Channa in community tanks?
- Thread starter Hydroholic
- Start date
Haha. Yeah, hobbyists are stubborn but i am just looking for experiences of other people. Thanks for sharing.
Just noticed I was tagged , short answer no lol .
It's all been covered but Subtropicals absolutely need a winter period or they will die typically after a year or so .
emperors have hit and miss reputation , my bet is they mature later on and will turn mean but I haven't tried it myself.
I most recently added Pleuros to my collection about a year ago now and they are ignoring bichirs except when they go up for air. But have taken out catfish or anything else that dares to swim around off the substrate. basically anything that moves enough to catch their attention gets targeted . My pleuros also turned on each other when the temps warmed up leaving me one outcast and one pair so far other then their fast moving free swimming nature they arnt mooch different then any other Channa they seem to kill whatever they can simply because they can lol.
So long story short no , it's not possible .
It's all been covered but Subtropicals absolutely need a winter period or they will die typically after a year or so .
emperors have hit and miss reputation , my bet is they mature later on and will turn mean but I haven't tried it myself.
I most recently added Pleuros to my collection about a year ago now and they are ignoring bichirs except when they go up for air. But have taken out catfish or anything else that dares to swim around off the substrate. basically anything that moves enough to catch their attention gets targeted . My pleuros also turned on each other when the temps warmed up leaving me one outcast and one pair so far other then their fast moving free swimming nature they arnt mooch different then any other Channa they seem to kill whatever they can simply because they can lol.
So long story short no , it's not possible .
Just sharing my experience and thoughts here regarding channa comm.
Firstly, I echo what the others said: Pleuro and Maruliodes are the species worth trying.
I have seen Micro before but these are kept with huge gars and RTCs - so unless you have a very tank or pond, don't bother.
My Pleuro is currently kept with a mix of large and aggressive fishes (wolves, aros, PB, dorado etc) for about 3-4 months without starting any big incidents.
It is not the largest nor smallest guy in the tank. I subscribe to the theory of having a "peacekeeper" in the tank - one that is largest and most dominant but won't harm the others unnecessarily - my red arowana plays this role.
As with any other comm tanks - you need some of the basic things:
1. Hiding places, driftwood and plants to create small territories and help to break line of sight should any chasing and fighting starts.
2. Dithers - tinfoils, silver dollars etc. fast swimming fishes that distract.
3. Wavemaker or power heads.
Disclaimer: Not saying this can be done for sure or not. Nobody wants to wake up and find a dozen of dead fishes killed by a maniacal guy in the tank.
But then again, not just snakehead or Tigerfish; any fish - an Oscar, pleco or flagtail could mess up any community tanks out there.
You must do your part to monitor, keep the fishes well fed, invest in tank space and decor etc to make this work.
Edit to add - I read that a formed pair of Channas will probably kill everything in their tank. So try it with a single fish for better chance of success.
Firstly, I echo what the others said: Pleuro and Maruliodes are the species worth trying.
I have seen Micro before but these are kept with huge gars and RTCs - so unless you have a very tank or pond, don't bother.
My Pleuro is currently kept with a mix of large and aggressive fishes (wolves, aros, PB, dorado etc) for about 3-4 months without starting any big incidents.
It is not the largest nor smallest guy in the tank. I subscribe to the theory of having a "peacekeeper" in the tank - one that is largest and most dominant but won't harm the others unnecessarily - my red arowana plays this role.
As with any other comm tanks - you need some of the basic things:
1. Hiding places, driftwood and plants to create small territories and help to break line of sight should any chasing and fighting starts.
2. Dithers - tinfoils, silver dollars etc. fast swimming fishes that distract.
3. Wavemaker or power heads.
Disclaimer: Not saying this can be done for sure or not. Nobody wants to wake up and find a dozen of dead fishes killed by a maniacal guy in the tank.
But then again, not just snakehead or Tigerfish; any fish - an Oscar, pleco or flagtail could mess up any community tanks out there.
You must do your part to monitor, keep the fishes well fed, invest in tank space and decor etc to make this work.
Edit to add - I read that a formed pair of Channas will probably kill everything in their tank. So try it with a single fish for better chance of success.
Dear lord yes.
You should have seen the poor little Aurantis the day my pair formed... Well, the pieces anyway.
Channas are mean. Bonded channas are a disaster for anything else than the two of them...
And as DC explained elsewhere, even both halves of a bonded pair are not always safe. :O
No fish is more deadly than a bonded pair of channa, whatever the size of the fish you're trying to compare.
