:
>: In article <1995Apr11.155204.10067-at-roper.uwyo.edu>
>: juel-at-UWYO.EDU "VERY LARGE MAN" writes:
>
>: > I was wondering if anybody could give me a whole bunch of info on
>: > Archer fish. Like - Water conditions, how do you make them spit,
>: > etc. All responses would be greatly appreciated.
>
>: Brakish water fish, will appreciate 1-2 tablespoons of salt for every
>: 2 gallons, water temperature between 26-28^C, and they should be kept
>: in a large tank. My book recommends feeding live foods such as flies,
>: moths and crickets.
>
>: Cheers
>When they get sort of large the also eat gold fish. To train them to
>spit takes time. feed them so they know what to expect then start hold
>ting the food just above the surface...they get the idea... it takes a
>lot of time.
> Steve
> no nifty quote
>
>: ****************************** Internet: john-at-culloden.demon.co.uk ****
>: ******* John Suffill ******* Fidonet: 2:2502/666.1 ****************
>: ************************** Icenet: 47:343/201.1 ***************
>
Archerfish spit naturally - just put some tubifex worms on the side of the tank
above water level - they'll spit them down. A friend of mine did this - they just
spit them down naturally - no training involved.
by mengerin-at-cs.utexas.edu (Matthew William Mengerink)
Date: 19 Jul 1995
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria
> Well just happened to buy six archer fish (the only name i know them
> by.....) And being in Hong Kong am unable to find information
> regarding such a fish can someone outhere point me i the right
> direction as to feeding requirements as i am sure they will need some
> kind of protein (if you know what i mean) in their diet.....
Hello,
You did the right thing by buying many of them. They are a schooling
fish. I hope that you have at least a 55g tank and that there are no
others in the tank w/ them. They need some room.
They will eat instects readily. If you have access to pesticide
and poison free crickets, they will be a major part of the diet. Other
insects will work as well. (I hope the idea of using crickets as a food
source for fish is not disturbing to you). Earthworms with the inner
dirt removed (squeeze out, or slice the worm & clean) will also be
a good part to the diet. Other foods which will work are as follows:
frozen/live brine shrimp, frozen/live bloodworms, frozen plankton,
etc. etc. Avoid flake food. If your fish will take it, freeze dried brine
or freeze dried blood worms will be an easy substitute for days you are
in a rush to get out of the house.
An interesting thing to do is to leave a good deal of space over
the water wherein you can put limbs hanging down. A mangrove setting is
what I'm referring to. If you release live food into this area, you will
have the pleasure of watching the fish spit them out of the branches.
Archer fish are brackish fish, so some salt (at least 2 tsp or so
per gallon) should be present in the water.
Cheers,
Matthew
---------------------------- "Fish weird me out!" -----------------------------
by mengerin-at-cs.utexas.edu (Matthew William Mengerink)
Date: 19 Jul 1995
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria
> In article <3uj979$bm7-at-warp.cris.com> ChadH-at-cris.com (Chad) writes:
> Seeing that archer fish are brackish (that is if that is what you
> have) they would eat the usual things most salt fish eat. Krill,
> clams, plankton, shrimp, or any other shellfish or crustacean (sp?). I
> am quite sure that they will eat feeders too, if you can find small
> ones...However, the archer fish gets its name from its ability to
> "spit" at bug flying about the water and knock the down so he can eat
> them....You may want to try crickets.
This seems like guessing on your part. I have never read of archers
eating shellfish & crustaceans. Just because a fish is brackish, one
cannot assume that the creature eats "usual thinsg most salt fish eat."
A brachygobius danae (bumble bee gobie) is an example of something which
would not eat shullfish & crustaceans in the wild.
Further, if you're going to guess, it is safer to guess based on the shape
of the mouth. If you'll look at the archers, you'll see that it is definitely
a top feeder, so crawling shellfish are definitely out.
