Banded Archer Fish Toxotes jaculatrix

The Banded Archerfish are brackish water fish common to many parts of tropical Asia and northern Australia. They live mainly in salty mangrove swamps where they spend their time cruising the shallows looking for food, sometimes moving into rivers and streams. Archer Fish have developed the ability to "shoot" their food by forcing a stream of water through a groove in the roof of their mouths. This jet of water is strong enough to knock insects and spiders out of low lying branches into the water where they are quickly gobbled up. They seem to have an uncanny knowledge of exactly where the food will land, and are headed to retrieve it before the stream of water has even hits its mark. These fish can also leap out of the water, similar to salmon fish, to grab insects out of the air. They will generally only leap, however, if the prey is a body length or more above the surface of the water. They will also feed on small fish and crustaceans. The Banded Archerfish will generally reach only about 6 inches in the aquarium, though they can get about twice that size in the wild. They are typically a bright silvery or white color with black vertical bands. Banded Archers are a good community as long they are kept with fish too big for them to eat. They basically have no concerns with other fish as long as the tank mates are not overly aggressive and don't dwell in the upper portions of the tank. Though getting them to feed can be difficult, once they get accustomed to the aquarium they are quite hardy, and can even be trained to spit.