|
|
|
PERCHES
TOXOTIDAE FAMILY
The Toxotidae or Archerfish family is made up of a single genus and six species. Archerfish inhabit brackish water along the coast of Australia and Asia. Archerfish are known for their habit of shooting down prey with a stream of water.
Seven-Spot Archerfish
[
Pictures
]
Toxotes chataeus
SYN
:
Coius chataeus
PD
: The fish is moderately elongated and laterally compressed with a pointed head. The eyes are large and set fairly far forward. The cleft mouth points toward the surface. The dorsal and anal fins are situated far back on the body. The body is yellow-green to white while the back is darker. The body is marked with seven black spots, which may fade with age. The caudal fin is yellow to green in color, while the rear parts of the anal and dorsal fins are black.
SIZE
: To 12" (30 cm)
SS
: Other Archerfish.
HAB
: Found in brackish water estuaries and mangrove swamps. Southeast Asia and Australia;India, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam.
S: top
TANK
: 40" (100 cm) or 45-55 gallons (170-209 L). Follow suggestions for
T. jaculatrix.
WATER
: pH 7-8 (7.5), 10-18 dH (12), 77-88°F (25-31°C). A 1-2% addition of salt is required. Add 7.5-15 tsp. of salt to every 10 gallons (10-20 g/10 L).
SB
: As for
T. jaculatrix.
SC
: Monos, Scats, Puffers,
Arius
catfish, Mudskippers
FOOD
:Takes food from the surface. Live: Insects; flies, spiders, crickets, mosquitoes, grasshoppers,beetles, cockroaches, meal worms; worms; insect larvae; crustaceans; small surface fish. May occasionally takes flakes and pellets.
SEX: Unknown
B
: Unknown, most likely similar to
T. jaculatrix.
BP
: 10. Has not been bred in captivity.
R
: See
T. jaculatrix.
DC
: 6. This brackish water species requires live foods.
Archerfish
[
Pictures
]
Toxotes jaculatrix
SYN
:
Labrus jaculatrix, Sciaena jaculatrix, Toxotes jaculator
PD
: The Archerfish is moderately elongated and laterally compressed with a pointed head. The eyes are large and set fairly far forward. The large, deeply cleft mouth points upward toward the surface. The dorsal and anal fins are situated far back on the body. The body is silver to white and marked with 4-6 black bands that run vertically from the top of the back to the middle of body. The first runs through the eye while the last runs across the caudal peduncle. Some fish may be marked with irregular yellow markings. The caudal fin is silver to yellow in color, while the anal fin is black.
SIZE
: To 10" (25 cm)
SS
: Other
Toxotes
species.
HAB
: Found in brackish water (occasionally fresh) estuaries and mangrove swamps. Southeast Asia and Australia; India, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, to the Solomon Islands.
S: top
TANK
: A tank measuring 40" (101 cm) with a capacity from 45-55 gallons (170-209 L) is minimal,with larger tanks being preferred. Archerfish prefer tanks at one-half to three-fourths full. Use plants that grow above the water surface that can tolerate brackish water. Provide hiding places with heavily planted areas, rocks, roots, and wood. Leave some open swimming areas.
WATER
: pH 7-8 (7.5), 10-18 dH (12), 77-88°F (25-31°C). A 1-2% addition of salt is required. Add 7.5-15 tsp. of salt to every 10 gallons (10-20 g/10 L).
SB
: The Archerfish may be skittish when kept with larger fish. Archerfish form schools and should be kept in groups. Avoid combining Archerfish of different sizes as they may lack cohesion, with larger fish harassing smaller ones. A peaceful, calm fish recommended for a brackish water community tank.
SC
: Monos, Scats, Puffers,
Arius
catfish, Mudskippers
FOOD
:Takes food from the surface. Live: Insects; flies, spiders, crickets, mosquitoes, grasshoppers,beetles, cockroaches, meal worms; worms; insect larvae; crustaceans; small surface fish. May occasionally takes flakes and pellets.
