Archer Fish Question

[the_evil_duboisi]

Look, I may be a bit mad for posting this, but I want to.

My brother really loves archerfish. Loves them more than any other fish I keep or kept. I personally like them myself, big jaws and eating insects(Also a way to get rid of any bugs that wander into the house)

The thing is, I'm a bit grumbly about this brackinsh water buisness. Water between salf and fresh, why not just one and not between?

I want to keep one, but if it will be kept in freshwater, no alternatives.

But then I'm afraid because if I do that, it could suffer the same grusome fate my poor baby targetfish suffered.

But then there are these people who keep them in hard freshwater. could it be done? With careful progress, could they be kept in fresh water?

Yours grumpy

PS: If archerfish can't be kept in frestwater, brackish are just not for me. But no offence to brackish-lovers at all.

 

[Marine/Freshwater?]

There are some archers that need lower salinities than others. I cant keep most of the archers availible for me because i have a high salinity brackish tank for my moray.(1.016). Look them up at www.fishbase.org.

 

[nmonks]

Numerically, most archerfish species are freshwater fish. However, the two species actually traded are both brackish water fish. These are Toxotes jaculatrix and Toxotes chatareus*. The only freshwater archer even halfway commonly traded is Toxotes microlepis, but positively identifying it is tricky. See my FAQ for details. Wildwoods regularly gets in positively identifies Toxotes microlepis, so if you're in the UK, obtaining them isn't too difficult. Can't speak for elsewhere though. You CANNOT keep the two brackish water archers in a freshwater tank indefinitely. They get sick and are invariably skittish and unhappy.

Cheers, Neale

* There are some true freshwater varieties of these in Australia, but they're not traded, whatever your retailer might say. And unless you have a PhD in ichthyology, identifying them is very difficult.

 

[the_evil_duboisi]

Grr.....

 

[funkyhoney]

* There are some true freshwater varieties of these in Australia, but they're not traded, whatever your retailer might say. And unless you have a PhD in ichthyology, identifying them is very difficult.

I don't mean to dispute your obvious knowledge, but.. uh, no? I'm a little confused based on what you've just said.

We have kept and continually do keep numerous archers in a completely freshwater tank with no negative side effects. Based on this I would say that they are traded, however perhaps not internationally? I'm not positive which exact variety they are, but I will find out as we can only get one variety in.

EDIT: When I say "we" I am referring to my work at a LFS, I don't personally keep any.

 

[kanzaris]

* There are some true freshwater varieties of these in Australia, but they're not traded, whatever your retailer might say. And unless you have a PhD in ichthyology, identifying them is very difficult.

I don't mean to dispute your obvious knowledge, but.. uh, no? I'm a little confused based on what you've just said.

We have kept and continually do keep numerous archers in a completely freshwater tank with no negative side effects. Based on this I would say that they are traded, however perhaps not internationally? I'm not positive which exact variety they are, but I will find out as we can only get one variety in.

EDIT: When I say "we" I am referring to my work at a LFS, I don't personally keep any.

Hi

I think most Brackish Fish start of in fresh water in LFS’s. Like Columbian Cat Sharks, when they are sold at about 2inch there is no mention that they have to go into Brackish Water when they get bigger. I even have seen them in LFS that never sell Brackish Fish. So when the Archers leave your shop you won’t know what happens to them unless the customer comes back and tells you they have died.

Sabby

 

[nmonks]

The species of archerfish sold varies. In the UK, the two species sold are almost exclusively Toxotes jaculatrix and Toxotes chatareus. Both of these need brackish water. Not very brackish water (even SG 1.005 is fine). But in plain freshwater, especially soft/acid freshwater, they will not do well in the long term -- i.e., over their natural lifespan of around 10 years.

However, according to Frank Schaefer, writing from a German perspective, the most widely sold archerfish is Toxotes microlepis. I can't personally confirm this one way or the other. Toxotes microlepis is a true freshwater species that only needs hard, alkaline freshwater to thrive. It'll do fine in low-end brackish, but it doesn't actually need salt. It's also a substantially smaller species than the other two, getting to about 12-15 cm in captivity.

Most American books and magazines seem to refer to Toxotes jaculatrix when describing the archerfish sold in US fish stores. However, Toxotes jaculatrix and Toxotes microlepis are extremely similar, and unless you know exactly what you're looking for, they can be easily confused. Toxotes chatareus is generally easy to recognise because it is so different to the others.

Anyway, your experience will largely depend on which of these three species passes through your store.

Cheers, Neale

PS. Sabby isn't precisely correct about archerfish. They aren't "born" in freshwater and then "migrate" into the sea as they mature. Archers spend their entire lives swimming up and down rivers. The freshwater species obviously stay within the freshwater parts of the river, while the brackish water ones move between the freshwater parts and the estuary (especially the mangrove). They don't need any particular salinity, and certainly don't need more salt as they grow up. What they do want, in the case of the brackish water species at least, is SOME salt. SG 1.005 is fine, SG 1.010 ideal. But it doesn't really matter.