red snakehead

[j@mie]

hi, im thinking of getting one of these fish, but what size tank would i need? can u tell me the length in feet if poss, many thanks

 

[SirMinion]

Big. Very big. 150 gallons minimum for an adult which get to three feet (around one meter).

And you'll need gauntlets too if you ever need to put your hands in the tank.

Where do you live? because if it's in the States you may find that it's illegal to keep one.

More info here.

 

[CFC]

Considering that the adult fish will grow to at least 30 inches and will get that size in a reasonably quick time (around 2 years depending on feeding and water quality) then you should be looking at buying a tank of at least 10x2.5x2.5 (467 US gallons) to allow the fish enough room to be able to swim and turn around. you could easily keep a pair in that size tank though. Why not go for one of the smaller dwarf snakeheads which are much easier to house and care for? A established pair can be kept in a 30 gallon tank.

 

[j@mie]

Considering that the adult fish will grow to at least 30 inches and will get that size in a reasonably quick time (around 2 years depending on feeding and water quality) then you should be looking at buying a tank of at least 10x2.5x2.5 (467 US gallons) to allow the fish enough room to be able to swim and turn around. you could easily keep a pair in that size tank though. Why not go for one of the smaller dwarf snakeheads which are much easier to house and care for? A established pair can be kept in a 30 gallon tank.

i thought about that,but i cant find anywhere that stocks them in manchester! can anyone help me out ?? - plus, i wanted a red snakehead because of it temprament, r dwarfe snakeheads the same ?

cheers for all the info

 

[Phantom Thief]

All snakeheads will try to eat you when they get to adulthood. Temperamental enough for you?

P.T.

 

[CFC]

The dwarf species dont really have the same "im gonna bite your hands off" attitude of the red snakeheads but they are still fairly aggressive and 100% predator.

You wont find a tank above 6x2x2' in stock at any fish store, tanks above that size have to be custom made. There are a number of companies that advertise in Practical Fish Keeping that specialise in custom build tanks, some will even build the tank on site so you dont have to worry about moving it. Most good LFS's will also have a company they use for custom build tanks too. However dont expect it to be cheap, you will be looking at around 5 or 6 hundred pounds to have a 120x30x30" built and then will need to spend around that again for filtration, heaters and lights.

 

[LadyMinion]

I agree with CFC and recommend one of the smaller snakeheads if you can find one. We have a Channa Guacha (Jethro) and he is such a character! He's actually a little bit timid as he's still young, but he's becoming bolder every day.

Whichever species you go for I am sure it will brings you much pleasure. Just be sure never to release it into the wild.