SnakeheadsUK
The International Channidae website and forum by SnakeheadsUK
Channa asiatica By Pascal Antler
This species can reach a maximum size of about 32-35cm/12 - 14"
I know 3 different varieties at the moment:
-The most common asiatica in aquarium keeping has white dots on the body
-then there is some variety without any dots, only brownish stripes
-and there is a variety often seen in Japanese websites with red and white dots on the body
About keeping them:
Channa asiatica is one of the most aggressive snakeheads I have ever seen!
You should keep them in a tank as big as you could offer them!
Minimum size: 150cm length x 50cm deep x 50 cm high/ 60 x 20 x 20"
If you keep only one fish..........it is okay to have a length of 1m
They are found in China....and China is not tropical at all so you should keep them in an unheated aquarium at a temperature about 18-24°C
They have no problem when the temperature falls down for a short period of time!
A friend of mine has 4 of them in a tank of 2m x 60cm x 60 cm outside in the garden. At a temperature of 6 °C
But they are not completely winter proof!
But they are very suitable to keep outside in a pond in summertime!
Ch. asiatica is a fish that produces floating eggs!
About 800-1500
They have a drip of oil inside, so they can swim!
Mostly the female is guarding and caring for the eggs.
She takes the eggs into the mouth ,checking them and releasing them out again through the gill covers!
During the breeding time, they have a beautiful colouration!
Ch. asiatica needs about 2-3 days to hatch. But that depends on the temperatures.
They start breeding a 18°C !
Sexing Ch. asiatica is possible, but difficult:
Normally males have more white dots on the body!
But that is only a trend.......
The babies were not fed by the mother with eggs ,like the mouth brooders do.......
So it is important to feed them!
I do this with freshly hatched artemia nauplies.....beginning on the fourth day after hatching!
You can feed them with this until they have reached a size of about 1cm-1,5cm
Then I change to other food!
It is necessary to feed them with live food in the first day!
They will not eat dead food!
The babies of Ch asiatica are completely black coloured........with bright eyes!
They do not have the stripe in the middle of the body as the other snakeheads have!
They change colour at a size of about 1,5cm...then they become brighter!
The problem with Ch. asiatica is, that they are very aggressive...even if you have a pair!
Often there is the problem, that they kill each other (and that is not matter of the tank size) a short time after breeding!
Mostly the males kill the females-2 weeks after breeding.....
So I think the best way is to separate the parents after the breeding!
They also can be quite aggressive to other tank mates, no matter if they are guarding the fries!
The best way to keep asiatica is to give them a tank for their own!
Single fish sometimes become very shy and hide wherever they can!
The tank decoration should be well structured with wood, plants and stone!
So if they hunt each other, they can easily hide!
They need a tank with a good filtration ,but if you want to breed them there should be no movement at the surface!
Also there should be floating plants where they can hide their eggs between.
You can feed them with nearly every kind of food that fits into the mouth......
I feed mine with mussels, dead fish, shrimps, insects etc!
Do not feed them (and this is for every snakehead) every day!
Every second or third day is enough!
Especially if they are fully grown..........juvenile ones should be fed more often!
If you want to breed them.....make sure, that you have another tank for separating!
Water parameter are irrelevant!
Picture by Pascal Antler
This species can reach a maximum size of about 32-35cm/12 - 14"
I know 3 different varieties at the moment:
-The most common asiatica in aquarium keeping has white dots on the body
-then there is some variety without any dots, only brownish stripes
-and there is a variety often seen in Japanese websites with red and white dots on the body
About keeping them:
Channa asiatica is one of the most aggressive snakeheads I have ever seen!
You should keep them in a tank as big as you could offer them!
Minimum size: 150cm length x 50cm deep x 50 cm high/ 60 x 20 x 20"
If you keep only one fish..........it is okay to have a length of 1m
They are found in China....and China is not tropical at all so you should keep them in an unheated aquarium at a temperature about 18-24°C
They have no problem when the temperature falls down for a short period of time!
A friend of mine has 4 of them in a tank of 2m x 60cm x 60 cm outside in the garden. At a temperature of 6 °C
But they are not completely winter proof!
But they are very suitable to keep outside in a pond in summertime!
Ch. asiatica is a fish that produces floating eggs!
About 800-1500
They have a drip of oil inside, so they can swim!
Mostly the female is guarding and caring for the eggs.
She takes the eggs into the mouth ,checking them and releasing them out again through the gill covers!
During the breeding time, they have a beautiful colouration!
Ch. asiatica needs about 2-3 days to hatch. But that depends on the temperatures.
They start breeding a 18°C !
Sexing Ch. asiatica is possible, but difficult:
Normally males have more white dots on the body!
But that is only a trend.......
The babies were not fed by the mother with eggs ,like the mouth brooders do.......
So it is important to feed them!
I do this with freshly hatched artemia nauplies.....beginning on the fourth day after hatching!
You can feed them with this until they have reached a size of about 1cm-1,5cm
Then I change to other food!
It is necessary to feed them with live food in the first day!
They will not eat dead food!
The babies of Ch asiatica are completely black coloured........with bright eyes!
They do not have the stripe in the middle of the body as the other snakeheads have!
They change colour at a size of about 1,5cm...then they become brighter!
The problem with Ch. asiatica is, that they are very aggressive...even if you have a pair!
Often there is the problem, that they kill each other (and that is not matter of the tank size) a short time after breeding!
Mostly the males kill the females-2 weeks after breeding.....
So I think the best way is to separate the parents after the breeding!
They also can be quite aggressive to other tank mates, no matter if they are guarding the fries!
The best way to keep asiatica is to give them a tank for their own!
Single fish sometimes become very shy and hide wherever they can!
The tank decoration should be well structured with wood, plants and stone!
So if they hunt each other, they can easily hide!
They need a tank with a good filtration ,but if you want to breed them there should be no movement at the surface!
Also there should be floating plants where they can hide their eggs between.
You can feed them with nearly every kind of food that fits into the mouth......
I feed mine with mussels, dead fish, shrimps, insects etc!
Do not feed them (and this is for every snakehead) every day!
Every second or third day is enough!
Especially if they are fully grown..........juvenile ones should be fed more often!
If you want to breed them.....make sure, that you have another tank for separating!
Water parameter are irrelevant!
Picture by Pascal Antler
