Pair-spawner that guards its young: parents clear a shallow depression by biting off water plants (but can spawn without plants); the eggs float to the surface and are guarded by both parents, then the young shoal at the surface under guard. Breeds through much of the year in the tropics.
Pairs form in a large pond.
Pond or 1,000 L+ tank with vegetation.
Seasonal warmth.
A few hundred to over 1,000 amber eggs per spawn (ovary counts 3,000-30,000); eggs about 1.25 mm, non-adhesive, hatching in 1-3 days.
Fry take live plankton and small crustaceans; parents guard them.
One breeding tank for the chevron snakehead, drawn to scale from the breeding guide.
Water: 23–27 °C · pH 7–8
A plan from the breeding guide and an adult size of 100 cm. Tank shape is a standard 2 : 1 : 1.2 box, at least 6 adult lengths long. Check each step in the guide above.
A row of tanks on their own stands for breeding the chevron snakehead in numbers.
In total: 3 tanks, about 5,000 L of water. A litre of water weighs about 1 kg, so check that the floor and rack can take the weight.
Sizes are worked out from the breeding tank in the guide. Tanks fit a standard 120 cm rack when they can; bigger tanks go on their own stands.
Typical for open substrate spawners
Grow up a group and let a pair choose each other. Give them a flat stone or broad leaf.
The pair cleans the stone and lays rows of eggs. Both guard them.
Wrigglers hatch in 2–4 days and are moved to pits by the parents.
Feed baby brine shrimp several times a day. Parents often herd the fry.
Move fry to a grow-out tank before the parents spawn again.
A general guide for this breeding type. Days change with temperature and species.
Grow up a group and let a pair choose each other. Give them a flat stone or broad leaf.
Set up a virtual breeding tank and see what would likely happen.
An educational estimate from the breeding rules, not a promise.