View Full Version : archer fish tank size
acidburn470
11-05-2005, 11:13 PM
So I am looking at getting some archer fish for a new tank set up, and was wondering what your opnion is on what size the tank should be? When I was at the fish store the guy told me 15 gallons for each archer you have, and I felt like that might be a little low.
kentobizmol
11-05-2005, 11:15 PM
at least a 125gallon
they get up to 1', and you should get a few others with it, 3archers would be nice, they get pretty active in a school also.
but they are not fast growers.
oh yeah, i forgot to mention, they are one of the largest of the brackish fish species.
even though they are large, they are peaceful and are generally easy to keep.
ideal tankmates can include, puffers, scats, monos, and other brackish fish.the temeperature of the tank sould be around 68-82F
ph 7.0-8.0.,
and the kh is 9-19.
they are omnivores and will eat live insects, mealworms, freeze dried plankton. you should also add seaweed to supplement this diet.
Also, it is ideal to keep the water level of the aquarium a few inches below the top giving them room to practice their hunting!
kentobizmol
11-05-2005, 11:16 PM
good luck!
kentobizmol
11-06-2005, 3:50 PM
did you read this already?
rweedon
11-06-2005, 4:03 PM
hey kento hurting for posts? you can keep them in a 75 gallon just fine I would suggest keeping them one per tank! at least that has been my experience they are easily kept in anyting over a 55 gallon when he told you 15 gal. did he give you a min and each extra one you get add at least 15 gal. cuz you can not keep in a 15 under any circumstances. I just got my first one and he is in my 75 community tank and trying to eat black neons the same size he is quite the little hunter!
kentobizmol
11-06-2005, 6:16 PM
what do you mean by hurting for posts??
75gallons is a little small, ain't u think??
while it's small that's fine but they get big!
how big was yours when it was in the 75g?
rweedon
11-06-2005, 6:25 PM
it is about 1" in the 75 and I have seen a lot of archers a couple that had been in a 200+ gal tank they were only about 9"!! and they had been in that same tank for a few years!!!
Seperate post: good luck
Seperate post: are you going to read this
Hey Neo can I get three posts for this?
kentobizmol
11-06-2005, 11:09 PM
you should put this in dA brackish page to get more responses.
Oh and im not sure if anyone has noticed but the species of archer has not been mentioned....There are a few available species of archers and some get to 1 foot long and others only 15cm (Toxotes oligolepis), so it isnt really advisable to give advice when not all the facts are there. (like telling someone to get a 200Gal tank or larger because they have a snakehead....then you find out its a Bleheri....)
So, do you know what species of archer it is? do you have any pics for identification?
Thanks, and if you do get some i say congratulations! i have 1 and he is a pleasure because he loves shooting at insects, it is AWESOME!
acidburn470
11-07-2005, 9:53 AM
Im not sure what species it is. They are just labeled at the LFS as archer fish. The dude said at least 15 gallon tank for one which I thought was really low. But I dont know if archer fish look any diffrent cause I have only seen these ones and the ones my friend has. I'll call the fish store and ask today.
kentobizmol
11-07-2005, 11:08 PM
there is not substitute for "archer fish"
archers are archers.
that's kinda like sayin, "it looks like a redtail catfish but it's only 3" and the guy told me to put it in a 10gallon tank!"
pet shop people are not educated!
archers are BIG!
landmineyouth
11-08-2005, 3:43 AM
I have my archer (about 3.5" right now) in my 75 gallon and he's doing quite well thus far. Just survived a 2 week power outage too, he must be a trooper. He also shares the tank with a 5.5" pleco and a 7" BGK as well as some black neons and other assorted small tetra's....... by the way, Could anyone post more info about archers up here, like their life spans, growing rate, etc. etc.? Thanks.
pet shop people are not educated!
archers are BIG!
You cant just say that :swear:
That is very stereotypical dude! not nice at all
Its like saying to someone they will need at least a 200 gallon tank because they have gourami, because giant gourami grow big...If it is a Charateus or Jaculatryx then yes a big tank will be needed.
gourami are BIG! lol, man, don't make ourageous claims.
and no, not all archers are big, i come from the land of archers :woot:
there are 2 species which are 15cm long or less, which is no bigger than many Tanganikan Cichlids!
BTW, to Acidburn, count how many spots the archer has, if it is 7 then it will grow to 30cm, because it is a 7 spot archer. count the big lines and the small spots in between.
Good luck!
Okay, there are five known species of archers, they are all genus Toxotes and look pretty much alike, in the USA the two you are most likely to find are brackish to freshwater fish,
the most common is the common or seven pot archer (T. jaculatrix) from India to Australia and it gets to 12".
The other is the largescale, spotted, or giant archer that comes from the same areas but prefers a somewhat more brackish habitat, (T. chatareus) to 16"
One that is becoming more available is from Southeast asia and the Malay penninsula, it is also fresh or brackish and prefers at least some salt. It is the smallscale or pygmy archer (T.Microlepis) and only gets to 6".
The next one is from Indonesia, New Guinea, and Australia, it is seldom marketed but sometimes you can get lucky, It is the Lorentz's or primitive archer (T. lorentzi) it gets to 6" and is found freshwater only.
The last one is only found in Oz, It is the Western archer, it is rarely exported from Australia because they keep all the good stuff for themselves, heheh, it is found only in freshwater and does not get over 6".
Archers in general need a wide tank at least twice their adult length but depth is not important, they are slow cruisers except when feeding, then they are competitive and can be fast The smaller ones can be kept in a standard 55g but the larger 2 should be kept in a wide 125g or larger. I love these guys and had a lorentzi for a couple years. It shared a 55g with some african butterflyfish and congo tetras.
acidburn470
11-08-2005, 4:37 PM
Where I would I be able to get pygmy archers does anyone know of a site online. Cause the ones at my LFS are the more traditional archer.
Thanks Guppy, thats what i meant but it wouldve taken ages to write that info lol.
Guppy is always on the ball!
Sorry acidburn, i dont know any online stores which have the small archers, although you could try the usuals www.aquabid.com is the only one that comes to mind now, and they wont always have archers....come to think of it i have never seen one there but they always get many strange types of fish every now and then.
Jedaaquarium in thailand handles the pygmy, (T. microlepis) they call it five blotched archer and have a $5oo minimum order. They show up everyonce in a while and as more fish are coming in from Thailand and Vietnam their #s are going up, the Singapore guys can propbably find them but shipping would kill you.
So I am looking at getting some archer fish for a new tank set up, and was wondering what your opnion is on what size the tank should be? When I was at the fish store the guy told me 15 gallons for each archer you have, and I felt like that might be a little low.
You are such a hack! hike your happy self 2 miles down the road and look at my tank, you know, the one you helped set up, with the 5 archer fish in it....
Any way, when I was researching for my tank, about 100 gallons would be the smallest i would go with a tank. And groups of three or more are best. As for the brackish water, that is most important when they are smaller. As they get larger they do well in fresh water too, but a little salt never hurts.
Also, they rarely grow to their full 1' in captivity, but a varied diet and a lot of patience they might eventually make it to 8" to 10"
Lspooky4
11-09-2005, 11:33 AM
it's really only like a mile or so.....and i don i don't think you could pull a 100 in the dorms....water changes might be a little time consuming ;-)
Yeah, getting the tank into that little room might be tricky... and I don't think that your hall director would be too pleased with you.