The snakehead genus I’m showing you today is the Channa family. These species lives in low oxygen, murky and slow moving waters in Asia.
In order to represent this in captivity is not to make weekly water changes. Also, simply, because they don’t like it when the water is to “clean”, so to speak.
There are different Channas to choose from. Many of the small that you can have then in a 128liter (35gl) aquarium and even as small as a 80liter (20gl) aquarium and it will do perfectly for as long as they live. Some needs 450liter (125gl) aquarium because of their size, like the Channa aurantimaculata from Brahmaputra River basin in the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India, which grows upwards of 35-40cm (14-16inches).
Note, that Channa aurantimaculata is very aggressive when it comes to spawning and defending their fry so it’s a species tank only! They pair for life so a male and female is enough. Others will be killed. Makes sure when you buy them, that they are “hanging out” together in store aquarium. It makes it easy when you get them home. If they aren’t compatible, you will soon only have one alive in the tank. Best way is to buy several in a small group of 5-6 individuals and let them pair up and then “get rid off” the others. Meaning you need to sell them or if you have an agreement whit the store that you can come and leave the “left overs” back. More work, yes, but safer. Beautiful fish though!
Others that need a larger aquarium around 250-360liter (55-100gl) are these:
Channa bankanensis and grows to 31cm (12,5inches) native to Sumatra & Bangka Island, which is SUPER RARE in the hobby. A real gem in any collection!
Channa gachua, the Dwarf Snakehead gets about 15-20cm (5-8inches) it’s the most widely spread species on this list, native from Iran to Taiwan and Bali, with records existing from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. Although called Dwarf Snakehead it’s not the smallest species of the Channa genus.
Channa ornatipinnis size 20-25cm (8-10inches) and lives throughout Asia. It stands out in colouration with its small black spots throughout the body. It’s more commonly seen in the trade.
Channa pardalis from Northeast India is a 25cm (10inch) blue beauty and is by far, the most expensive and most sought after in the hobby. Although it’s rarely seen in the stores.
Now for the smaller species that only need an 80 liter to 128 liter (20-35gl) aquarium.
Channa andrao gets only to be 10-11cm (4-4,4inch) from Brahmaputra River, West Bengal in India. And it’s a true little beauty whit it’s blue fins!
Channa bleheri the Rainbow Snakehead is 14-17cm fish from Brahmaputra River basin in the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. This is more commonly known and seen in the stores. As all of these Asian Snakeheads it’s a beautiful fish!
Channa orientalis the Ceylon Snakehead and the smallest of them all, only 9-10cm (3,7-4inch) it is native to Sri Lanka, as the name suggests and this is a RARE fish to see in the trade. If you can get a hold of a pair, don’t hesitate!
And REMEMBER, they don’t like water changes and they don’t like when it’s too warm. That means you don’t need to have a heater either. They don’t like strong lighting so floating plant to prevent the aquarium to be to lid up. Myself I have the light set as low as possible as well and provided them with a ceramic tube for them each to hide in.
When do you make a water change then and how much water should you replace?
I do a water change twice a month and each time I change a maximum of 20% and I also use a bit cooler water when I do the changes. Around 18 degrees Celsius or 64 Fahrenheit. Enjoy these wonderful Asian species of wonder and their characteristic way of hunting and eating. I feed mine with live insects like crickets, cockroaches and grasshoppers because they don’t eat dead food. But they do except frozen fish food like shrimp, bloodworms and prawns and suchlike. It’s awesome to see them hunt and jump up to attack their prey.
P.S. If you want these beauties to spawn, shower the surface with a water canister or similar a couple of days and see what happens. 😉
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Cheers!
The Aquatic Studio! 
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