snakeheads

[nick.w]

Hey any1 no anything bout these fish my lfs had loads all in 1 tank, quite small looked really cool tho. How big do they get, how agresive are they??

 

[ryan]

Which species?

 

[CFC]

Before entering into the world of snakeheads the first thing you have to ask yourself is "do i want to keep any other fish"? Unless you have multiple tanks then after a while a snakehead is all you will be able to keep, these fish really will attempt to eat anything they share the tank with. When buying a snakehead you must know exactly what you are buying, most of the species regularly seen in the hobby will grow huge, the red snakehead which is the most commonly seen species will reach sizes of 4 feet plus! There are smaller species which grow to a little over 12" but these are still highly predatory and should be kept in a species only tank or with much larger tankmates.

 

[nick.w]

o lol ok then just asking. Yea it had a red stripes or something like dat. Didnt no they got so huge, thought they might grow smaller cause they had so many in 1 tank must of bin juvs. These fish kill fish bigger than them aswell?

 

[CFC]

These fish kill fish bigger than them aswell?

yeah, in the wild red snakeheads have no fear of even attacking humans that get too close, in their native enviroment they are pretty much at the very top of the food chain.

 

[nick.w]

really so why keep them in a aqarium, if there so violent why the lfs store have so many. What wuld u say is the best size tank for one just im looking to get a huge tank soon with 1 large fish

 

[Grams]

did you guys hear the story about 2 years ago that someone droped 3 adult snakeheads in a pond and they had babies and the cheasapeake bay was about 300 feet away and they could of walked there. anyone who doesnt know about snakeheads can live out if the water for up to 3 days and walk. and they could of terrorized the bay. it happened in crofton maryland where i live.

 

[CFC]

Yeah it is now illegal to import snakeheads into the USA or transport them across state lines, in some states its even illegal to own them Luckily for us in the UK it gets far too cold in the winter for tropical species to survive so the only fish banned from import here are those from coldwaters.

The smallest tank you could keep a red snakehead in when adult would be a 8x4x4' or even a 10x4x4'. However if you can find some of the smaller species you could keep a few in a 36x18x18' (about 40g). There will always be a market for fish that are aggressive and predatory as not everyone want to keep small pretty looking fish.

 

[PereguineFalcon]

Sorry to burst your bubble mate but they can't walk on land contrary to belief! If they are out of land for too long they will dry up...and can get easily lost on land thus making the chance that they will be able to go 300yards highly unlikely. True they can breath air for 3 days out of water, but they must remain moist or they will die. So many negative things said about them, where is the positive? These fish are TIGHT!! I just got some baby C. gachua...thankz to CFC's advice...and they are great fish. They are a dwarf species, much like orientalis, except different colors. I even think orientalis gets a bit larger, two inches maybe. And as for the aggression thing, thats true with most cichlids and large fish so don't think snakeheads are just out there waiting to attack...most don't. Gotta give them credit and know when to believe myths/tales and when to believe the truth. I love them and think they deserve much much much more credit than they get. And that whole thing in maryland and chesepeak pisses me off, just goes to show that some people shouldn't keep fish if they can't be responsible and plan ahead for keeping them!