Banded archerfish
A fish that shoots a jet of water at insects on overhanging vegetation, correcting for the refraction at the surface, then catches the prey before another fish can. It needs brackish water, a group, and a gap between the water and the lid to shoot into.
Quick profile
- Scientific name
- Toxotes jaculatrix
- Adult size
- 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in)
- Lifespan
- 8–12 years
- Temperature
- 25–30 °C (77–86 °F)
- pH
- 7.5–8.5
- Hardness
- 10–30 °dGH
- Minimum tank
- 400 L (106 US gal)
- Minimum length
- 150 cm
- Swimming zone
- Surface
- Social
- Shoaling — at least 4
- Diet
- Insectivore
- Overall confidence
- moderate confidence
What keeping this species involves
Brackish water, a shoal, a large tank and an air gap that most aquarium setups do not have. The behaviour that makes the fish worth keeping needs all four.
Mangrove creeks and estuarine margins beneath overhanging vegetation, in brackish water at varying salinity.
Identity and names
- Common name
- Banded archerfish
- Scientific name
- Toxotes jaculatrix
- Family
- Toxotidae
- Order
- Perciformes
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Also sold as
- Toxotes jaculatrix, archerfish, archer fish, spitting fish
Adult size and growth
15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in)
Typical lifespan in an aquarium: 8–12 years. Almost every animal sold in a shop is a juvenile, so the tank has to suit the size in the first line rather than the size in the bag.
Shape, which is what the compatibility engine reads instead of length alone: deep-bodied with a moderate. A surface feeder taking insects. Its notoriety is for shooting rather than for swallowing tankmates.
Water and tank requirements
A surface-hunting shoal of fish reaching twenty-five centimetres, which also needs an air gap above the water to shoot into. The tank has to be long and deliberately under-filled.
Temperature (°C)
Scale: 0 to 36 °C.
pH (pH)
Scale: 4 to 9.5 pH.
Hardness (°dGH)
Scale: 0 to 30 °dGH.
Why these ranges: Mangrove estuaries at variable and generally moderate salinity. Adults are consistently reported to do better with real salt content, and long-term freshwater keeping is associated with poor condition and disease.
Where these figures come from
Habitat class
Brackish and estuarine
Water where fresh meets salt — estuaries, mangrove, tidal creeks and coastal lagoons — with salinity that changes with the tide.
Salinity is a requirement, not a tolerance, for the species genuinely from here — and the commonest way these animals are killed is being sold and kept as freshwater fish.
- Conductivity
- 2000–35000 µS/cm
- Salinity
- 1–20 ppt
- Flow
- variable
- Dissolved oxygen
- moderate
- Seasonality
- moderate
These are figures for the KIND of water body, not measurements of this species. They are AquariumHQ’s summary of the general limnology and are given wide because the water is.
- TemperatureReasoned on this record
- This record states its own reason for this band. See the water section.
- pHReasoned on this record
- This record states its own reason for this band. See the water section.
- General hardnessReasoned on this record
- This record states its own reason for this band. See the water section.
| Requirement | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 25–30 °C (77–86 °F) | Stability matters more than hitting an exact figure. |
| pH | 7.5–8.5 | A stable pH outside the ideal band is usually better than an unstable one inside it. |
| General hardness | 10–30 °dGH | Check your supplier's published figure before choosing species. |
| Minimum volume | 400 L (106 US gal) | A floor, not a recommendation. |
| Minimum footprint | 150 cm long × 50 cm deep | A surface-hunting shoal of fish reaching twenty-five centimetres, which also needs an air gap above the water to shoot into. The tank has to be long and deliberately under-filled. |
| Water flow | low | Match the outflow to this rather than to the filter's rating. |
| Lid required | Yes | This species jumps. |
| Structure | Mangrove-style roots and branches above the water line, an air gap of at least fifteen centimetres, and brackish water. The space above the surface is part of the habitat. |
Behaviour
- Shoots a jet of water from a groove in the roof of the mouth, aiming from below the surface and correcting for refraction, and improves with practice.
- Leaps clear of the water to take prey directly where the target is within reach, which it does as readily as shooting.
Telling males from females
No reliable external difference.
Feeding
Takes insects at and above the surface. Live insects placed on the glass above the waterline elicit the shooting behaviour the fish is kept for.
- Diet type
- Insectivore
- Staples
- Crickets, Floating pellets, Frozen mysis, Fruit flies
Breeding
- Strategy
- Open-water spawning in coastal habitat; not achieved in aquaria
- Difficulty
- rarely achieved
- Parental care
- none
Tankmates and compatibility
Assessments are derived from stored traits by the compatibility engine, with the reasoning shown. A verdict is a statement about probability, not a guarantee — individual temperament can override it.
| Towards | Risk | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Small fish | high | Anything that fits in the mouth is at risk once this species reaches adult size. |
| Adult dwarf shrimp | near-certain | Cover reduces losses but rarely prevents them where the risk is high. |
| Shrimplets | near-certain | Determines whether a shrimp colony can grow rather than merely persist. |
| Snails | none | Applies to snails you wanted as well as snails you did not. |
| Long or trailing fins | none | Fin damage is an entry point for secondary infection. |
| Plants | none | Tough species such as Anubias and Java fern survive most grazers. |
Any pair in the catalogue can be assessed with the compatibility checker.