Cheers,
Matthew
by Neale Monks <N.Monks-at-nhm.ac.uk>
Date: 20 Jul 1995
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria
Bungee,
I have kept a few archers in my time. They are great fish, and you will
enjoy keeping them.
First, a good book to look at is Baensh's Aquarium Atlas. This has much
more detail than Axelrods. You'll want volume one if you have either the
common archer (Toxotes jaculator) or seven-banded archer (T.chatreus)
Another good source of information is an old TFH book called Brackish
Aquaria, I think by Michael Gos (but I'm not sure).
Second, archers are territorial. Put three in a tank, and you'll wind
up with one. Sorry, but thats the way it goes. Big shoals might work OK
in really huge tanks, but I've never had archers get on in tanks of
200gallons or less.
By themselves, they are very hardy. They like lots of warmth, say 25
degrees-C. A tight fitting lid is vital. They jump. Water quality is not
too important, but some salt helps. I have kept them in planted,
freshwater tanks and coral-reef marine tanks. It is up to you.
Companions? They get on fine with anything big and quiet. Big cichlids
with bad attitudes terrify them, but they are fairly resilient. I've
kept them with monodactylus, scats, mollies, gar-pikes, convict
cichlids, mbuna...all sorts of things. They are supposed to eat small
fish. Never seen it myself, but why take the chance?
They will spit in captivity. But you will need to train them. In the
wild they learn by watching others. Below an inch or so, they can't
spit. To teach them, this is what I do:
Lower the water so that there is a good three or four inches of air
space above the water level. Leave it like this for a while so they get
used to it (archer can be a bit nervous). Get a small piece of prawn.
Cruch it against the glass of the tank so it sticks, just above the
water level, so the juices go into the water. The fish will smell food,
and see the prawn stuck against the glass. It will probably try to stick
its nose out to bit the food. Let it get the prawn and eat it. Repeat
this, raising the prawn a bit higher up each time. The archer will jump
at first, but eventually the prawn should be so high up it cannot reach.
THEN it will spit, trust me. You might need to get them hungry to do
this, and it takes a while, but it is worth it. Only problem is that
other fish (especially cichlids and scats) learn to follow archers when
they are hunting, and steal the food!
In short, they are tough little guys, basically solitary, and need lots
of animal protein for food. Will eat flake, but are less keen on fish
fillets. Love flies, shrimp, etc.
Anyway, enjoy them. They are great fish. Any problems, let me know!
Neale Monks, Department of Palaeontology,
Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD
Internet: N.Monks-at-nhm.ac.uk
Telephone: 0171-938-9007
"...now Nature is having the last laugh. The freaky stuff is turning out
to be the mathematics of the natural world"
from 'Arcadia', by Tom Stoppard
by Neale Monks <N.Monks-at-nhm.ac.uk>
Date: 21 Jul 1995
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria
Matthew,
A reply to your comments on diet.
On occasion, Archer fish will take food from the bottom. It depends on
what is with them. They won't compete with catfish, say, but on their
own they will have a go at live worms or shrimps. But they are very
nervous about tipping on their sides to get food from the bottom. And
you are right to say that the mouth is a giveaway...that's the reason
they need to tip to one side!
There are stories about Archers using their jet to blow sand away and
expose small shrimps that might have burrowed away. I have never seen it
myself. I know triggers do this, so why not Archers?
You are absolutely right about not 'guessing' diets. Most marine fish
are herbivores or plankton feeders. Only a few can deal with clams and
shrimps. Having said that, they tend to adapt readily enough to whatever
is going...I once saw a remora (shark-sucker) that ate cooked
onions...surely not a natural food source!
The only things my archers really went for were bits of prawn, really
good quality flake (like Aquarian Marine), and live crustaceans
(gammarus, brown shrimps...).
Best wishes,
Neale Monks, Department of Palaeontology,
Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD
Internet: N.Monks-at-nhm.ac.uk
Telephone: 0171-938-9007
"...now Nature is having the last laugh. The freaky stuff is turning out
to be the mathematics of the natural world"
from 'Arcadia', by Tom Stoppard
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