Banded archerfish

The banded archerfish (family Toxotidae) ranges through brackish estuaries, mangroves, and coastal rivers of the Indo-Pacific, from India to northern Australia. It has a silvery, laterally compressed body marked with several bold dark vertical bars and an upturned mouth suited to its famous feeding method. It is renowned for spitting jets of water to knock insects from overhanging vegetation into the water, and it also leaps to seize prey. It is fairly peaceful and can be kept in a small group. A spacious tank with an open water surface, some overhanging structure, and typically brackish water suits it, and adults tolerate increasingly saline conditions. It is a carnivore that relishes floating and live insect foods but also takes meaty frozen items and pellets. A tight lid is essential given its jumping and spitting. Its brackish requirements and feeding behavior make it best for intermediate keepers.