Welfare considerations
Points where the way this species is commonly sold or kept differs from what it actually needs.
- An open air gap above the water is the point of the setup and is also an escape route. The cover has to sit above the gap rather than on the water.
- Kept in fresh water long-term it is reported to be disease-prone and short-lived. Juveniles tolerate fresh water; adults are estuarine animals.
Problems to watch for
Most problems in a tank containing this species are general rather than species-specific. Start with the troubleshooting index and work from the observation rather than from a guess at the cause.
What AquariumHQ does not yet hold
Species-level disease susceptibility is modelled in the graph and is not yet populated. Health pages will not be published until each condition has veterinary sourcing, because health content written without evidence is the most harmful thing this product could publish. The gap is recorded in the coverage report.
Where it comes from
- Native range
- Indo-Pacific — mangrove estuaries from India to northern Australia and the Philippines
- Habitat
- Mangrove creeks and estuarine margins beneath overhanging vegetation, in brackish water at varying salinity.
What the checklists say
6 distribution statements retrieved from GBIF checklists. Establishment means is reproduced from the source where it states one, and left unstated where it does not — a record of presence is not a record of origin.
| Status | Places | What this means |
|---|---|---|
| Introduced | 1 | A checklist states the species arrived here with human help. That is not a statement that it is established, harmful or illegal. |
| Recorded as present, establishment means not stated | 5 | The source records the species as present and does not say whether it is native or introduced. AquariumHQ does not fill that in. |
No checklist AquariumHQ holds positively calls this species native anywhere, so the native range above rests on AquariumHQ’s own reading of the literature rather than on a cited checklist.
Evidence
Every stored value with the kind of support behind it and where to check it. Evidence type and confidence are separate axes: an editorial position held confidently and a measurement held tentatively are different things.
| Claim | Value | Evidence type | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scientific name | Toxotes jaculatrix | Observed / measured | high confidence | Catalogue of Life; GBIF — Global Biodiversity Information Facility |
| native range | Indo-Pacific — mangrove estuaries from India to northern Australia and the Philippines | Observed / measured | moderate confidence | GBIF — Global Biodiversity Information Facility |
| adult size | 15–25 cm | Aquarium-literature consensus | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| lifespan | 8–12 years | Aquarium-literature consensus | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| temperature | 25–30 °C | Aquarium-literature consensus | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| ph | 7.5–8.5 pH | Aquarium-literature consensus | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| general hardness | 10–30 °dGH | Aquarium-literature consensus | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| minimum tank volume | ≥ 400 L | AquariumHQ editorial position | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| minimum tank length | ≥ 150 cm | AquariumHQ editorial position | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| minimum group size | ≥ 4 | AquariumHQ editorial position | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
Last reviewed 2026-08-10. Values labelled as an aquarium-literature consensus are AquariumHQ editorial positions rather than measurements — see how evidence is handled.
Why we say this
What each figure on this page rests on, and how far that is from being independently established.
Every figure on this page has a provenance. Open any claim to see what AquariumHQ holds for it, which sources say what, and what a claim of that kind actually needs. Different claims need different evidence: an accepted scientific name is settled by one authority, while a legal restriction needs a current primary instrument. A single source is often the right answer rather than a thin one.
scientific nameAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableBased on a verified authoritative source.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: accepted scientific name and classification — 1 authoritative source in an appropriate context. Checked against gbif on 2026-08-29. One authoritative backbone is what this class requires.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
native rangeAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableBased on a verified authoritative source.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: where the species occurs — 1 authoritative source in an appropriate context. 6 distribution statements held from GBIF checklists — introduced in 1 country. Establishment means is reproduced from the source, never inferred from occurrence.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
adult sizeAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: size a well-kept specimen reaches — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
lifespanAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
temperatureAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
phAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
general hardnessAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
minimum tank volumeAquariumHQ's judgement — no authority publishes thisAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
No external authority publishes this. The rationale carries the reasoning.
What this kind of claim needs: minimum tank size — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No authority publishes this. AquariumHQ derives it, and the derivation is recorded with its inputs and assumptions.
What would improve this: Keep the rationale current. There is no source to find.
minimum tank lengthAquariumHQ's judgement — no authority publishes thisAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
No external authority publishes this. The rationale carries the reasoning.
What this kind of claim needs: minimum tank size — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No authority publishes this. AquariumHQ derives it, and the derivation is recorded with its inputs and assumptions.
What would improve this: Keep the rationale current. There is no source to find.
minimum group sizeAquariumHQ's judgement — no authority publishes thisAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
No external authority publishes this. The rationale carries the reasoning.
What this kind of claim needs: group size — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Keep the rationale current. There is no source to find.
Guides relevant to this species
Chosen from this record's own traits rather than listed on every page.
- Schooling and shoalingThis species is recorded as shoal, and the number it is kept in decides how it behaves.
- Predator and prey sizeIt takes fish that fit in its mouth, and its mouth grows with it.
- Wild conditions and aquarium recommendationsThe water band on this page is an AquariumHQ position with a stated reason, not a measurement of a river.
- Rehoming an animal you can no longer keepThis animal reaches 25 cm. Most of the difficult rehoming cases are fish sold small that were always going to become impossible.
Group size and social behaviour
A shoaling fish with a competitive edge — individuals steal each other's knocked-down prey, which is part of why they shoal and why a group behaves so differently from a single fish.