Do archerfish need to be able to spit?

[Fishman Dave]

If I had to guess I would suggest that more than half of the archerfish kept in captivity are in tanks which offer no opportunity to spit for food, and I would have absolutely no idea if their lives were just as fulfilling or not, and again guessing, I guess neither would they.
I would guess they gained this “trait” as food was scarce below the water whereas in captivity food is more available. Has anyone tried putting live crickets above the tank and bloodworm in it? I think I can guess which food source the archerfish ate or went after first.
As you point out, very few of us provide biotope specific conditions for many of the fish we keep.

 

[krichardson]

My archerfish used to spit at me when I walked past it's tank.

 

[Friller2009]

If you want to see what happens when majority of an archerfish’s diet is crickets, check out the archer fish at SeaLife on the Sunshine Coast.. those things are the size of dinner plates.

 

[Friller2009]

My archerfish used to spit at me when I walked past it's tank.

I've heard of a guy at my Local Fish Club who trained his Archers to put out Cigarettes, because he was paranoid an intruder would burn down his fishroom.

 

[krichardson]

I've heard of a guy at my Local Fish Club who trained his Archers to put out Cigarettes, because he was paranoid an intruder would burn down his fishroom.

Poor guy.Mine seemed to really enjoy the behavior.

 

[Friller2009]

Poor guy.Mine seemed to really enjoy the behavior.

Archer fish are really intelligent. Dave Wilson at aquagreen fed his breeding pond of archers out of a red bucket, and one day a woman walked by in a red shirt and got completely drenched

 

[krichardson]

Archer fish are really intelligent. Dave Wilson at aquagreen fed his breeding pond of archers out of a red bucket, and one day a woman walked by in a red shirt and got completely drenched

Nice.

 

[Midwater]

I often see archer fish in the wild. They are all able to spit, accurately, incredibly.

All the archers that I see in tanks, (and even the few I used to keep) do not have the opportunity to spit, but seem to do well enough.

I seem to feel that they should really be kept in a braod paludarium with a sizable atrium, although impractical.

 

[Friller2009]

I often see archer fish in the wild. They are all able to spit, accurately, incredibly.

All the archers that I see in tanks, (and even the few I used to keep) do not have the opportunity to spit, but seem to do well enough.

I seem to feel that they should really be kept in a braod paludarium with a sizable atrium, although impractical.

Archers would be sick in a large paludarium with Forest dragons or Green pythons and green tree frogs.

 

[Caveden]

Archers would be sick in a large paludarium with Forest dragons or Green pythons and green tree frogs.

Would the pythons hunt for the fish? My country bans owning of reptiles so I don’t know anything.