SEX: Unknown
B
: Breeding has been accomplished accidentally on a few occasions. The pair spawns close to the surface and about 3000 floating eggs are laid. The eggs should be transferred to a rearing tank where they hatch in 12 hours. Feed young small insects and live food that can be taken from water surface.
BP
: 10. Breeding has only been accomplished on a few occasions and details are little.
R
:Archerfish have the ability to shoot stream of water from their mouth to knock insects and small animals from plants above the water. They have excellent eye sight and spend the daytime hours patrolling just below the water surface for prey. When an insect is spotted, the fish takes aim, with the tip of its snout just above the water surface, and shoots. The stream of water usually will find its target, knocking the insect into the water. The Archerfish has incredible accuracy-over 99% of shots of adult fish hit their targets. The way the Archerfish is able to shoot down its prey is actually fairly simple. The tongue and the roof of the mouth form a tube that measures about 1/16" in width. When the mouth is filled with water, the sudden closure of the gills forces water through the tube and out of the mouth. The fish can control the duration and the range-up to 5 feet (1.5 m)-of the water stream. Young individuals learn how to shoot when about 1" (2.5 cm) long, but lack the characteristic accuracy of adult fish. Accuracy and range increases with size and age.
DC
: 6. The Archerfish is a robust, interesting brackish water species that requires a diet of live foods.
Species Index
|
Fish Home
|
Rainforests
|
|
|
|
Recent news
New Yangtze River dam could doom more endangered species
(06/22/2009)
Eight Chinese environmentalists and scientists have composed a letter warning that a new dam under consideration for the Yangtze River could lead to the extinction of several endangered species. The letter contends that Xiaonanhia Dam, which would be 30 kilometers upstream from the city of Chongqing, will negatively impact the river’s only fish reserve. Spanning 400 kilometers in the upper Yangtze, the reserve is home to 180 fish species, including the Endangered Chinese sturgeon, and the Critically Endangered Chinese paddlefish, as well as the finless porpoise.
Fish take less than a decade to evolve
(06/22/2009)
Evolution is often thought of being a slow-process, taking thousands, if not millions, of years. However a new study in The American Naturalist found that Trinidadian guppies underwent evolution in just eight years, or thirty generations. Less than a decade ago Swanne Gordon, a graduate student at UC Riverside, and her team introduced Trinidadian guppies into the Damier River in the Caribbean island of Trinidad. They placed the guppies above a waterfall to allow them to flourish in a largely predator-free environment.
Madfish?: scientist warns that farmed fish could be a source of mad cow disease
(06/17/2009)
In a paper that shows just how strange our modern world has become, Robert P. Friedland, neurologist from the University of Louisville, warns that farmed fish could be at risk of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, or mad cow disease.
New report predicts dire consequences for every U.S. region from global warming
(06/17/2009)
Government officials and scientists released a 196 page report detailing the impact of global warming on the U.S. yesterday. The study, commissioned in 2007 during the Bush Administration, found that every region of the U.S. faces large-scale consequences due to climate change, including higher temperatures, increased droughts, heavier rainfall, more severe weather, water shortages, rising sea levels, ecosystem stresses, loss of biodiversity, and economic impacts.
Will jellyfish take over the world?
(06/16/2009)
It could be a plot of a (bad) science-fiction film: a man-made disaster creates spawns of millions upon millions of jellyfish which rapidly take over the ocean. Humans, starving for mahi-mahi and Chilean seabass, turn to jellyfish, which becomes the new tuna (after the tuna fishery has collapsed, of course). Fish sticks become jelly-sticks, and fish-and-chips becomes jelly-and-chips. The sci-fi film could end with the ominous image of a jellyfish evolving terrestrial limbs and pulling itself onto land—readying itself for a new conquest.
Marine scientist calls for abstaining from seafood to save oceans
(06/08/2009)
In April marine scientist Jennifer Jacquet made the case on her blog Guilty Planet that people should abstain from eating seafood to help save life in the ocean. With fish populations collapsing worldwide and scientists sounding warnings that ocean ecosystems—as edible resources—have only decades left, it is perhaps surprising that Jacquet’s call to abstain from consuming seafood is a lone voice in the wilderness, but thus far few have called for seafood lovers to abstain.
|
|
