Toxotes blythii “Clouded Archerfish”

It takes some hunting down to find the Clouded Archer or Clouded Archerfish, Toxotes blythii. This rarely available species is purportedly entirely freshwater and stays smaller than some of its relatives. Yet, there is also a fair amount of photography online that shows other species labeled as this, and on my first attempt to order this species, I received either T. chatareus or T. microlepis (the jury was out for a long time, but ultimately they proved to be the latter).

The pricing on Clouded Archers is all over the map too. I’ll be blunt, my first shipment of Clouded Archers cost me more wholesale than the going retail rate from one online vendor here in the US, although that price is reportedly for much smaller fish. Still, I was in a bit of sticker-shock, but simply realized that this is a case where you have limited opportunities to acquire a species, so you either jump on it or not.

My understanding is that the first individuals were XXLG specimens; they came in at 5″ in length, so no doubt shipping costs were a huge factor. Archers definitely require their room in transit.

Archers definitely fair better in groups where aggression is diffused among several individuals. Even though Clouded Archers are purportedly purely-freshwater, either due to our soft water, or some other care factor, I maintain them and believe they are more comfortable with a minimal amount of salt in the water right now; 1 TBS Reef Crystals per gallon of tap water, although again, this species should simply only require harder water, and not brackish conditions. I found Clouded Archers to mostly be eager feeders; Krill is a mainstay, as is Bloodworms and pretty much anything else that floats (even flakes).