1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Fiercely predatory; keep alone.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
Fiercely predatory; keep alone. It is intelligent and can learn its keeper.
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. marulius 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.
Large fish, prawns, squid and earthworms.
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 ·
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 of the largest snakeheads. Claims of 1.2-1.8 m are unproven; 50-60 cm is a more common adult size. Most populations keep a bold eyespot (ocellus) at the upper base of the tail into adulthood. Suitable only for public aquaria or the very largest private tanks.
Scottish surgeon-naturalist Francis Buchanan-Hamilton described this snakehead in 1822 in his account of the fishes of the Ganges. It is one of the largest snakeheads and a prized game and food fish.
First described by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1822.
17 facts checked with sources
Valid name, but Seriously Fish: widely accepted to be a complex of related species. Fish from Peninsular Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are usually C. marulioides; Seriously Fish's common name is 'bullseye snakehead' (legacy 'Giant snakehead' is the usual name for C. micropeltes).
FishBase: Channa marulius summary · Seriously Fish: Channa maruliusLegacy has no family. Order Anabantiformes.
FishBase: Channa marulius summarysize-pick: Seriously Fish live-adult figure 60 cm SL kept. FishBase's 183 cm TL is a single maximum report that Seriously Fish calls unproven; FishBase common length is 46 cm TL. Legacy 100 cm is too high as a typical adult size.
Seriously Fish: Channa marulius · FishBase: Channa marulius summaryLegacy 22-28 °C sits inside Seriously Fish's 15-28 °C.
Seriously Fish: Channa marulius · FishBase: Channa marulius summaryInside Seriously Fish's 6.0-8.0.
Seriously Fish: Channa maruliusLegacy has no hardness.
Seriously Fish: Channa maruliusSeriously Fish gives no footprint ('not recorded'). Legacy 3,000 L not confirmed by a source.
Seriously Fish: Channa maruliusSeriously Fish: an open-water (pelagic) swimmer, unlike most snakeheads; mapped to 'middle'. Legacy 'all levels' is close; judgment call.
Seriously Fish: Channa maruliusSeriously Fish's algorithm rates it Moderate, but only because water and diet are easy; space demand is 'very large tank' (see traits.homeAquarium).
Seriously Fish: Channa maruliusLegacy has no range. IUCN: Least Concern (2009) per FishBase.
Seriously Fish: Channa marulius · FishBase: Channa marulius summaryLegacy 'nest-guarder; floating or shallow nest' confirmed (floating). (Courtenay & Williams quote taken from the PDF text with line-break artefacts removed.)
FishBase: Channa marulius summary · Courtenay & Williams (2004) Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): a biological synopsis and risk assessment, USGS Circular 1251Legacy 'thousands of eggs' is consistent. (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 marulius summary'Growing to 1 m or more' overstated as typical. Orange juvenile stripes and 'can learn its keeper' not found in sources.
Seriously Fish: Channa maruliusUS 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: 50-60 cm SL common, larger reports exist.
Seriously Fish: Channa marulius