1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Aggressive predator; keep alone or as a pair in a large tank.
11 species in our list are a good match.
Aggressive predator; keep alone or as a pair in a large tank.
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. It is named in the list. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Fish, shrimp, earthworms and large pellets.
Tap a food to see what it is.
From about 15 cm males develop a longer, more intensely patterned dorsal fin; seen from above, females have a broader head.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Mouthbrooder ·
Mouthbrooder: the male carries the eggs and young in his mouth.
A mature pair in a large tank.
1,000 L tank with plants and cover.
Seasonal temperature change.
Hundreds of eggs.
Fry feed on baby brine shrimp, microworms and chopped worms.
A striking dwarf-group snakehead endemic to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, India: dark brown to black above with seven or eight large irregular orange blotches, and banded pectoral fins. Traded as the golden cobra snakehead and regularly available.
Thai ichthyologist Prachya Musikasinthorn described this snakehead in 2000. Its bright orange spots made it popular with snakehead enthusiasts.
First described by Prachya Musikasinthorn in 2000. Named for 'Aurantimaculata' means orange-spotted.
15 facts checked with sources
Described 2000. Traded as 'golden cobra snakehead'. Name clash: Seriously Fish notes C. pleurophthalma 'may also be seen referred to as orange-spotted snakehead', so the common name alone is ambiguous; FishBase calls this species 'Goldspotted snakehead'.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Channa species list (Channa aurantimaculata) · FishBase: Channa aurantimaculata summary · Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculataLegacy has no family. Order Anabantiformes.
FishBase: Channa aurantimaculata summarySeriously Fish 40 cm SL (larger figure, kept per size rule); FishBase 36.2 cm TL from a length-weight study. Legacy 50 cm not supported.
Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculata · FishBase: Channa aurantimaculata summaryLegacy 18-26 °C lies inside Seriously Fish's 10-28 °C, but the fish needs a cool winter period rather than a constant temperature.
Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculataLegacy 6.0-7.5 lies inside 6.0-8.0.
Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculataLegacy has no hardness.
Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculata150 x 60 cm base x 60 cm height = 540 L (Seriously Fish's figure). Legacy 1,000 L not supported as a minimum.
Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculataSeriously Fish gives no social rating ('unknown') but warns that even pairs fight; keeping it singly is the safe minimum.
Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculataSeriously Fish rating Moderate; needs a very large tank and seasonal temperatures.
Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculataIUCN: Data Deficient (2010) per FishBase. Goswami et al. 2006 flag it as a conservation concern (restricted range, heavily fished).
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Channa species list (Channa aurantimaculata) · Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculataLegacy's 'longer dorsal in males' is right; 'slimmer males' and belly shape are not in the source; added the broader female head.
Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculataLegacy 'nest-guarder' is wrong.
Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculataLegacy 'blue-green body' is not how the sources describe it (dark brown to black above); 'most sought-after' is opinion, not checked.
Seriously Fish: Channa aurantimaculataUS rule cited from the current eCFR text (amended 67 FR 62203, 4 Oct 2002). Many US states also ban possession; state rules, EU, UK, Canada and Australia were not checked for this species.
eCFR 50 CFR 16.13 (US injurious wildlife: fish)