They may live in brackish or fresh water, inhabiting mangrove swamps and estuaries as well as further upstream in slow-moving rivers.

[5] The dorsal spines are generally shorter in specimens collected from freshwater than those from brackish water.

[6] T. chatareus are white and usually has six or seven dark blotches, alternating long and short, along the dorsal side.

The colour of these blotches may become darker or lighter due to time of day, environment, and stress.

[10] T. chatareus can be distinguished by their sooty colour, as opposed to the typical silver of most other archerfish.

Despite lacking a neocortex, T. chatareus has well-developed visual cognition and pattern-recognition abilities which allow it to hit prey at distances of up to 150 centimetres (59 in) against complex backgrounds.

[5][11] Behaviour studies on the visual processing of T. chatareus have found that this species is able to recognize and distinguish between different human faces.

[5] They are omnivorous;[12] their diet comprises crustaceans and other fishes, as well as zooplankton, rotifers, cladocerans, and insects (terrestrial and aquatic).

[4] T. chatareus has been called a "specialised insectivore" because it does not prey upon certain insects, particularly those that feed upon C4 plants.

[6] Breeding in this species does not involve travelling downstream; nonetheless, populations may be affected by the construction of obstacles along rivers they inhabit.

[16] Toxotes chatareus are found in India, Burma, Indonesia and New Guinea, and northern Australia.

[6][5] They are generally found in temperature ranges of 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F),[5] though they have been recorded at temperatures as high as 36 °C (97 °F) in the Alligator Rivers region and as low as 20.5 °C (68.9 °F) in the Burdekin river region; these are believed to be the upper and lower limits of their tolerance, respectively.

[6] Brackish mangrove swamps form its main habitat, but T. chatareus are also found in freshwater rivers and streams.

[6] T. chatareus are known to occur in shaded areas with vegetation overhead, usually at the top layer of the water column.

However, the destruction of their mangrove swamp habitat[17] and increased fishing pressure[18] may pose a risk in the future.

[17] A study found increased (greater than 0.5 μg/g) levels of mercury in four out of ten specimens sampled at Lake Murray in Papua New Guinea.

[13] This may have contributed to increased mercury levels in locals who consumed several species of fish from the lake, T. chatareus included.