snakehead fish

[manville]

I saw one today in the pet store and i really want one!!! I cant seem to find any care sheet on them so does anyone know a good caresheet about them? Thanks!

 

[MilkmanWes]

I had thought there was a ban on them because they kept getting dumped in local habitats.... but your in BC so maybe it's different there

 

[manville]

yeah i think it is different...

 

[moricollins]

i wouldn't get one, they can grow to manty feet long (i've personally seen one that was over 3 feet long) and are nasty nasty fish, ,people keep setting them loose because they cannot find aquariums that are big enough to accomodate this monsters.

Pet stores need to stop carrying these fish, as well as most of the common "sharks" (bala sharks, and ID sharks)

End of mini-rant
Mori

 

[Hoosier]

Snakehead fish are banned in California and depending on where you live, they could be illegal to possess.

 

[Wade]

They have recently been banned in many US (possibly all?) states, but they are probably still legal in Canada. Still, common sense should indicate a three foot fish may not be a great choice as an aquarium fish, unless you have an incredably huge tank.

A care sheet shouldn't be needed, since this fish has already proven itself to adaptable to many habitats, from landlocked stagnant ponds to open flowing rivers. If they were fragile at all, they wouldn't be a problem.

Wade

 

[Bark]

A care sheet shouldn't be needed, since this fish has already proven itself to adaptable to many habitats, from landlocked stagnant ponds to open flowing rivers. If they were fragile at all, they wouldn't be a problem.
Wade

Wade isn't kidding!

I am sure as long as you throw something edible into the tank once in awhile it should thrive. I wouldn't forget to feed it if I were you. They don't mess around. Cleaning the tank will probably be a fun task as it gets big.

Anyone seen the Bruce Boxleitner movie called "Snakehead Terror"???

 

[Socrates]

Some Websites

Hi Manville,

I found a few websites on snakeheads, hope they'll help you out. Pretty awesome looking creature, almost pre-historic looking. Just watch out for them teeth.

http://snakehead_fish.tripod.com/
http://www.dgif.state.va.us/fishing/snakeheads.html
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishingreport/snakehead.html
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=snakehead+&ei=UTF-8&n=20&fl=0&fr=fp-tab-web-t

---
Wendy
---

 

[kenniey]

here in maryland they are getting to be a real problem ! We have had them for 2 or 3 years now , and first there was only a few now it seems they are breeding very fast here . They are taking dna samples on them to see if they are from one or other snakeheads . Heres a link to some snakefish problems here and around Maryland if you feel like reading
http://wjz.com/homepage/resources_search_results.html?sections=all&SearchableText=snakehead
They seem to be here to stay .

 

[Crotalus]

Unless you have a scientific name its not easy to give you any specific advise on care for them. There are Channa spp. that get 30cm (C.gachua) and there are species reaching 100cm and more (C.argus, C.striata, C.micropeltes). The african genus Parachanna gets around 30-40cm.
As a rule, good filtration needed in the freshwater tank which should be of proper size depending on species. A 100cm fish needs atleast 1000 liter tank.

/Lelle

 

[Crotalus]

i wouldn't get one, they can grow to manty feet long (i've personally seen one that was over 3 feet long) and are nasty nasty fish, ,people keep setting them loose because they cannot find aquariums that are big enough to accomodate this monsters.

Pet stores need to stop carrying these fish, as well as most of the common "sharks" (bala sharks, and ID sharks)

End of mini-rant
Mori

I couldnt disagree more. People shouldnt get the fish in the first place when they know they cant keep it to fully grown. I used to work in a aquarium store and I refused many times to sell to morons that stated they gonna keep the fish until it outgrows the tank and then return it to us or kill it.
If you cant afford a large tank - dont buy the large species. Simple as that.
There are a few small fun predatory species if one want that, such as Exodon paradoxus or Crenicichla notophtalmus.

/Lelle

 

[LPacker79]

If you cant afford a large tank - dont buy the large species. Simple as that.

Exactly. Unfortunately, people buy things without researching them and most pet stores are in it for the money. It's way too easy to walk into a pet store and buy something without knowing what you're getting into.

 

[woijchik89]

I heard about these being a new type of species in florida, apparenty they weren't supposed to be native, it used to be all over the news telling fishermen if they catch any to give them to the proper authoritys. But I really don't see the big deal. I mean they look cool, and I don't think they'd be dominant I ment In florida we've got all diffrent varietys of occupants living in lakes that are far more dangerous the the snakeheads. So I think everybody should quit being so worried.

~LaToR_GaTeR~

- Ben

 

[protheus]

I couldnt disagree more. People shouldnt get the fish in the first place when they know they cant keep it to fully grown.

I'm with Lelle on this one. Besides... bala sharks? Those are relatively small and easy to care for. Well, compared to a number of things you could get.

OTOH, I have a small saltwater tank, so I'm keenly aware of the adult size of a number of common fish. Some people just don't think before getting pets.

Chris

 

[MilkmanWes]

The problem is that they are a predator in a habitate that is not native to them. They do not have the checks and balanmces that keeps their population from growing faster than the local food supply can permit, thus local populations are reduced by them and in turn the predators that feed from that population begin to experience a food shortage.

Wes

I heard about these being a new type of species in florida, apparenty they weren't supposed to be native, it used to be all over the news telling fishermen if they catch any to give them to the proper authoritys. But I really don't see the big deal. I mean they look cool, and I don't think they'd be dominant I ment In florida we've got all diffrent varietys of occupants living in lakes that are far more dangerous the the snakeheads. So I think everybody should quit being so worried.

~LaToR_GaTeR~

- Ben

 

[woijchik89]

The problem is that they are a predator in a habitate that is not native to them. They do not have the checks and balanmces that keeps their population from growing faster than the local food supply can permit, thus local populations are reduced by them and in turn the predators that feed from that population begin to experience a food shortage.

