Short advice & what can i keep my snakehead with ??

[pallestopheles]

Hello, people!

There are often threads that ask:
"CAN I KEEP MY SNAKEHEADS TOGETHER WITH......blabla!??"

My answer:
Sure you can....you can keep snakeheads with EVERY other fish!!!

BUT:
For how long????

snakeheads are predators............and if they cannot swallow their prey at once,it might happen they bite pieces out of them ,or try to swallow it and die!
Exspacially catfish and basses........because of their spikes at the fins,or the high back might be dangerous for snakehads while trying to swallow them!

Especially on this forum there are so many pictures posted where I can see overcrowded Aquariums..full with every kind of fish..........(we call this in Germay a FISHSOUP....and that has nothing to do with serious aquaristic)

No hiding places..............sometimes no gravel..........bright light !

Snakeheads like to have hiding places........they like dim light (best way: floating plants)

A lot of people want to keep snakeheads because it is cool!
But think about the needs those fish have to stay healthy and comfortable.......
It is better to inform yourself before buying such a fish!

Keep them in an aquarium for their own !
Do not mix them with other fish!
Do not feed them EVERY day..........the do not need it and it is not healthy for a snakehead which is not an very active swimmer (Ch. pleutophthalma is the only snakehead that is always swimming)!
They become fat very fast.........and a fat fish will die earlier!

I keep snakeheads for more than 11 years now...........
I have breed a lot of them!

And I know what I am talking about!!

It is just an advice and you are the ones who are responsible for the fish!

It is up to you!

If you want to have an interesting ,healthy and good conditioned fish!
And if you want to have fun with your hobby!

Please:
Think before acting..............

Sorry.but those things make me really angry!

Pascal

 

[tropheus]

i have added this to palles write up as it covers a lot of the same things
but there still questions that get asked on a daily basis




WHAT CAN I HOUSE MY SNAKEHEAD WITH ?​

this seams to be the question of the moment , so I thought I would write a small section dedicated to it , and explain why I feel that way.​

my opinion is snakeheads should be kept in a species tank , and I will put forward my arguments for this , in the end it is down to each person to choose how they keep there fish , not everyone will agree but not everyone has tried keeping them every way possible.​

my motto for this section is simple "just because you can , doesn't mean you should" please think about that before you purchase any snakehead for a community tank.​

some people will inevitably come here looking too late , after the impulse buy (we've all done it) and I will also try to explain what you can do to make your snakeheads life better if you have already purchased and cannot return the fish.​

first we will look at the main reasons why you should not mix snakeheads with anything but there own kind. it has nearly become widely accepted that piranhas need a species tank , and the sooner we all realise that snakeheads req the same sort of set-up the better it will be for the fish and the hobby​

there is a very good reason why mixing snakeheads is bad , snakeheads are the apex predators in the environments they live , they do not have other fish that eat them apart from other snakeheads. this means they are for the most part not scared of any fish , and view most fish as food , the intake food of snakeheads varies from insects to birds and mammals but from the majority of species fish is there main diet ,some species unto 80% of there diet is other fish , many of the larger snakeheads kill far more than they consume ,I.e. they kill for fun ,they do this in the wild ,and there is no reason why they will not do it in an aquarium. secondly many snakeheads are lost trying to eat fish that are just too big for them to eat ,they end up suffocating on the prey and dieing , this is much more common than you may think.​

the next obvious reason is that snakeheads fall in to two distinct groups , temperate to sub-tropical and strictly tropical ,with the exception of a couple of species who range covers the full spectrum this fact is often overlooked. and again the phraze "because you can mix does not mean you should mix" fits perfectly here.​

behleri are well know to suffer from a bacterial infection if kept at tropical temps year round , and there is not cure for this ,it is fatal. the same applies to sp.Assam ,and I expect other to become more apparent as more people try to keep them tropical.​

plueros are well know not to tolerate cold or sub-tropical temps at all ,and are very fragile ,most are lost to water and temperature changes​

juvenile micropeltes are also the same.​

aurantimaculata barca and stewarti all become very sluggish and loose colouration at temperatures above 24deg , although all have been kept at tropical temps over a various amount of time ,they never show the same behaviour as when kept at sub-tropical to temperate temperatures , it is like a different fish.​

another reason and quite an important one . all snakeheads prefer old aged water , and hate large water changes , the vast majority of fish people try to keep with them ,love clean water and will stunt very easy if water is not changed in large amounts and regularly​

another reason is single snakehead in a community tank , is a very boring fish , it hides most of the day ,or is very skittish this is because they do not feel secure . a snakehead in a good setup species tank is an exceptionally happy fish , always on show they flair at each other ,chase each other to establish dominance , they flirt with each other and even mate with each other , you get to see how they interact with each other with both visual and audible signals. this is something you just do not get in a community tank​

