fishking;579060; said:
They go crazy for crickets or krill. Sometimes they will hit HBH Oscar Grow, and brine shrimp or bloodworms. Primarily it is krill and crickets when I get the chance.
ARCHER FISH QUESTION
- Thread starter fishking
- Start date
They go crazy for crickets or krill. Sometimes they will hit HBH Oscar Grow, and brine shrimp or bloodworms. Primarily it is krill and crickets when I get the chance.
davo;578496; said:
The very most suitable for freshwater conditions would be the true freshwater archers:
Toxotes blythii
Toxotes kimberleyensis
Toxotes lorentzi
Toxotes oligolepis
These species are almost never seen on the market. T. blythii is absolutely beautiful and there have been rumors that we might see it for sale in the fish trade in coming years, but no promises there.
In terms of brackish/salt tolerant archers (and most commonly traded) that tend to usually only thrive in brackish; I'd think that T. microlepis would be the best option for keeping in a freshwater tank. They are best kept in a specific gravity of not exceeding 1.005. T. microlepis is actually the species that most people are getting when they think they're purchasing T. jaculatrix. I have found this true 95% of the time, and has been confirmed by others across the globe. This is probably why so many of you have had success maintaining your archers in freshwater for long periods of time, and why most report that thier archers get no larger than 6".
The easiest way to identify a true T. jaculatrix is the 5th black band (4th from the eye & 2nd from the tail). If the band extends into the dorsal fin you have a T. jaculatrix. If the band has a break, and there's a seperate blotch in the dorsal fin, you have either a T. microlepis or T. chatareus (which can easily be identified based on length, and typically number, of black bands/blotches).
Just for references, generally the brackish species should be cared for based on these specifications:
T. microlepis = up to 1.005SG (6" Length)
T. chatareus = 1.010SG (12" length)
T. jaculatrix = 1.010 to 1.015 (10" length)
It's very difficult to put specific care in terms of water parameters on a brackish fish. I often times wonder if sucessful specific gravity levels are dependent on where the individual was collected and not set to rule of range. In my case, through experimentation, I found that my T. jaculatrix showed signs of stress under 1.005SG and were happiest around 1.012SG.
Hope some of this information can prove helpful. Although I'm sure it will stir up lot of disagreement.
- Dave
you have to CONVERT, you cant just throw them in you have to work with them. I don't know if im right on this point but freshwater can not go to salt but salt can go to water?
GooDyboy420;580837; said:
That is true. Although, most of us don't give euryhaline fish the respect they deserve. Some people feel that they should be acclimated over the course of several weeks, others a long haul of a drip process. I'm more inclined to drip my fish for about 2-3 hours if going from pure freshwater to 50% Seawater (1.012SG) or higher. If you're only acclimating within .005SG I'd only do a quick acclimation. I typically go about 30-60 minutes just because I'm extra cautious. The thing to remember is that truly euryhaline fish live in conditions where the salinity is constantly fluctuating, often times at a fast rate.
It has been said that you can take a Molly, or Scat, out of full marine conditions and drop it straight into pure freshwater without any issues. I don't believe this situation could be reversed, nor would I ever recommend doing something... just putting that info out there.
On a side note... All brackish fish have thier own specific salinity range that's suitable for them, always be 100% sure you know what salinity range your brackish fish can handle. This is important so that you don't mix incompatible species.
