Archers

Yeah, id love to do that, but in a 30UK Gallon tank...
its 4 foot long aswell, i dont think it'd be fair to keep 4 in that size...would it?!?!

Mikey
 
archer1.jpg


pic of mine
 
This is what i have always identified as T.microlepis, notice the stripes are more uniform in length and the fish has a more streamlined body shape

doeppne-127.jpg

archerfish.jpg



This is what i have always identified as T.jaculatrix, notice the longer stripes with half stripes between each full one and the deeper body.
3092.jpg



This is what i have always identified as T.chatereus, notice the "dirty" look to the scales and smudged stripes, also the more pointed head/mouth area.
Oddbal1050.jpg


note these are not my pictures and have been randomly stolen from google search :hyper:

I may be completely wrong with this but having bought groups of chatereus and jaculatrix from tanks labled as such and been able to keep them together and observe the slight differences in shape and colour i feel quite confident in my ability to identify those two species by sight, the microlepis i must admit is purely based on that it isnt one of the other two and no others are imported, at least not in any numbers.
 
Sorry CFC, I just don't agree.

If you refer to Allen (2004), he says specifically of T. microlepis:

Colour pattern consisting of 4-5 vertically elongate, black bars or triangular saddles interspersed with smaller black spots on upper back; soft portion of dorsal fin with pair of large black spots.

And for T. jaculatrix:

Dorsal spines 4: series of 4-5 black bars on upper sides.

I think we can both agree on T. chatareus.

To me, your first two pictures seem to be T. jaculatrix. They have a few, solid bars running a similar distance down the flanks (i.e., to about the level of the lateral line). Your third picture looks like T. microlepis. It has the alternating long and short bands (or bars and spots, if you prefer). It also has the two large spots on the soft part of the dorsal; while T. jaculatrix also has black patches on the dorsal, they run into one or both of the bars, so they aren't really spots as such.

toxotes2.jpg


It should be noted that T. microlepis is said by some authors (e.g. Schaefer) to be more common than T. jaculatrix in the trade, despited not being a widely used name. Though a freshwater species, it is brackish water as well, and is known to tolerate 1.010 or more. Consequently, many of the supposed T. jaculatrix kept by aquarists or seen on Google could quite possibly be T. microlepis. Also, going through some of the Fishbase pictures, there are a lot of T. jaculatrix there that don't match Allen's description. Since Fishbase is a compilation, whereas Allen is an actual fish taxonomist, I'd tend to favour Allen's interpretation here.

Cheers,

Neale
 
They key to identifying T. jaculatrix is that it's 4th bar/blotch before the cauldal fin connects and extends into the dorsal fin. Notice that T. chatareus and T. microlepis have a break in the bar/band/blotch. I find that to be a key ID point.

We should all get together, compile our information, and write an article on how to properly ID archers with proper photos and illustrations. I must explain this stuff on other forums at least a couple times a month.
 
Dave --

Exactly. That is what Allen means by "two spots on the dorsal fin" when describing T. microlepis.

I think a a mini-FAQ on identifying these fish would be very welcome, so count me in. I just added some explanations to my FAQ and ran up some quick sketches in Photoshop:

small_chatareus.jpg


small_jaculatrix.jpg


small_microlepis.jpg


Cheers,

Neale

They key to identifying T. jaculatrix is that it's 4th bar/blotch before the cauldal fin connects and extends into the dorsal fin. Notice that T. chatareus and T. microlepis have a break in the bar/band/blotch. I find that to be a key ID point.
 
superb!!

ill try and and get some better pics over the weekend so you could use them for examples.

and also a pic of him/her jumping, still havent seen him/her spit thou yet.
 
and also a pic of him/her jumping, still havent seen him/her spit thou yet.

I'm surprised. My archers started spitting at things on thier first feeding and once they realized that I was the food source they would all open fire on me any time I opened the lid of the tank. Thankfully we're past that stage now.
 
Before we moved house the brackish tank was positioned next to the PC and when i was sat there the archers would come over and spit at me through a tiny gap in the cover until i fed them something, they would leave me alone for an hour or so and then come back and do it again :lol:
 
quality i want mine to spit. mines about 3" not sure how old though as i read some where that they only spit after a certain age!!
 
It's not so much an age as size. Very small specimens simply aren't strong enough to squirt the water. I can't remember what the threshold size is, but I'd guess around 6-8 cm.

Anyway, training them to spit is easy. Simply stick bits of prawn on the glass, starting at the water line, and then working upwards. At first they will jump, but eventually the prawn will be too high to get at, and they'll spit.

Cheers,

Neale

quality i want mine to spit. mines about 3" not sure how old though as i read some where that they only spit after a certain age!!
 

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