1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Territorial and predatory; best kept alone.
124 species in our list are a good match.
Territorial and predatory; best kept alone.
Check your local laws. US: all live snakeheads (genera Channa and Parachanna, family Channidae) and their viable eggs are injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act (listed 4 Oct 2002, 50 CFR 16.13); importation into the US and interstate transportation or acquisition are prohibited without a USFWS permit. C. orientalis is named in the list. EU: not checked for this species; Channa argus is the only snakehead in the 2022 additions to the EU invasive-species list. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Frozen foods, worms and small fish.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Adult males are slightly slimmer and have more intense colour in the unpaired fins than females; colour gets stronger in breeding fish.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Mouthbrooder · Hard
Paternal mouthbrooder that forms lasting pairs: the male holds the eggs in his mouth; the female lays infertile eggs to feed the free-swimming fry and both parents guard them for several weeks. Start with 6-8 young fish to let a pair form.
A pair in a quiet tank.
200 L tank with caves and lids.
Warm water and live food.
The male holds the fertilised eggs for about 3-5 days (some up to 10 days). Egg count not found.
Fry take baby brine shrimp.
A small snakehead (about 10 cm) found only in the rainforest wet zone of southwestern Sri Lanka. It is threatened in the wild (IUCN Vulnerable), and keepers maintain known collection lines separately. Its name has long been misapplied to snakeheads from elsewhere in Asia.
Bloch and Schneider described this small snakehead in 1801. In the strict sense it is found only in Sri Lanka, though the name was long used for related fish across Asia.
First described by Marcus E. Bloch & Johann G. Schneider in 1801.
16 facts checked with sources
Valid name Channa orientalis Bloch & Schneider, 1801. Seriously Fish: the name has been widely misapplied to Channa populations outside Sri Lanka (many of which are C. gachua); FishBase's page still reflects the old broad concept (range 'Afghanistan ... to Indonesia', 33 cm). Trade fish labelled C. orientalis from outside Sri Lanka are probably C. gachua-group fish.
FishBase: Channa orientalis summary · Seriously Fish: Channa orientalisLegacy has no family. Order Anabantiformes.
FishBase: Channa orientalis summarysize-pick: Seriously Fish 10 cm SL kept (Pethiyagoda: typically not over 10 cm). FishBase's 33 cm TL comes from its old broad concept that includes non-Sri Lankan fish (likely C. gachua), so it is not used. Legacy 20 cm is too high. (Courtenay & Williams quote taken from the PDF text with line-break artefacts removed.)
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalis · Courtenay & Williams (2004) Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): a biological synopsis and risk assessment, USGS Circular 1251 · FishBase: Channa orientalis summarySeriously Fish 16-24 °C; legacy 20-28 °C is too warm at the top.
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalisInside Seriously Fish's 5.0-7.5; soft, slightly acidic forest-stream water.
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalisLegacy has no hardness.
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalis90 x 30 cm base x 30 cm = 81,000 cm³ = 81 L (Seriously Fish also gives ~81 L). Legacy 200 L is generous and fine as a recommendation.
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalisSeriously Fish: kept as a pair (forms lasting pair bonds); never more than one pair. Legacy 1 too strict.
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalisSeriously Fish quick facts say 'peaceful' but it is a predator and very hostile to other conspecifics.
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalisSeriously Fish rates it Moderate.
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalisLegacy has no range. IUCN Vulnerable (2019); Seriously Fish says probably endangered. FishBase's range text uses the old broad concept and is not used.
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalis · FishBase: Channa orientalis summaryLegacy (males slimmer and more colourful) matches; the longer dorsal is not mentioned for this species. Juveniles and females show an eyespot in the rear dorsal fin (Seriously Fish).
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalisLegacy 'male mouthbrooder' confirmed.
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalis · FishBase: Channa orientalis summaryLegacy '50-200 eggs' not confirmed; holding time added.
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalisSri Lanka and 'rarely seen, popular with specialists' fit. 'Orange-brown body with spotted fins' not confirmed (Courtenay & Williams cite brown body; males have blue, black and orange fins).
Seriously Fish: Channa orientalis · FishBase: Channa orientalis summaryUS rule cited from the current eCFR text (amended 67 FR 62203, 4 Oct 2002). Many US states also ban possession; state rules, Canada beyond Ontario, and Australia were not checked here. The EU list check is limited to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1203, which added only C. argus among snakeheads; the full current consolidated list was not fetched. UK and other national rules not checked for this species.
eCFR 50 CFR 16.13 (US injurious wildlife: fish) · USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: Northern Snakehead (Channa argus) fact sheet