Help Banded Archer Fish Is Getting More Aggresive

[meyerev]

I know i read that archers can get teritorial and it happened about a month ago
but then i added a fake plant that reached the top of the tank and it seemed to solve the problem
but now my smaller archer is not letting my larger archer near the top of the tank
any ideas or suggestions

Thanks
M

 

[nmonks]

Archers just aren't sociable. Keep either singly, or in reasonably big groups. I'd guess three would be better than two; in twos, you tend to have the bully chasing the other fish all the time. But honestly, in small tanks, I recommend keeping them singly.

Cheers, Neale

 

[meyerev]

Thanks for the quick reply

M

 

[meyerev]

Ok if i am to get rid of one what is suggested

get rid of the smaller more aggressive
or the larger one who keeps changing color from white to normal

Thanks
M

 

[nmonks]

Get rid of either. I tend to get rid of the more aggressive fish when this happens. But there probably isn't much in it either way.

Cheers, Neale

 

[meyerev]

Get rid of either. I tend to get rid of the more aggressive fish when this happens. But there probably isn't much in it either way.

Cheers, Neale

Well Neale seems you where very right. Today, a sad day , I gave away my smaller more aggressive fish. But it turned out great I havnt seen my large archer eat in a while and it was quite, I think i spelled this wrong, exciting. First he jumped about 4 inches, 10 cm, out of the water for a cricket and then with deadly accuracy shot a cricket into the water in about a six shot succession. Still sad for having to give one away, but it was for the greater good!

Thanks for the help

M

 

[nmonks]

Sorry about you having to lose one of the archers!

I remember seeing a group at a big pond at Kew Gardens. There must have been seven or eight of them, all adults. They followed each other about, one behind the other. It was very cool.

Unfortunately though, every time I've kept archers, it's been one-to-a-tank. They just aren't sociable when mature, except perhaps in really big groups.

Cheers, Neale

 

[meyerev]

Just an update on my Archer Fish, Toxotes jaculatrix. Very fun fish i think I will build a plexy glass case for the next archer range. If confused watch my video i embedded on one of the forums i created. But i am feeding him one or two large crickets a day. Which he quickly goes after once he sees and usually knocks the crickets down, or into my room, with quick 6-8 burst of water streams or lately jumping to get the cricket, he makes up his mind as he goes. When he is not very hungry he will play though. Such as today i put a third cricket on the branches and the archer quickly knocked him off. He did not, however, eat the cricket. Usually i save the cricket after a minute or so and put him on the branches again. But today i was surfing the web and when i looked back over i saw the archer pushing the cricket, now dead, along the surface of the water with streams of water that just broke the surface. I have known for a while that archers will use their ability to move sand around and have witnessed this archer pushing a ghost shrimp around the bottom. But this was new and very entertaining. I am very excited to see what he will do next.

M