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Others
/ Channidae / Green Snakehead
Green Snakehead
Channa orientalis | Pictures
Synonyms: Channa
gachua, Ophiocephalus kelaartii
Physical description: An elongated species with a fan-like caudal fin.
The
rear half of the fish is laterally compressed.
The
dorsal fin has a long base, running from above the base of the pectoral fins to the caudal penuncle.
The
anal fins also has a long base, although not as long as the dorsal.
The head is rounded and the mouth is
deeply cleft.
The back is light brown to green-brown while the flanks range from brown-blue to blue-green.
The
throat is pale blue and the iris of the eye is orange.
The base of the anal, caudal, and dorsal fins is green-brown, followed
by a blue band and then a black band.
The fins are bordered in yellow.
Size/Length: To 12" (30 cm) although not usually more than 8" (20 cm)
Similar species: C.
gachua can be found in slow-moving parts of the same rivers that
C. orientalis
inhabits.
The physical difference between the two species is that
C. gachua
has ventral fins.
This species also differs in its care of the brood.
The eggs are mouthbrooded for 3-4 days,
and number up to 300.
C. gachua
does not feed their young-unlike C.
orientalis .
Habitat: Fast-flowing, rainforest streams.
Sri Lanka
S: bottom
Aquarium: A 32" (81 cm) or 30 gallon (114 L) tank is sufficient.
The tank should have a cover of floating
plants to diffuse the lighting, which should be dim.
It should be well-planted and have many hiding places.
Use
a tight-fitting cover because these fish are excellent jumpers.
Water chemistry: pH 6-7.5 (6.8), 4-20 dH (10), 75-82°F (24-28°C)
Social behavior: Keep with other large-bodied, calm fish that do not participate in brood care.
This
fish eats other fish's fry in nature, and this habits may cause conflicts with "parenting" fish in an
aquarium.
The Green Snakehead is a loner, and is quite content without other fish.
While young, fish form small schools.
But
with age, fish become less sociable and have a tendency of cannibalizing smaller or weaker fish.
The Green Snakehead is easier to keep
in a species tank.
In a species tank, an individual may become friendly and even tame, taking food from the
owner's hand.
Suggested companions: Loricarids, Pimelodids,
Synodontis, Clariidae Catfish; Giant Danios,
larger barbs, African tetras
FOOD: Live; small fish, worms, Brine Shrimp, insect larvae; chopped meat; possibly pellets
Sexual differences: Females are plumper
Breeding techniques:
The Green Snakehead is a difficult fish to breed because of its nature as a loner.
Thus
pairs rarely form.
However, successful spawns have been recorded.
The pair embraces much like labyrinth
fish, during courtship.
The eggs are released and the fertilized ones float to the surface where the male takes
them into his mouth.
He mouthbroods the eggs-not usually more than 50-for 9-10 days.
Both parents guard the eggs and the
fry. After
the young are free-swimming, the female provides them with food.
She swims rapidly in a circular motion, releasing
sinking eggs.
The fry feed on these eggs.
These "food eggs" result from food reserves in the female's
body.
The female stops feeding the fry, the unfertilized eggs, when they reach 1.5" (4 cm).
Breeding potential: 9.
Breeding the Green Snakehead is very difficult because of their solitary nature.
REMARKS:
The Green Snakehead is sexually mature at 4" (10 cm).
Often
C. orientalis lives in parts of riverbeds
that dry up during the summer months.
Once the main channel is gone, this fish remains in puddles until these
too dry up.
Then C. orientalis
is forced to move overland from one water hole to another by jumping and using its pectoral
fins to move along. Ownership of this species is illegal in several states due to the destruction Snakeheads cause when released into native waterways. Snakeheads can devastate local fish species.
Difficulty of care: 5.
A large, hardy fish that is easy to keep in a roomy species tank.
Its diet must include live foods.
Recent articles about fish
Overfishing may hurt Amazon forest trees
(2/5/2008) Overfishing is reducing the effectiveness of seed dispersal by fish in the Brazilian Pantanal, reports Nature. The research suggests that fishing practices can affect forest health.
Scientists find fish that literally lives in trees
(10/17/2007) Scientists have found a fish that literally lives in trees, according to research published in The American Naturalist and highlighted in New Scientist Magazine.
Piranhas originated when Amazon was flooded by seawater
(12/4/2007) South America's piranha family of fish -- notorious as eaters of flesh -- can be traced back to a single ancestor which dispersed when the Amazon was flooded by seawater some five million years ago, report researchers from the Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement (IRD). Today piranhas are exclusively freshwater fish found from the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela to the Parana in Argentina.
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