1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Aggressive and territorial.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
Aggressive and territorial. Keep alone or in a large pond; lid essential.
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. striata 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.
Not for home aquariums. This fish grows far too big for any home tank. It needs a pond-sized system of thousands of litres, so please don't buy one as a baby.
Fish, prawns, earthworms and pellets.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-guarder · Hard
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 of the most important food fishes of South and Southeast Asia, both caught and farmed; perhaps the main food fish in Thailand, Indochina and Malaysia. Aquarium interest is limited by its size and aggression.
German naturalist Marcus Bloch described this snakehead in 1793. It is one of the most important food fishes in South and Southeast Asia.
First described by Marcus E. Bloch in 1793. Named for 'Striata' means striped.
15 facts checked with sources
Valid name Channa striata (Bloch, 1793) per FishBase; often spelled 'Channa striatus'. Seriously Fish has no C. striata profile (its URL redirects to C. maculata, which lists 'Channa striata non Bloch' as a past misidentification). Fish sold as C. striata may be other species, e.g. C. maculata.
FishBase: Channa striata summaryLegacy has no family. Order Anabantiformes.
FishBase: Channa striata summaryNo Seriously Fish figure. FishBase maximum 100 cm SL, common length 61 cm TL; Courtenay & Williams 90-91 cm. Legacy 70 cm is close to a typical adult but below the documented maximum. (Courtenay & Williams quote taken from the PDF text with line-break artefacts removed.)
FishBase: Channa striata summary · Courtenay & Williams (2004) Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): a biological synopsis and risk assessment, USGS Circular 1251Only FishBase gives a range (23-27 °C, a general climate figure, not husbandry advice). The very wide native range suggests it tolerates more; legacy 18-30 °C is plausible but unsourced. (Courtenay & Williams quote taken from the PDF text with line-break artefacts removed.)
FishBase: Channa striata summary · Courtenay & Williams (2004) Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): a biological synopsis and risk assessment, USGS Circular 1251FishBase 7.0-8.0; survival tests show very wide tolerance (4.25-9.4). Legacy 6-8 is plausible but the lower end is not in FishBase's range. (Courtenay & Williams quote taken from the PDF text with line-break artefacts removed.)
FishBase: Channa striata summary · Courtenay & Williams (2004) Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): a biological synopsis and risk assessment, USGS Circular 1251FishBase gives only an upper limit of 20 dH; no full range sourced.
FishBase: Channa striata summarySolitary outside spawning. (Courtenay & Williams quote taken from the PDF text with line-break artefacts removed.)
Courtenay & Williams (2004) Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): a biological synopsis and risk assessment, USGS Circular 1251(Courtenay & Williams quote taken from the PDF text with line-break artefacts removed.)
Courtenay & Williams (2004) Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): a biological synopsis and risk assessment, USGS Circular 1251 · FishBase: Channa striata summaryNo source gives an aquarium swimming level.
FishBase: Channa striata summaryLegacy has no range. IUCN: Least Concern (2019) per FishBase.
FishBase: Channa striata summaryLegacy 'builds a nest in plants' broadly right; the 'nest' is a cleared patch and the eggs float. (Courtenay & Williams quote taken from the PDF text with line-break artefacts removed.)
Courtenay & Williams (2004) Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): a biological synopsis and risk assessment, USGS Circular 1251 · FishBase: Channa striata summaryLegacy 'thousands of eggs' is high for one spawn; thousands applies only to total fecundity. (Courtenay & Williams quote taken from the PDF text with line-break artefacts removed.)
Courtenay & Williams (2004) Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): a biological synopsis and risk assessment, USGS Circular 1251Food-fish claims confirmed. 'Juveniles marked with chevron bands' not supported: juveniles are deep orange with an orange lateral stripe; the chevron-like bars belong to older fish. 'Cheap predator in the trade' not sourced. (Courtenay & Williams quote taken from the PDF text with line-break artefacts removed.)
FishBase: Channa striata summary · Courtenay & Williams (2004) Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): a biological synopsis and risk assessment, USGS Circular 1251US 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 sheetGiant species (to ~90-100 cm). (Courtenay & Williams quote taken from the PDF text with line-break artefacts removed.)
Courtenay & Williams (2004) Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): a biological synopsis and risk assessment, USGS Circular 1251 · FishBase: Channa striata summary