keeping Channa aurantimaculata

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neonmadness

neonmadness

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 2, 2006
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im new to channa and this species in particular really caught my eye and i was wondering if a Channa aurantimaculata could thrive alone in a 65g 3'-2'-18" with a 38g sump. Also, ive read conflicting info about these fish temp requirements so what temperature do these fish prefer? and what is their behavior like? any input and advice is appreciated.
 
hi mate , i have kept many of theese fish and have some at the moment , if you stick to one fish the tank should be ok , i would prefer min 4foot lengh yours is about the min i would use for one , the temp should be between 18-23 deg but they will tollerate higher , at higher temps they become a lot less lively and there colours are not so good, i keep mine at room temp ( iam in the uk ) today there tank reads 24deg, give it lots of floating plant cover and a couple of caves to make him feel secure ,and he will be on show most of the time , they quickly learn who feeds them and learn to strike food as soon as it hits the surface , they are actually far better looking in real life than in photos , there is a lot more colours on them that camera does not pick up , you will not be dissapointed with one of theese fish , they are great but do not try and house anything else with him in that size tank , even a partner ,it will no work .

good luck finding a nice one , look for one with more blue in dorsal fin than the others in the tank , that is most likely a male and will colour up better than a female

cheers col
 
thx for the great info tropheus, just one more question are there any other differences between male and females?
 
actually male have more slender body , females slightly more plump , also there is more blue on the heads of males and the gold stripes down the side are bolder in females and tend to have much more speckles in males , males head is slightly wider , you would only see this by looking from above.

in the pictures 1st one is a female ,notice the broad gold stripes (not many spots in them

in second picture the front fish is male , unfortunatly because of flash you cannot see blue in dorsel fin , but notice stripes have many more spots in them , and not as broad

hope this helps

col

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thx for all the help guys and beautiful channa pictures:headbang2
 
What is the minimum recommended tank size for a pair of these?
 
ironmunki;2047094; said:
What is the minimum recommended tank size for a pair of these?
Click to expand...

4k gallons..... LOL, i think they are VERY territorial. I would keep a pair in a 180
 
so i hear, these guys are just as stropy as pleuros. if its true, its not for the feint hearted, but a pleasure to keep, just keep them on their toes and they are quite responsive :)
 
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