Giant Snakehead Questions

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GiantTrouserSnakeHead

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 3, 2010
11
0
0
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hello all,

A while days ago I got myself a nice pair of Giant Snakeheads, I love them already. They’re about 8 inches now and seem to be fine. I had to put them in a rather small tank for a few days and I’m not sure what they did, but I think they jumped around a bit because they have damaged themselves; some cuts in one’s dorsal fin, their heads and mouth a little battered. My buddy told me that they should completely heal and look fine again in a few weeks. Is this really the case or should I release them somewhere and get some new ones? They are insanely inexpensive over here. Is there a way to teach them to eat those big nasty worms? They don’t seem to be very interested in them. I was also told that they love to jump and mock around in the tank a lot, how bad is this really? There is a lid on my tank, but it’s light in weight and quite far from solid. Should I perhaps duck tape it to the tank? At the moment I have no plants or anything else in my tank, should I get some? Any advice will be well appreciated! Thanks.
 
i think you should change your tank. how big is it actually?

i would reco 48" L x 18" W x 18 H and above... or at least 90 gallons tank. at least some room to grow...

this fish is indeed very hardy and heal very fast... so no worry for the wounds...
 
Bite marks, you will see teeth marks and wounds will indicate damage that correlates with a bite ie something coming from top/bottom (jaws). chunks missing from fins indicates biting. bumping usually just splits them. It's true the fish will heal in no time.

they do jump tanks so remake a heavy duty lid that will work. Duct tape is not a long term solution. no need for decor, especially if the tanks already too small.

dont release them into a lake where they dont have them naturally. this fish will mess up the ecosystem.

they take easily to feeder fish.
 
please dont release them lol they kill every native fish in the pond or other body of water yea and dont worry about the cuts my largemouth was missing a part of his tail from being bitten but grew it bak prety quickly just feed ur fish high quality food
 
im guessing he lives in asian and that's why they're expensive. If you decide to release them in their native habitat that is fine.

giant snakeheads have a reputation of being insanely hardy so i wouldn't worry about any wounds yet.

and tank.. when they grow up, you'll likely need a custom tank that is 300gallons+ and the sides have to have extra thick glass to prevent any cracks. They can ram their heads into the sides of the tank and crack it if they go from one side of the tank to the other
 
KL malaysia's in SE asia. i believe they're found in local waters, but non-native. didn't think micros were "expensive" in Malaysia.
 
Thanks for all the information guys. I'm sorry for not making clear that they are in a bigger tank right now, I'm not sure about the exact sizes, but I'm pretty sure it's big enough for now. I think it's about 48" L x 18" W x 18'' H actually. Would it be wise to release them in one of those fish spa places they have here? Yesterday I dropped some of those worms in the tank again, but they appeared to be no more than only remotely interested. The have been in the bigger tank for 2 days now, maybe they still have to get used to the tapwater or something? They may have been a little difference in the water temperature in those two tanks and we just dropped them in there. I also one have little snakehead in a seperate tank, not sure what type he is, but that one has an amazingly nasty attitude, he literaly chased the 3 other little ones I had out of the tank. He eats lots of feeder gold fish, even if I just put him in a fresh tank or whatever, but also he does not seem to charmed by the worms. Do I need to starve them for a bit first maybe? I'll try to McGyver myself towards some improvements on the lid. By the way, I payed 1,7 USD for them a pop at around 8 inches, in my opinion not too expensive.
 
give them time to adjust to a new tank and new water. I assume the tank was cycled and has proper filtration. its normal they're not eating right away.

stop trying to feed it worms for now. Put some feeders in there, allow the fish to settle. Later when they're adjusted and eating feeders, you can try to starve them and feed them worms if that's the preference.

for the lid, put a piece of plywood with bricks ontop for the time being with ventilation holes. water level not too high, give some space for air to move, the need that to breath.
 
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