Microlepis Archers

[demonmagus]

Hi, does anyone *cough nmonks *cough know where these guys aer from and the best way of doing a biotope aquarium for them?

thanks

 

[CAC]

Found in Asia, im pretty sure at least...
Theyre FW if im right???
What size tank are they going in, and how many are you getting?
Single?

Mikey

 

[demonmagus]

well hopefully a 6ft tank (don't worry it's all planned) and either just the 1 or a group of 5 or 6

 

[CAC]

They are FW arent they???
And i presum it'd be 6x2x2?
If so, then youve got something at the top (so you cant get an aro ) but you wont have anything at the bottom. BUT your archer only gets 6", so you cant get anything like ornate bichirs etc. Id be thinking things like small bichirs, eels (peacocks) and catifish like pims. If you had only smaller things, but large scale, then you could get a few differant species of pims, then some larger tetras, like silver dollars, and congos, bleeding hearts etc. and then you could maybe get something abit bigger, as a centre piece fish, like a siamese tiger fish or an oscar. Also, severum etc.
In a way thugh, having an archer limits you quite severly, as you cant go BIG, like fire eels, bigger bichirs, aros etc.
If i were getting a 6x2x2, id think very carefully about whether its worth all that loss. However, archers are so cool, and they would be great fun. But so are huge preds...

Mikey

 

[AMS]

Toxotes microlepis is a freshwater to brackish archer. They do best in low-end brackish water with a SG of no more than 1.005. If you plan on keeping them I suggest you make this a low-end brackish tank, but you could keep them in hard and alkaline freshwater easily enough. Hard and alkaline water will put some stress on soft water species, so stock accordingly.

According to fishbase their distriubution is as follows:

Asia: Mekong and Chao Phraya basins, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo.

Several plants in the aquarium hobby orginate from these areas, plantgeek has a nice listing of aquatic plants listed by region (link). Floating plants should be provided.

Archers are best kept singly, or in a group of at least 6. In groups smaller than 6 they bicker too much, so I would plan for around 8 specimens. That 6 foot tank will come in handy here as they will definitely need their territory if in a large group.

 

[nmonks]

Nothing much to add to AMS' comments above. In the wild they are (of the traded species) the most commonly found in freshwater. It is debatable whether they need any salt at all. Likely not, but they will certainly do well in low-end brackish.

Otherwise, keep them in moderately hard, alkaline water alongside things like large glassfish (such as humpheads or Parambassis wolffii), robust barbs, and medium-sized catfish such as Mystus spp. You need to think river rather than stream or swamp, so fish need to be active and able to deal with neutral to alkaline water and a strong current. So no gouramis! Decorate with water-worn pebbles and cobblestones, open patches of sand, and plants adapted to fast water rather than swamps (i.e. Vallisneria rather than Java moss).

Cheers,

Neale