![]() Obviously, maintaining a school of Neon tetras with snakeheads is too much of a risk, so they should always be kept with fishes too large to be considered food.įor many medium-sized snakeheads in the 30-40cm/12-16” range, tank mates should ideally be relatively fast swimming and robust fish. Another concern is the size of tank mates. ![]() With such a highly carnivorous nature you may also believe that snakeheads are not suitable for the community tank but, if heeding a few warnings, some make good community fish.Ĭonsider first the size of species and many dwarf species behave well enough to become community fish. However, many aquarists find they can be weaned on to meaty foods such as chunks of fish and sinking meaty pellets. ![]() Snakeheads also have a deserved reputation as voracious carnivores and one would think that in the aquarium could only be fed live food. Note too that snakeheads are fantastic leapers and while it may be fun to test the survival abilities of your fish should it decide to leave, a tight-fitting cover is vital. Otherwise the constant stirring of finer particles will clog filters.īearing in mind the propensity for snakeheads to drown when denied access to the surface, remember to leave enough room for air when filling your tank. For this reason gravel, not fine sand, should be the substrate of choice in any snakehead tank. Snakeheads are also capable of some powerful bursts of acceleration and apt to knock things around in the tank or stir up substrate. Surface cover, created by floating plants, is also recommended. Ample hiding spaces in the form of driftwood and submerged vegetation should therefore be provided. They spend a lot of time hovering in midwater or resting on the bottom within cover as ambush predators. They are not active swimmers and, when not feeding, tend to move only when surfacing for air. Snakeheads are fairly undemanding as regards tank décor. Many snakeheads come from habitats where water is soft (to 8 GH) and slightly acidic to neutral (pH 5.0 to 7.0), and these values represent a suitable guide to successful maintenance. While some snakeheads can tolerate a wide range of water conditions - and studies have shown that the Dwarf, Spotted and Chevron can survive for at least 72 hours in pH levels from 4.3 to 9.4 - many fare poorly when water conditions are allowed to deteriorate or undergo rapid changes, as in a massive water change. There’s a common misconception that air-breathing fish live in stagnant, relatively foul water in the wild and that clean water conditions are therefore not necessary in the aquarium. Many fish with a similar biology, such as walking catfishes and even the pirarucu (Arapaima), will drown if they do not surface. If you find the concept of a drowning fish strange, remember that snakeheads are not the only obligatory air breathers. Snakeheads are in fact obligatory air breathers and must have air lest they drown. They are primarily able to do so because of their paired suprabranchial chambers which are lined with respiratory epithelia (skin modified to absorb atmospheric oxygen) enabling them to use atmospheric oxygen as sub-adults and adults. One unusual feature is the snakeheads' tolerance of low oxygen levels. 'Kerala five stripe' - have already reached the aquarium trade. ![]() There are two genera (Channa, Parachanna) containing 34 species (31 Channa and three Parachanna), although the diversity is much greater and several undescribed species, particularly from India - for example, Channa sp. These fish are naturally distributed from south-eastern Iran and eastern Afghanistan eastwards to China, northwards to Siberia and southwards to Java, and from the White Nile westwards to the Senegal and Chad river drainages and southwards to the Congo river drainage in Africa. Snakeheads are members of the family Channidae, a group of perciform (perch-like) fishes whose affinities are unknown, although recent studies on the molecular phylogeny of bony fishes consider snakeheads as most closely related to the labyrinth fishes (anabantoids) and the synbranchiform eels, which include the spiny eels. They earn their name because their flattened shape and the scales on their heads are reminiscent of the large epidermal scales on snakes. ![]() They have been thrust into the limelight because of the picture painted of them as an aquatic invasive species but, whatever your opinion, snakeheads make great aquarium fish if given proper care. Any discussion of predatory oddball fish for the aquarium will invariably feature a snakehead or two. ![]()
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