Wes

But the thing that gets me is that it's been living unnoticed for none knows how long, and the second the seem them they think it's the end of the world. I believe tat nature will eventually balanse itself out when it comes to things like this.
In florida we have gar, alligators, venomous snakes, snapping turtles. I believe that if these snake heads were able to survive for more than a week I also believe that if they got here by releasing them from petstores they wouldn't be used to surviving in the wild.
I think they'd die quickly and the ones that have been recovered are lucky, they'd never be able to survive in the wild.

~JuSt_My_ThOuGhTs~

-Ben

 

[pategirl]

But the thing that gets me is that it's been living unnoticed for none knows how long, and the second the seem them they think it's the end of the world. I believe tat nature will eventually balanse itself out when it comes to things like this.
In florida we have gar, alligators, venomous snakes, snapping turtles. I believe that if these snake heads were able to survive for more than a week I also believe that if they got here by releasing them from petstores they wouldn't be used to surviving in the wild.
I think they'd die quickly and the ones that have been recovered are lucky, they'd never be able to survive in the wild.

~JuSt_My_ThOuGhTs~

-Ben

What happens before nature balances out eventually? During the time that nature is balancing, the released snakeheads could eat no telling what, including endangered/threatened species. These fish are not delicate creatures as far as fish go. I doubt it would take one very long to adapt to feeding off of native wildlife. If they were not a potential problem, so many states would not have prohibited the sale of them.

 

[woijchik89]

What happens before nature balances out eventually? During the time that nature is balancing, the released snakeheads could eat no telling what, including endangered/threatened species. These fish are not delicate creatures as far as fish go. I doubt it would take one very long to adapt to feeding off of native wildlife. If they were not a potential problem, so many states would not have prohibited the sale of them.

I'm not saying that it should be allowed to release them into the wild, nor do I think they should be sold in pet stores. I simply think everyones a bit too paraniod on the subject. Maybe in other states it would be worse. But in florida they're WAY too many more dominant and dangerous species in florida to be worried so much about snakeheads.
As for them eating endangered species the snakeheads aren't the only ones avioding the whole dont-eat-endangered animals rule. I really don't think they'd become as dominant as others say they will. Just too many diffrent animals for the snakeheads to watch out for. In other states they may be too dominant in the wild, but as far as florida goes don't make the problem bigger, just leave it alone.

 

[MilkmanWes]

What if the way nature balances itself is for a species to go exticnt? What you are not grasping here is that an ecosstem is a very precariously balanced web and throwing off one part disrupts everything.

In a simplified example -

Snakehead eats the brim and reduces them.
Fewer brim mean more mosquito larva mature.
More mosquitos as a food source means that there are more bats because it's plentiful.
More bats mean more trees become roosts for them, These trees covered in bats are no longer suitable for a particular bird to nest in.
The birds leave the area and stop distributing plant seeds.
The plants they distribute reduce in population, but it's their root structure that is holding down the topsoil.
The topsoil erodes into the river and makes it too cloudy choking sunlight to vegitation there, But a fish needs that vegetation as a nursury ground.
This fish happens to be very endangered and without it's prime breeding ground - disapears

I am not an ecologist or biologist, and the above example is dramatized to make a point.

I am however an engineer and I use analogies a lot. what I work with is an electronic ecology all it's own. I change one resistor or use a switch with a different rating and the outcome of the entire circuit can change. One virus or malfunctioning router and whole segments of the Internet feel the shock.

Think of a Snakehead fish as someing very useful and necessary in the context of it's own environment, but take it out of that and put it someplace else and it becomes just like a computer virus taking down a whole network.

Fireants are another good example. Without anteaters like the habitat they come from, what has happened to them in the US?

But the thing that gets me is that it's been living unnoticed for none knows how long, and the second the seem them they think it's the end of the world. I believe tat nature will eventually balanse itself out when it comes to things like this.
In florida we have gar, alligators, venomous snakes, snapping turtles. I believe that if these snake heads were able to survive for more than a week I also believe that if they got here by releasing them from petstores they wouldn't be used to surviving in the wild.
I think they'd die quickly and the ones that have been recovered are lucky, they'd never be able to survive in the wild.

~JuSt_My_ThOuGhTs~

-Ben

 

[woijchik89]

What if the way nature balances itself is for a species to go exticnt? What you are not grasping here is that an ecosstem is a very precariously balanced web and throwing off one part disrupts everything.
it out of that and put it someplace else and it becomes just like a computer virus taking down a whole network.

Fireants are another good example. Without anteaters like the habitat they come from, what has happened to them in the US?

I see what you're trying to say. It, to me, still sound far fetched. I really don't think anything will go extict. Maybe in certian parts in florida, but not in the entire world or even all of florida. Snake heads will feed on more than one type of fish. But they are only VERY few snakeheads, plus alot of them are being eaten by other preditors. Just because something isn't native doesn't mean they're more dominant, and in most cases they die off before they even become a modern concern. The "Prey, preditor web" is way too complicated for ne species to riun it all, frogs eat bugs bugs eat bugs, birds eat bugs, bugs eat small frogs.......Every animal eats a varietary diet, they dont consentrate on eating nothing but one type of bug. And when I said bugs bird frogs etc etc, I was only talking about 3 out of 1000 species. One nonnative animal can either become dominant, adjust, or die out. It's very complicated in most cases they either become dominant or die out, i think die out mostly. In this case, and this is ONLY florida I'm talking about, the snakeheads will either die out, or adjust, and when i say adjust i mean they'll only be very few, not exactly the top of the food chain.
I'm only talking about florida, in other states it could come out very diffrently.

~PeAcE~

-Ben