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 Archer Fish is one of the aquatic inhabitants of the north-eastern region of India and further east. Being slightly yellowish and with prominent strips on its body and small in size (about eight to twelve centimetres) it makes a good aquarium fish. In natural surrounding it feeds on small aquatic animals near the surface of water but its speciality lies in its hunt for terrestrial insects and flies. When it notices a dragonfly or any other insect sitting on the overhanging weeds out of water, it approaches it quietly and, taking careful aim, shoots a jet of water through its pointed mouth on to its unwary prey and drenches it thoroughly, with the result that it falls into the water, the waiting archer making a quick meal of it. The aim of the water-jet is so quick and accurate that the producer has acquired the name archer-fish. This is also an example of specialized method of feeding in fishes and their capacity to locate accurately an object in air.
The family of Archer Fish is very small consisting of only seven species in the genus Toxotes; all occur in brackish, fresh and marine deep pool like waters in India, Australia, Philippines and Polynesia. The reproduction takes place by the male Archer Fish putting its sperm in the female. Then the female lays its eggs which takes five months time to hatch. The bodies of Archer Fish are compressed and deep, having dorsal fin set far back, and the profile a line starting from the dorsal fin till the mouth. The mouth of Archer Fish is protractible, and the lower jaw sticks out. Their sizes are usually small, at about five to ten centimetres but they are able to reach about forty centimetres. These fishes are very much suitable for aquaria.
These fishes are very much accurate in their shooting water. The adult Archer Fish is almost able to hit the target accurately in the first shot. Their targets are insects which include spiders, grasshoppers and butterflies sitting on a branch of a tree hanging above the surface of water. They hit the target much accurately only because of their good eyesight, and also possess the potential to overcome the light refraction while setting the aim for their prey. Younger Archer fishes however start to shoot their prey when they become about 2.5 centimetres in length, and are inaccurate in the beginning and learn to shoot accurately from experience. Archer fish choose to jump out of the water and seize the insect with the help of their mouth if it is within their reach.
(Last Updated on : 23-01-2014)
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