They are very active, mischievous and colorful. It is only about 20cm long, with a pair of blister eyes. There are continuous vertical lines on the whites of the eyes. When swimming on the water surface, you can not only see the things on the water surface, but also detect the objects in the air.
A brief introduction to the Archer
Archerfish (scientific name: archerfish) is a general designation of five kinds of fishes of archerfish family in the Indian Ocean Pacific region. It is famous for its ability to shoot water droplets from the mouth and to shoot insects on the surface overhanging plants for food. Found in 1766.
As the name implies, they can spray water. It was first discovered in 1766 that they can shoot water to prey. In the wild environment, the body length of the water jet fish can reach 20-30 cm, and more than 10 cm is common for the water jet fish raised artificially.
They are very playful, mischievous and colorful. It is only about 20cm long, with a pair of blister eyes. There are continuous vertical lines on the whites of the eyes. When swimming on the water surface, you can not only see the things on the water surface, but also detect the objects in the air.
The body shape of the archer is oval, the body is flat on the side, the head is long and pointed, and the eyes are yellow and green. The body shape is close to ovate, the head is flat and the snout is sharp, and the body is flat. The body color is silvery white and bright, some of them are light yellow and slightly green. There are six black vertical stripes on the body side, the first one passes through the eyes, the second one is on the gill cover, the third one is from the back to the chest behind the gill cover, the fourth one is from the beginning of the dorsal fin to the abdomen, the fifth one is from the dorsal fin to the body side, and the sixth one is around the caudal stalk. The eyes are big and dark. The dorsal fin is symmetrical to the gluteal fin in its posterior position, similar in shape, semicircular in shape, with its posterior end close to the caudal stalk. Caudal peduncle short. The tail fin is approximately triangular. The dorsal and gluteal fins have black broad spots.
What do you eat?
Archers like to eat animal bait, especially the small living insects outside the water. In the natural environment, the branches near the water surface, flies on grass leaves, mosquitoes, spiders, moths and other small insects are all the targets of the fish.
As a kind of fish, they are really different. Because their prey is above the water, and they have a special way of hunting.
Once there is a predator, it stealthily swims close to the target, aims first, and then ejects a water column from the mouth to knock down the insect. It can shoot water to two or three meters high, and moths within 30 centimeters are hard to escape. It can not only shoot down flies, bees, butterflies and other small insects, but also hurt people's eyes. The ability to shoot water fish depends on one mouth. Its mouth is very special. There is a very thin groove on the edge of the mouth. With the tip of the tongue, a 'water gun tube' can be formed. As long as the absorbed water is forced out of the 'barrel' and turned into a fast water column, it can shoot insects.
The secret weapon is hidden in the mouth. It uses its tongue to hold a special groove at the top of the mouth to form a pipe, just like the barrel of a water gun, or rather the barrel of a toy water gun. When the operculum is suddenly closed, a strong water column will be pushed forward along the pipeline, with a range of up to 1 meter or more. At this time, the tip of the tongue acts as a valve to make the water jet fish spray water in the right direction. If it doesn't succeed for the first time, the fish will try again. They can shoot several water jets in a row, and then replenish the ammunition. Any shooter needs constant practice, practice makes perfect.
Compared with many other fishes, the eyes of the water eaters are more forward-looking, and the binoculars can help them accurately determine the position of their prey. In addition, they can rotate their eyes to keep a close eye on their prey. The flat back of the fish means they are as close to the surface as possible. Depending on their special fins, they can also hover in the water.
But there's a big problem in catching prey in the air in the water - refraction. To hit the target, the water fish must overcome this problem. Looking up from the water, the position of everything has shifted. There is a difference between the fly position seen from one side and the actual position. But there's a place that won't be affected - just below the fly. At this point, 'sniper' will lock the target and fire ammunition.
Even if shooting fish can solve physical problems, their prey may still survive. At this time, another special skill of shooting fish will come into use. The underwater resident doesn't mind leaving the water for a while. They can jump out of the water for nearly 30 centimeters and catch their prey.