22 replies to this topic

[Arcturus]

Just looking for some info....is this an ok combination?

Has anyone else done this? How do the archers handle the high pH?

Thx

[Fish Antics]

Archerfish are a brackish water species and are not really a suitable mix for Malawi cichlids.

Tony

[Arcturus]

I ended up doing this combo and it's worked out great. The Archers have heaps of room at the top of the aquarium all by themselves, with the Malawis occupying the middle and bottom tiers.

Feeding is fun...put some sinking pellets in for the Malawis and once they're all distracted at the bottom, chuck in some crickets

Re: Archers & freshwater, I asked the folk at Malaga aquariums and they reckon Archers are fine to go in fresh water .... I bought mine from Malaga originally and they were housed in fresh water at the store.

Different species of archers have adapted to different water parameters - see the Wikipedia article on Archers http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Archerfish

Also, I was speaking to a friend who had holidayed in Darwin. He was telling me about a swimming hole they went to. It's a pure freshwater spring, teeming with Archers....

No offense Tony, but given all the above, I think your wrong on this one and I want to let others know this is working for me

[seriavo]

I Have 4 archers in with around 30 cichlids with no problems!!
As Arcturus has mentioned they hang out up the top of the tank always fun feeding!!

[Blakey]

How is Tony's advice wrong?

Tony was 110% absolutly correct and the honest truth mate is that you are wrong in mixing the two species together and i will elaborate on that.

Archer fish are a brackish water fish and require the water to be atleast 1-2% salt. Although they will survive in fresh water when smaller... long term it is not ideal... also the temperment of cichlids can become a bit too much for smaller archerfish. Archerfish love plants... cichlids are more inclined to eat them and dig them up. Archerfish like deep tanks with a good 6 inch clearance from the surface of the water and the lids... i doubt you would accomodate them to suit.

[Andrew]

Do not mess with Tony's advice, it can be taken as an extract from the fish bible. He is correct, and you are wrong.
Andrew

[shortie]

How the hell is Tony's advice wrong?

Tony was 110% absolutly correct and the honest truth mate is that you are wrong in mixing the two species together and i will elaborate on that.

Archer fish are a brackish water fish and require the water to be atleast 1-2% salt. Although they will survive in fresh water when smaller... long term it is not ideal... also the temperment of cichlids can become a bit too much for smaller archerfish. Archerfish love plants... cichlids are more inclined to eat them and dig them up. Archerfish like deep tanks with a good 6 inch clearance from the surface of the water and the lids... i doubt you would accomodate them to suit.

For you to come on here and say

I think your advice is really wrong and I wanted to point that out to other hobbyists

Just goes to show that you know sweet **** all and that i should point out to other hobbyists not to take any advice from you!

Although your combination of fish is currently surviving and entertaining to watch, it is the WRONG thing to do and should be noted that it is the wrong thing to do, and if you do wish to pursue such a combination of fish (mixing a salt/brackish water fish with fresh water cichlids from another country) then do so at your own will.

i think blakey boo boo has some PMS today.
keep doing what your doing Arcturus. if its working for you thats all that matters.
yes tony has a valid point but stranger things have been done in the past.
each to their own
regards matt

[Arcturus]

Geez calm down Blakey.

I'm not dissing Tony's experience or depth of knowledge. I'm just questioning his advice on this particular matter - which I think is wrong.

I've presented information why I think he's wrong.

I can see how when I say

I think your advice is really wrong and I wanted to point that out to other hobbyists

could be misinterpreted. What I'm meaning, is that I think he's wrong and I want to let other fishkeepers know that this is working for me.

Like I said no offense to him. I'm sure if Tony is so inclined, he can present his logic and experience by himself. I've taken his advice before, no probs taking it again or admitting I'm wrong.

Archerfish like deep tanks with a good 6 inch clearance from the surface of the water and the lids... i doubt you would accomodate them to suit....

The aquarium is 3ft deep and lots of room in the surface, with the hood covering everything. ..which why I contemplated this in the first place. Also, most African setups have cichlid salts and lots of limestone. Which would give a bit of salt anyways. What I was concerned about was the high pH

oh wow look tony has contributed 1500+ posts .... and you 61? enough said mate...

lol... Are you serious?

Im not saying he's wrong on every other post he's made. But I think he's wrong on this. I'm entitled to say that and I've presented my reasons why I think this.

For the record, I've been fishkeeping for 8 years now, and currently have almost 2000L of water going. Fish from eys to koi, elephantnose, archers, tetras etc Im not a newbie, just new to Malawis & this site. Which is why I ask questions about them

I just don't get why you're so emotional about this?

[shortie]

oh wow look tony has contributed 1500+ posts .... and you 61? enough said mate...

and you've contributed 906 but i bet half of them are bulls***. dont judge someone on their post count.

[Blakey]

yeh i was a bit psycho... blame the IMS (irritable male syndrome)... i apologise to everyone first off who read that post.. i will edit it after posting this. Just lately people are starting to get my goat with incorrect information. Like im glad it is going well for you but it just isnt the right thing to do...

It is like driving without a seatbelt... hey im doin it im not getting caught nothing is going wrong.... then it all goes haywire because from the start you knew it was the wrong thing to do anyway.

I know trial and error has got fish keeping to where it is today so sometimes i think the experiements should just be left aside. If ya cant decide if ya want archers or malawis get another tank.... but technically, by the book, and from others experience it is written, said and known that they shouldnt (not cant) be kept together.

Tony isnt wrong in his statement he is correct and i would say you are wrong in mixing the two.. as i said it is more of a "it's been done and didnt work" and didnt work. Archers need salt... cichlids dont... it is as simple as that. We humans drink freshwater... what if someone forced you to consume saltwater.... same sorta thing (although over looked cause we are the top of the food chain) or same as buying big fish and keeping them in small tanks.

