Channa pleurophthalma compatibility
- Thread starter StiffMeister
- Start date
Hey StiffMeister, I beleive pleuropthalma do much more better when kept in a group or at least more than just one in the tank... especially if planning to keep in a comm. tank w/ other tankmates. What I mean by 'better'... i'm talking about getting the pleuro to display it's best true colors!!
From what i've noticed in this species... when they are uncomfortable/or stressed out in the tank, they tend to NOT show any of the blue/green coloration that many of us hobbyists are expecting to see when getting them! As long as they remain to feel this way, they will remain to stay a bland dark/light olive color... might see a little blue/green hue on the body when looking at an angle or in the light, but nothing what they should be showing.
I have heard many of times people say this happen to them, when first getting... and most of them get very disappointed. Simply just the fact that they are expecting to see that amazing 'metallic' blue/green color?!! but beleive me... the COLORs are there!! You just have to bring it out of them by getting them fully acclimated and adapted to the tank environment. Even if it means that you have to keep alone, take out tankmates for awhile, keep lights off, etc.? Whatever you need to do to get them comfortable/adapted.
Food & feeding issues, sure they will take live fish... but I have heard of them sucessfully being trained to take raw market shrimp, fd krill, dried shrimp, live crickets, chopped earthworms, and mealworms also.
As for mixing with other channa species... (C. aurantimaculata)? Many people will say not to do it??... but I think it is very possible to do it?!!
GL and enjoy!
From what i've noticed in this species... when they are uncomfortable/or stressed out in the tank, they tend to NOT show any of the blue/green coloration that many of us hobbyists are expecting to see when getting them! As long as they remain to feel this way, they will remain to stay a bland dark/light olive color... might see a little blue/green hue on the body when looking at an angle or in the light, but nothing what they should be showing.
I have heard many of times people say this happen to them, when first getting... and most of them get very disappointed. Simply just the fact that they are expecting to see that amazing 'metallic' blue/green color?!! but beleive me... the COLORs are there!! You just have to bring it out of them by getting them fully acclimated and adapted to the tank environment. Even if it means that you have to keep alone, take out tankmates for awhile, keep lights off, etc.? Whatever you need to do to get them comfortable/adapted.
Food & feeding issues, sure they will take live fish... but I have heard of them sucessfully being trained to take raw market shrimp, fd krill, dried shrimp, live crickets, chopped earthworms, and mealworms also.
As for mixing with other channa species... (C. aurantimaculata)? Many people will say not to do it??... but I think it is very possible to do it?!!
GL and enjoy!My female is about 11 to 12 inches now 
She gobbled down 10 prawns and 4 chunks of bloodworm last night
She gobbled down 10 prawns and 4 chunks of bloodworm last night
That's a big fish
How old is it? I notice from some other peoples pics that at some point the pleuro's seem to loose some of their colour and go a more marbled pattern.
How old is it? I notice from some other peoples pics that at some point the pleuro's seem to loose some of their colour and go a more marbled pattern.
WLR, i beleive that can go in different directions... from a marbled pattern to color, from colored to marbling, from blue color to green color, and so on, etc.??
Didn't your female(?) go from green to blue, then back to blue from green?
Didn't your female(?) go from green to blue, then back to blue from green?
man they are beauties... too bad it probably wont go well with my other fish so i will not take the risk. really like the marbled pattern!
They really are beauties, StiffMeister. I also like the marbling pattern myself. I like both actually.
Here's a pic of a pleurophthalma speciman housed with other channa specimans and other tankmates (wolffish, odoe pikes, etc.). Notice the coloration on the pleuro is not very intense blue or green, and more of an olive color. (Pic or fish not mine btw. Photo was taken from the net sometime ago.)
