New owner with baby micropeltes.

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StefanieN

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 17, 2011
7
0
0
Canada
Hey everyone, just picked up my first snakehead about a month and a half back. He/she/it's a baby micro, currently just a wee little thing but growing exponentially. Named Incredibly Handsome Master of All Villainy.
First and foremost I have found it is REALLY, REALLY HARD to take a good picture of a fish through glass with no glare. Not to mention my camera has decided to no longer connect to my computer, so the only photos I can get uploaded are from my phone. Fun stuff haha. So I apologize for the not-so-great quality of these pics.

Currently I'm housing the little guy in a tank one of my boas outgrew, I'm assuming at his current growth rate he'll be moving to a larger one in about a month, 2 months tops. Luckily I have a juvie burmese python about to outgrow another tank (sorry, snake keeper talking so not very knowledgeable on reading the size in gallons). Come late summer/early fall I'll be getting him a more permanent home I'm thinking. So then the question raises, will I be able to buy a tank large enough for a fully grown micro or should I look into custom made ones? Also, how difficult would it be to make one myself? I've crafted many a snake enclosure, but never anything water-bearing. What dimensions will I be looking at? Keeping in mind I do not want him anywhere near cramped. If I'm looking at a 3 foot fish I want him to have as much room as I can possibly give him in an indoor tank. What's the general rule in regards to tank size for a micro?

And last, but not least, here are the terrible pictures I was talking about. I have a lovely one of my baby green anaconda swimming in his tank on my camera that I will attempt to upload someday. =)

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Comfortable for adult micropeltes is really a pond IMO.
Minimum for tank would be 8ft x 3ft x 3ft.

You really want the width to be at least the full adult length. (which could quite easily be 4ft if kept properly.)

There is a reason you don't see many picture of Micros bigger than 3rd, that's because most people can't house them at that size and they tend to "disappear", or have "accidents".

You will probably get people chipping in now saying that my ideal tank size is over the top, but I have pretty good experience with Channa, and any RESPONSIBLE SH keeper will most likely agree with me.

Good luck with your pretty fish!
 
Thanks, I've no intention of going any smaller than that.
I could very easily set up one of those ponds you can buy for koi in my basement. I might look into doing that before I set out buying some ridiculously expensive custom made tank. (I keep catching myself typing "enclosure" instead of "tank" haha). But then I'd also have to ensure jumping out wouldn't be an issue. Hmm, the choices the choices...
 
I have every faith in you!

Nice to see a responsible Channa keeper.
There are too many people that buy fish like Micropeltes just for the " hehe watch it kill this *insert helpless animal/fish here* OMGZ!!!!11" factor, and most of those never house them right, and get rid of it by any means possible when it suddenly grows very big and dangerous!

When kept properly, they are STUNNING fish.
 
if he jumps out you have 72 hours to notice it lol. These things grow very big in a very short amount of time. I suggest you prepare asap, cause its remarkable growth rate caught me off guard.
 
our 4 inch Micro grew into an 18 inch eating machine in just a few months! better settle for a BIG tank from start to end so that you would not waste money on replacing outgrown tanks. also cover your tank as soon as possible cause baby micros are very good jumpers.. put heavy covering cause if your micro decides to jump out of a tall tank, the impact/fall would kill it. it will jump/ try to escape your tank to look for food. also, if you want to have a few tank mates with it, try to introduce them while the micro is still young. good luck!
 
I decided on getting a micro because they are absolutely GORGEOUS. And it doesn't hurt that they're called "snakeheads", what with my addiction to snakes haha.
The tank is covered with a reptile screen so there's no way he can escape. =) I think the pond option is looking like a good one, it doesn't seem like I'll be able to buy a big enough tank around here. And I don't like the idea of ordering in a custom made one from somewhere, especially when spending the kind of money people charge. I would be worried about something going wrong during shipping, it never arriving or it busting with water pressure. =/
No tank mates except a big common pleco he's had since I got him. And I like plecos, so once he gets big enough to do damage I'll probably separate them.

And I'm sorry longisland! D=
 
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