Again sorry mate for been a prick... just seen so many people under mining some knowledgable people and ignoring some very basic fish keeping logic and saying 'well it works for me so hey anyone else curious give it a try'. It isnt always the case and it would be a sad thing for people to learn the hardway and lose a fish. We are all hear to share advice....

Why did you even ask if they would mix if you had no intentions of taking our advice in to consideration anyway?

Shortie; Took a second read for that second post... clap clap son. tool

[mickya]

fellers fellers, where's the love

[Peckoltia]

yeh i was a bit psycho... blame the IMS (irritable male syndrome)... i apologise to everyone first off who read that post.. i will edit it after posting this. Just lately people are starting to get my goat with incorrect information. Like im glad it is going well for you but it just isnt the right thing to do...

It is like driving without a seatbelt... hey im doin it im not getting caught nothing is going wrong.... then it all goes haywire because from the start you knew it was the wrong thing to do anyway.

I know trial and error has got fish keeping to where it is today so sometimes i think the experiements should just be left aside. If ya cant decide if ya want archers or malawis get another tank.... but technically, by the book, and from others experience it is written, said and known that they shouldnt (not cant) be kept together.

Tony isnt wrong in his statement he is correct and i would say you are wrong in mixing the two.. as i said it is more of a "it's been done and didnt work" and didnt work. Archers need salt... cichlids dont... it is as simple as that. We humans drink freshwater... what if someone forced you to consume saltwater.... same sorta thing (although over looked cause we are the top of the food chain) or same as buying big fish and keeping them in small tanks.

Again sorry mate for been a prick... just seen so many people under mining some knowledgable people and ignoring some very basic fish keeping logic and saying 'well it works for me so hey anyone else curious give it a try'. It isnt always the case and it would be a sad thing for people to learn the hardway and lose a fish. We are all hear to share advice....

Why did you even ask if they would mix if you had no intentions of taking our advice in to consideration anyway?

Shortie; Took a second read for that second post... clap clap son. tool

G'day Blake.

I don't think this is a situation where it is black and white. I'm wrong your right etc. What works for one person doesn't always work for the next.

I have kept large adult archers in full FW, SW and brackish conditions. As long as I kept all my other water perameters near perfect the fish would thrive. I could not honestly say I noticed greater results in brackish or even full SW then I did FW. I think that as long as the cichlids aren't too boisterous and nippy for the archer it is a fine mix.

I recently saw a tank at vebas full of archers with a mix of africans. Archers looked tops, infact they were some of the nicest cleanest archers i had seen in a good while!

I think people in glass houses should not sit there throwing stones up in the air. As I am fully aware that you keep your Mangrove Jack in fully FW conditions. A species that does best in brackish conditions. But don't get your panties in a bunch I'm sure it's doing fine... which also happens to be my point. Might want to chuck in some mulloway for good measure though?

Just because it has been printed in books doesn't mean it has been chiseled in stone!

[Blakey]

I think people in glass houses should not sit there throwing stones up in the air. As I am fully aware that you keep your Mangrove Jack in fully FW conditions

the mangrove is in brackish-ish water and has been for a while now.. (cant go full brackish cause of this oscar and blackbelt which are up for sale) but it is better than no salt.

I know it isnt a matter of right and wrong... but if Tony is oh so wrong then why cant arkturus be wrong? (This is me stirring the pot)

And no-one said anything about it been chiseld in stone Alex... i said

they shouldnt (not cant) be kept together

No doubt they can be kept together.... BUT if i was to argue wether you should or should not.... the majority of circumstances would point to them not been kept together for the reasons stated.

I got plenty of love.. ask alex

[Arcturus]

Why did you even ask if they would mix if you had no intentions of taking our advice in to consideration anyway?

I did take Tony's advice. Then I dug around a bit more. Learnt that there were different species that dwelt within a range of water from fresh, to brackish to salt. Asked the dudes at Malaga, learnt that they keep their Archers in fresh, even has some awesome specimens in with their koi.

Thats when i tried it out, keeping a close watch

Again sorry mate for been a prick....

Ok, it was just weird Blakey....dont know if you recall but we've meet...I bought your firemouths of you when you needed to shift them.

http://www.perthcich...ighlight=#79424

If you've got some experience or comments, just say it without all the agro.

I've edited my post to remove any ambiguity

[Peckoltia]

I didn't say anyone was 'wrong'. Just that it could be done if wanted. Not a mix i'd strongly advise but one I have seen done many times with no apparent ill effects. This hobby is all about trying things.

I've had enough of this thread. I've done my dash.

[Kimbo]

Decided to do a little tidy on this post. Guys if you have dramas with each other try to keep it at least to a pm :wink:

[FishGal]

the mangrove is in brackish-ish water and has been for a while now.. (cant go full brackish cause of this oscar and blackbelt which are up for sale) but it is better than no salt.

And Oscars and Blackbelts prefer completely FW.....so you yourself are trying a combination that isn't ideal but works for you. :wink:

[Blakey]

it doesnt work for me... thats why im getting rid of the fish and thats why it is brackish-ish.. not brackish Someone take the blackbelt and oscar off my hands

[Donna]

At least you guys got an apology.

[tomcat]

The link below may resolve some issues:

http://www.travelnt....-...&index=true

If that’s the place your friend is talking about then it’s freshwater. I have been there many times and yes the place is full of archers, they are as big as dinner plates. They live amongst other fish including catfish, rainbows and many other species. Saltwater never reaches the reserve, but the reserve gets flushed by the wet season runoff once a year between November and April. During the runoff some of the archers swim downstream towards the brackish water. Archers are found just in about all waterways, they are like blowies around Perth. It depends where your fish has come from (fresh or brackish) to what water condition it thrives in.