Taxonomy & naming
Pallas described the species in 1767 as Sciaena jaculatrix. Catalog of Fishes records the type locality as a neotype locality in Singapore, with Jakarta, Java as the original locality. It is the best-known of the seven or so archerfishes in the family Toxotidae and is sold as banded archerfish.
Morphology
A deep-bodied, laterally compressed fish with a pointed head, an upturned mouth and a dorsal fin set far back. Five to six dark bands cross the silvery sides. FishBase gives a maximum length of 12 in TL.
Habitat
FishBase lists it as freshwater and brackish, pelagic-neritic and amphidromous, in tropical water at 25 to 30 C. It ranges from India east to the Philippines and south to Indonesia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and northern Australia.
Feeding
Archerfish hunt insects and other prey above the water by firing a jet of water from the mouth, and they also take food at the surface and under it. Captive fish accept live insects, shrimp, and pieces of fish.
Mating
Courtship and spawning have not been described for this species.
Breeding
Archerfish are rarely bred in aquaria. FishBase has no spawning information for this species.
In the aquarium
Keep it in a long tank with a low water level near the top, a tight cover and a clear surface, and offer insects above the water to let it show its spitting. Young fish are often kept in fresh water, but adults do best in brackish water. Tankmates must be too large to be eaten. The temperature given by FishBase is 25 to 30 C.
Conservation
The IUCN assessed Toxotes jaculatrix as Least Concern in 2011. It is fished for food and the aquarium trade across its range.