Archer fishes
Toxotes spp
Toxotes = archer
spp = more than one species discussed here

Knocking down your lunch!

An archer fish eats insects, shrimp and other fishes.

It can squirt a jet of water 2 or 3 metres into the air to knock down an insect.

The fish uses its tongue and a groove in the roof of its mouth to get a high powered jet of water.

Can you imagine having to knock down your lunch with a squirt of water?

Like a submarine, an archer fish tries not to
be spotted before it fires. What makes it
harder for insects to see it?
Photo: Steve Donnellan, 1982


How not to be seen

The archer fish has a flattened top.

During the day it has dark patches on its skin which look like the shadows from overhanging trees. At night the skin patches fade so the fish looks silver, like moonlight on the water.

A place to grow up

The archer fish needs to live in warm water without much change of temperature.

The female lays from 20 000 to 150 000 eggs but few of the young survive the 1-2 years they need to become adults.

References
Dill, L M. 1977. Refraction and spitting behaviour of Archer fish Toxotes chatareus. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, 2:168-1840.
Allen G R. 1973. Nature's sharpshooters. Tropical Fish Hobby, 21: 18-27.

An archer fish