FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I saw these fish at a local aquarium and they weren't going cheap, they were about 4 inches in size. The LFS person told me they would get to about 6 inches max size, but when I do a Google on them, most that look like the ones in the LFS seem to get to over 36 inches.

I would like to know more about these fish, does anybody have any ideas?

A red snakehead can reach up to 40 inches. They are one of my favorite tank busters. Heres a good profile on them:

http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?s=da6d26cd621fbea09650c04ab2236eeb&showtopic=85972&pid=1211504&st=0&#entry1211504

There are several different species of snakeheads. The reds, if that is what your lfs has, do actually get over 3 feet long. There are however several species that remain under 12 inches. One of the really neat things about snakeheads, is their breeding techniques. Some species of the Channa genus, spawn in pits (the larger ones like the reds), while other species (the mid sized ones) are mouth brooders, and yet the smaller species of the genus are bubble nest builders. It is really interesting that one genus of fish are so diverse in their breeding habits. To my knowledge, this is the only genus of fish that spawns in three different methods. I know of several genus that spawn in 2 different methods, but not 3.

For more info on snakeheads, visit; http://www.snakeheads.org/

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

Ethan, Acid, thank you for your quick responses.
I realised there are lots of species of snakeheads, so I am including a picture of what I saw at the LFS:

red snakehead

Yes, that is a juvy red snakehead


_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

like acid said, i think reds dont get as large, and in the usa there are problems with controlling the snakehead population, due to it has no natural preditors(but humans, but i dont think we count) anywho, it is very important that if u were to get this fish, like with anyother dangerous fish, or fish rather, not to release it into the wild. and fishes like this are very long term commitments, like u know. i to am thinking about getting one,(not red) but sinces i think they are illegal it shouldn't be hard to find one. ,but here is a snakehead web, hope it helps.http://ezinearticles.com/?Snakeheads---Bringers-of-Fear,-Myths-and-Controversy&id=85044

Last edited by bettachris at 14-Nov-2005 17:22

Nah, I am not getting this one. I was actually looking for something that will stay at the top of my tank with the cichlids, and the LFS person told me that these get to like 6 inches max.

Hubby didnt like the way they moved and thought they may be larger fish, so I decided to research before I buy them. Looks like it wont do well in my 55 gallon at all.