Archerfishes can be divided into two groups: those that live in the brackish water of estuaries, reproduce there as well (all archerfishes are free spawners without brood care) and can also live in pure seawater. These species are therefore widely distributed along the coasts of the Indo-Pacific from India to Japan and Australia. And then there are the freshwater species that spend their entire lives in freshwater and reproduce there as well. Complicating things is that there are populations of the brackish water species that live in pure freshwater. However, you cannot tell from which population the brackish water species come from and therefore you have to rely on the information provided by the exporter so that you can finally care for them correctly.
Many of these findings have only been made in the last few years and have not yet become common knowledge. One of the pure freshwater species is Toxotes mekongensis, which, as the name suggests, is known from the Mekong River. We have now received this species from Vietnam. The pattern of markings with the long band in the middle of the body, reaching from the back to the belly, is typical for this species.
T. mekongensis grows to about 15 cm in length. It is not necessary to feed archerfish with insects (although T. mekongensis spits well and unerringly), but they need a lot of food. Ideal are dried stream shrimps (Gammarus) as basic food, which you give 2-3 times a day in small amounts (as much as will be eaten in 5 minutes). In addition, the animals take almost all food of animal origin that fits into the mouth, including small fish and shrimp. Only from the bottom they do not like to eat. Among themselves archerfish are relatively compatible. Females grow larger, otherwise there are no external sex differences.
For our customers: the animals have code 468512 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
