Beautiful snakehead fish - Channa pulchra - DNZ - 10cm

The Beautiful Snakehead is a fascinating predatory fish from Myanmar and is scientifically also called Channa pulchra. It belongs to the spiny finfish and is counted among the perch relatives. The habitat of the Beautiful Snakehead Fish is the headwaters of the Kyeinthali Chaung River, where it inhabits the weedy riparian areas. Therefore, with its ability to breathe atmospheric oxygen, it survives unreal conditions. It can easily manage very low oxygen concentrations and high temperatures. In its habitat it buries itself in the substrate during dry periods.

Our Channa pulchra are German offspring, which you get in a size of 10 cm.

The external differentiation of the sexes turns out to be rather difficult, whereby it can be assumed that the male is more colorful and also develops larger fins. Channa pulchra grow to about 30 centimeters in length. They have an elongated, "serpentine" and cylindrical body that ends with a strongly toothed and wide mouth typical of predatory fish. Their gullet teeth are also conspicuous. Dorsal and anal fins line almost the entire body. The Beautiful Snakehead also has very large eyes with which it keeps a close eye on its prey.

Channa pulchra can be bred in the aquarium, they lay about 50 eggs. Their mating behavior is remarkable. During the mating season the animals behave extremely territorial and also tend to mouth to drive away potential competitors. Bites and fin injuries are not uncommon during this spectacle. Therefore, placing a breeding pair separately in a spawning aquarium is advantageous. Closely entwined, the animals mate, with the female releasing her eggs, which are immediately fertilized by the male. These very small, but highly oily eggs then swim directly to the water surface, where they are picked up by the male with his mouth and incubated. The female takes care of the territory and defends it against intruders. The brood of Channa pulchra grows quite fast if the food supply is right and is able to reproduce even after a few months.

The aquarium for the Beautiful Snakehead Fish should be at least 240 liters and well structured. Many Caves and hiding places serve for visual protection, but also for marking the territory, in order to distribute the intra-species aggression. A dark Substrate with rounded grains is recommended. A dense blanket of Floating plants also darkens the aquarium somewhat, because the Beautiful Snakehead Fish is somewhat light-shy.

It is not too demanding on its water parameters and can cope with even the most adverse conditions. Nevertheless, a total hardness between 5-20 °dGH, as well as a pH-value between 6-8 is advantageous. Since Channa pulchra is a good jumper, which can survive even on dry land for a short time, its aquarium should be covered very well, since it can squeeze itself even through smallest cracks.

The socialization with other fish is often problematic, especially invertebrates like dwarf shrimps are gladly seen and eaten by it as a snack. Since it occupies the same living space as crayfish, these are also rather unsuitable tankmates. Nimble fish that mainly live in the middle of the tank or on the surface and can cope with similar water parameters are the most suitable.

As a pure carnivore, the Channa pulchra is not particularly choosy in the selection of its food, but it is a very good eater, which is why its portions should be rationed, otherwise it will grow too fast. Suitable food animals are Mosquito larvae crickets, enchytraea, but also mealworms and even smaller fish. He can also be accustomed to a food granulate for carnivorous cichlids, such as our CichFeed, which we carry in our store.

Our food recommendation: NatureHolic Cichfeed is a great staple food for all carnivorous cichlids in the aquarium, which perfectly meets their requirements for food composition. The tasty pearls are also very well eaten by larger cichlids. Thanks to their soft texture, NatureHolic Cichfeed food pearls are gentle on the mouth and can be eaten very well by the fish.

Our plant recommendation: Use for planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.

Picture: Enrico Richter - exclusively for Garnelio