Nest-guarder: builds a floating nest of weeds and leaves for its orange-yellow eggs; fry stay in the nest about 10 days after hatching and the parents guard them for about a month (up to ~6 weeks reported). Parents defend young fiercely.
Mature pair in a very large pond.
Pond or 5,000 L+ tank.
Seasonal warmth and heavy feeding.
Broods of about 357 to over 3,600 young recorded; ovary counts 2,000-40,000. Eggs about 2 mm, hatching in 36-54 h depending on temperature (about 30 h at 28-33 °C).
Fry feed on live plankton then small fish.
One breeding tank for the giant snakehead, drawn to scale from the breeding guide.
Water: 22–28 °C · pH 6–7.5
A plan from the breeding guide and an adult size of 60 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 giant snakehead in numbers.
In total: 3 tanks, about 25,000 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.