Common Archerfish Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Deep, laterally compressed, silvery body with a straight back profile
• Pointed, downturned snout and a protruding lower jaw
• Five to seven dark, wedge-shaped blotches running along the upper sides
• Dorsal fin set far back near the tail
• Grows to roughly 16 inches (40 cm)

Common look-alikes

• Banded archerfish (Toxotes jaculatrix) has more numerous, evenly spaced narrow bars instead of the common archerfish's fewer, irregular blotches.
• Small-scale archerfish (Toxotes microlepis) lacks dark markings almost entirely, appearing plain silver with finer scales.
• Silver moony (Monodactylus argenteus) has a much deeper, disc-like body and only one or two dark bars through the head, without the archerfish's row of back blotches.

Where you'll see one

Common archerfish frequent brackish mangrove creeks, estuaries, and tidal rivers throughout Southeast Asia and northern Australia, often moving into adjacent freshwater stretches. They cruise just under the surface, watching for insects on overhanging vegetation to knock down with a well-aimed jet of water spat from the mouth.