also to make a snakehead feel secure you should have floating plants and a very well structured tank ,lots of hiding places ect, in fact the more hiding places the more you will see the fish , that is a fact . this type of tank does not lend its self well to other fish , to have floating plant cover you need to have a pretty still surface , fish that do not breath air will struggle and always be at the top gasping of air. a lot of snakeheads are found in pools that would be deadly to any other form of life.​

so we have had a look at the reasons or at least part of the reasons why they deserve community tanks, however some people will have already bought then , some people will like to learn these mistakes for themselves , and some people think it just could not happen to them. so here we will look at what the basic needs are for any snakehead in a community tank to make it feel secure and lead the best possible life it can in the circumstances.​

firstly , always provide a hideaway , if you have other fish that like to hide it is important to have a place each can call home. without a hide away some species will constantly dig all day long ,and try and make there own hole to hide in.​

secondly floating cover , this is a must even if it is just a small corner of the aquarium , snakeheads need to come to the surface to breath and without cover believe they are very venerable to birds ect. this is one of the most important parts of a snakehead tank​

thirdly liveplants , live plants in the aquarium act as a natural filter and part of the process of plants involves the consumption of nitrates , the more plants the less water changes you need to do , which means much less chance of your snakehead not dyeing from shock.​

and fourthly the fish , the fish that you have in the aquarium will play a big part on if your snakehead will be happy or not , although they are apex predators , they for some reason are easily bullied by some fish , cichlids and similar can constantly harass a snakehead and make its life miserable mainly in juvinile fish.​

for those who have read all the above and still think they want to com there snakeheads, I would strongly suggest you stick to 2 snakeheads that are known to work the most , these are pleuros for larger tanks and gachua for smaller tanks . however even with these two fish there is no guaranties and there basic needs should also be met.
other species can be kept in a comunity to diferant degrees but with greatly increased risk ,you really need to know your fish and its tankmates, i would never chance any fish you are fond of or cost a good amount of money. channa have no predjistuce and will attack a £3000 arowana just the same as a £1 goldfish.​

some of the fish i have personally tried and found to work out ok are , large anglefish , large rainbowfish , all birchirs. and spiney eels , however you still need to take tempreture req into consideration and lots of research should be done before attempting. a true bio-tope set-up is an other option that can be used this again will req lots of research.​

at the end of the day ,the decision is yours all we can do is guide you and try and let you know what we have found out through years of trail and error.​

now we can discuss what your feelings are on the matter , and anyone else can put there side across , maybe there are some points you think I am missing ect ,all can be discussed hear ( as long as it stays calm and does not get heated)​

cheers col​

 

[SawtoothGrin]

Good stuff...good stuff.

Just wondering,my assam, always hiding,most of the time, he will only come out if theres food for him,that is the only way i can see him, i managed to cover about 70-80% the surface with floating plants,plenty of hiding places and use only live plants. He is currently eating,very active on ambushing his prey went i serve him baby shrimp. But i would love to see him swimming around the tank. In my opinion, can it be because he is alone al by himself in the tank?i wanted to get 1-2 more and see if this would trigger his happiness. But its just hard for me to find another assam here. Only bleheris.

 

[Lupin]

Well done, Col. This is nicely written.

 

[twindolls]

appreciate it a lot..... nice mate..... well said..... can bleheri or assam can be fit with my gachua? thanks...... what is the best food for channa's? i already tried guppies,market prawns and mussels but i dont see my channa eating, he's always hiding in the driftwood, is that a common to channas?

 

[SawtoothGrin]

My assam ate guppies about 2-3,i accidently put them in,interestingly he is quite active when hunting down those guppies...but im quite worried that small fishes are not part of assams natural diet. Correct me if im wrong.

Cheerio

 

[jelly]

I agree completely with everything Colin has said but have somemore to add to it. I will do that later on.

In regards to the single Assam. Yes more would bring him out more, Also in contrast to all that has been said Assam and Bleheri are two of the most compatable species you could put together. Both are relatively peaceful species and subtropical.

I would not however put either of these with Gachua.

 

[jelly]

My assam ate guppies about 2-3,i accidently put them in,interestingly he is quite active when hunting down those guppies...but im quite worried that small fishes are not part of assams natural diet. Correct me if im wrong.

Cheerio

Assam and most small snakeheads are primaraly eaters of inverts. They will of course eat some fish. If a fish is active they generally can't be bothered to hunt it down.

 

[tropheus]

many thanks guys.

steve. i will look forward to you adding to this , thankyou mate

sawtoothgrin - assam are quite secrotive by nature , no-where near as active as rainbows. to be honest i have six in one of my tanks and the most i ever see is two at a time , but i am happy knowing they are being kept how they like it , assam more than any other req lots and lots of vegitation , they live in flooded grassy areas , if you look trough the ,snakehead set-ups thread at bruckis tanks , his assam are kept in perfect conditions and have repaid him by breeding several times. i think no matter what you do he will allway be a bit shy ,that just the way assams are

 

[SawtoothGrin]

aaaaaahh...okie...will look for those type of plants that brucki put in his tanks...awesome looking tank.

Thanks people