Emperor Snakehead Fish - The most expensive ornamental fish
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Emperor snakehead fish (Channa barca) originates from India, is a large fish, beautiful in appearance, rare and has a high price of up to thousands of dollars.
The Emperor Snakehead Fish (Channa barca) is one of the ornamental fish species with beautiful appearance, rare and very expensive price. For ornamental fish players, this fish species is not only very valuable but also highly challenging because it is very difficult to raise and breed.
If you are interested in Emperor snakehead fish, please refer to the detailed information that ornamental snakehead fish shares in the article below!
Origin of Emperor snakehead fish
Emperor snakehead fish originates from India.
The Emperor Snakehead Fish has the scientific name Channa barca, belongs to the family Channidae, genus Channa - Snakehead fish/snakehead fish. It originates from India and is found in some areas such as Assam, West Bengal and Nagaland. In nature, this fish lives in large rivers and lakes or flooded areas,...
With its beautiful and rare appearance, the Emperor snakehead fish has been listed in the Red Book by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Therefore, currently, in the aquarium world, Channa barca is considered a rare fish, with an expensive price, even up to tens of thousands of dollars. It is very popular in countries such as the US, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and China.
Appearance of Emperor Snakehead Fish
An Emperor snakehead fish with beautiful, colorful colors.
The Emperor Snakehead Fish is one of the largest fish in the snakehead family, and it also has an extremely eye-catching appearance with colorful colors, worthy of being the king of fish. Let's take a closer look at the physical characteristics of this fish!
- Size : Adult fish can be 80 - 105 cm long.
- Weight : Varies from 2 - 4 kg in adult fish.
- Lifespan : 10 - 15 years if kept in optimal conditions.
- Shape : Long body, slightly round, large head that gradually narrows like a snake's head, long neck, with distinct gills.
- Color : The main body color is gray-blue or blue, with black dots evenly distributed on the body, creating bright contrasting color patches.
- Dorsal fin : Extends from head to tail, colorful with black spots, blue or gray background, orange border.
- Anal fin : Shorter than dorsal fin, darker in color than dorsal fin but also has orange edge.
- Gill fins, pelvic fins : Orange or gray, quite small.
- Caudal fin : Fan-shaped, with blue, dark gray and bright orange-red stripes.
Behavior of Emperor snakehead fish
Let's learn more about the habits, personality and reproductive ability of Emperor snakehead fish to understand them better.
- Carnivorous fish : Emperor snakehead fish like to eat natural foods such as fish, shrimp, frogs, toads, insects, so if you want them to eat industrial pellets, you need to train them from a young age.
- Quite gentle personality : Although snakehead fish are highly territorial, they are quite gentle and can be kept with other types of ornamental fish provided the tank is large enough and has enough space for them to move around.
- Difficult to breed : Compared to other ornamental snakehead fish, Emperor snakehead fish is very difficult to breed, so currently few fish farms successfully breed them.
Instructions for raising Emperor snakehead fish to maximum size and beautiful color
A very beautiful tank of Emperor snakehead fish.
To successfully raise Emperor snakehead fish to maximum size and the most beautiful color, you need to ensure optimal living conditions and a reasonable care regimen. Follow the detailed instructions below to help you more easily raise this beautiful, hot fish.
What do Emperor snakehead fish eat?
Being a predatory fish, Emperor snakehead fish love to eat fresh food, however if you don't have much time, you can use dry food. Specifically as follows:
- Live food : Shrimp, small fish, crickets, grasshoppers, worms, frogs, toads,...
- Industrial food : Choose food rich in protein, with the smell of shrimp and fish. In addition, you can refer to some popular foods on the market that help ornamental snakehead fish have beautiful colors.
Emperor snakehead fish tank design
This fish species when fully grown can reach a size of more than 1m, so you need to prepare a large tank, with good endurance and meeting the following parameters and conditions:
- Size : Minimum 1.5 x 0.6 x 0.6 m (Length x width x height).
- Minimum volume : 300 - 350L.
- Tank substrate : choose fine sand because this fish likes to dig holes when winter comes.
- Aquarium decoration : You should place driftwood, rock caves, and plant aquatic plants to create the most comfortable and natural environment.
- Tank Cover : A tank cover is needed because this fish loves to jump.
- Filtration system : Should have to keep the tank clean, can use biological filtration or traditional filtration.
Water quality in the tank
This fish is recorded to be able to live on land for up to 2 days with high humidity in the air, proving that it is very "buffalo", right? However, to raise a healthy Emperor snakehead fish with beautiful colors, you need to meet the following basic water parameters:
- Temperature : From 12 - 28 degrees Celsius.
- pH : From 6.0 - 8.0
- Hardness : 37 - 355 ppm.
- Change water : Every week, you should change about 20 - 30% of the water in the tank to help keep the tank clean and up to standard.
Common diseases in Emperor snakehead fish
Like many other ornamental snakehead fish, Emperor snakehead fish can also suffer from some diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, and parasites in water and food. If you want to raise this fish, please refer to some common diseases below to know how to treat them early.
| Disease name | Reason | Symptom | Treatment |
| Red spot disease | Caused by the fungus Aphanomyces Invadans | Creates blood streaks on the body and fins, causing ulcers and rot in the tail and fins. |
Disinfect the tank. Use antibiotics as directed by your veterinarian. |
| Argument | Caused by fish lice. | Irritation to fish causes them to tend to rub themselves against decorations for comfort. | Remove parasites on the body, bathe in potassium permanganate. |
| Velvet Parasite | Caused by the Velvet parasite | Causes yellow, light brown spots on the fish body. | Isolate sick fish and use antiparasitic drugs. |
How much is Emperor Snakehead Fish?
Perhaps the question of how much an Emperor snakehead fish costs is of interest to many people because this fish is truly the king of ornamental fish with an extremely expensive price. The price for a full-sized adult Emperor snakehead fish can be up to 6000 USD, or about 140 million VND.
If you want to buy cheap Emperor snakehead fish, you can choose to buy mini Emperor snakehead fish (small size) for a few million VND to try.
Q&A about Emperor snakehead fish
Where can I buy Emperor snakehead fish?
Currently, the market for buying and selling Emperor snakehead fish in Vietnam is quite active. You can find this fish on aquarium forums on social networks or some reputable large aquarium stores.
What types of fish can Emperor snakehead fish be kept with?
You can keep this fish with other fish of similar size. However, it is best to keep it alone because it is large and likes a large living space.
Beautiful Emperor Snakehead Fish Pictures
Finally, we invite you to explore the impressive beauty of the Emperor snakehead fish through the beautiful image collection that we share below to fully feel the charm of this special fish species!
An Emperor snakehead fish is swimming beautifully.
An Emperor snakehead fish is swimming gracefully in the tank.
Emperor snakehead fish with colorful red-orange scales.
With the information that snakehead.info shares above, you have known that the Emperor snakehead fish - Channa barca is a fish species with a super beautiful appearance, rare and expensive, picky about the player. However, if you have enough economic conditions and experience in raising fish, owning a beautiful Channa barca fish is a wonderful thing.
Goodbye and see you again in other articles of the Blog section to learn more information about many more types of ornamental snakehead fish!
