Rainbow snakehead fish - Colorful, adaptable ornamental fish

Rainbow snakehead fish (Channa bleheri), a colorful ornamental fish, easy to care for, easy to adapt and not too aggressive in nature like other ornamental snakehead fish.

The iridescent rainbow snakehead (Channa bleheri) is a breed of ornamental snakehead fish with bright, eye-catching colors, unique habits as well as high adaptability. This is a breed of fish suitable for many players, including those new to ornamental fish.

In today's article, ornamental snakehead fish will share detailed information about the five-color rainbow snakehead fish including origin, appearance, habits and care methods. Let's learn to grasp important information about this ornamental fish breed!

Where does the rainbow snakehead fish come from?

Rainbow snakehead fish or Channa bleheri.

The iridescent rainbow snakehead has the scientific name Channa bleheri, also known as Rainbow Snakehead. They were discovered around 1987 by Dr. Bleher , a famous fish researcher, and are naturally distributed in the state of Assam, Northeast India, especially in the Dibrugarh region.

Nowadays, thanks to its beautiful appearance, this fish breed is widely bred and imported in many countries. Especially in Vietnam, they are one of the most popular ornamental snakehead fish in the channa fish community.

Rainbow snakehead fish appearance

Rainbow snakehead fish has a colorful, eye-catching appearance.

The rainbow snakehead fish has a colorful body with a mixture of red, orange, yellow, blue, purple and green, creating an eye-catching rainbow effect. In particular, their colors can change according to their mood, living conditions or even light. Let's learn more about the appearance of this fish breed.

• Size: When fully grown, it can reach 18 - 20 cm, smaller than other ornamental snakehead fish species.
• Shape : Long body, gradually flattened towards the tail, slightly flat oval head, wide mouth, large eyes.
• Head color : Usually orange or light orange-red.
• Body color : There is a color transition from green, blue, light purple, even red orange yellow creating a brilliant rainbow effect. There are black stripes running along the body.
• Belly color : Light white or silver.
• Dorsal & anal fins : Long, running along the entire length of the body.
• Pectoral & pelvic fins : Medium size, transparent or blue in color.
• Caudal fin : Round or slightly oval, with blue or blue edges, and orange sheen.
• Fin effect : Can glow slightly under light.

Behavior of rainbow snakehead fish

Rainbow snakehead fish can live in groups.

Let's learn about some behavioral and behavioral characteristics of rainbow snakehead fish to better understand them.

Living habits

Rainbow snakehead fish are mainly active during the day, especially in the early morning and late afternoon. They are slow, graceful swimmers and usually prefer to swim near the surface of the water.

Is a predatory fish

The rainbow snakehead fish is a predatory fish that eats small animals such as worms, crickets, small fish, and small shrimp. When hunting, they will lurk and then quickly rush in to grab their prey. However, if they are trained to eat pellets from a young age, they will get used to this type of food.

Less aggressive

Compared to other ornamental snakehead fish, the rainbow snakehead is much less aggressive and can live with other fish of similar size. When young, it can live in pairs or small groups but when mature it becomes more territorial.

It will never attack other fish on its own, but will only become aggressive when its territory is invaded or threatened.

Reproductive behavior

Rainbow snakehead fish have the following reproductive characteristics:

• When they reach adulthood, they will pair up to reproduce.
• The female fish will lay eggs, then the male fish will fertilize and incubate the eggs in its mouth for 7 - 10 days until the fish hatch.
• Rainbow snakehead parents take very good care of their young, they hardly eat their young like some other fish species. However, to ensure absolute safety, you should still separate the parents and the young.

How to raise rainbow snakehead fish

Rainbow snakehead fish need to live in a large tank.

If you want to raise rainbow snakehead fish, please pay attention to the following issues.

What do rainbow snakehead fish eat?

Food suitable for rainbow snakehead fish:

• Baby fish, bait fish, guppies.
• Fresh shrimp.
• Earthworms, vermicompost, bloodworms.
• Rice worms, crickets, small insects.
• Pellet food for snakehead fish, protein-rich granular food or specialized food to help fish color.

Reasonable diet :

• Feeding frequency for baby fish (under 10cm) 2 - 3 times/day
• Feeding frequency for adult fish 1 - 2 times/day.
• Note to only give enough food to avoid polluting the water.

Aquarium design suitable for raising rainbow snakehead fish

To help rainbow snakehead fish grow well and have beautiful colors, you need to pay attention to designing the optimal aquarium as follows:

Tank size :

• Minimum capacity 100 liters/tank, depending on the number of fish you raise.
• Ideal size 100 x 50 x 40 (Length x width x height).
• If raising large numbers, a large tank is needed to avoid fighting over territory.

Filter system :

• External or waterfall filtration to help keep water clean and limit over-flow.
• Biofilter to help maintain a stable environment.
• Although snakehead fish can breathe air normally, they still need clean filtered water to limit disease.

Tank decoration :

• Bottom of tank: Choose fine sand or dark gravel to create a natural environment.
• Aquatic plants: Should add water fern, water fern, water fern, and Japanese duckweed to help fish have more hiding places.
• Decoration: Create caves for fish to hide in.

Lighting system :

• Light is medium.
• You can use a soft colored LED light to help the fish stand out more.'
• Turn on the lights 6 - 8 hours a day.

Tank cover :

• Rainbow snakehead fish can jump high so the tank needs a sturdy lid.
• If you want more ventilation, you can use a net to cover the tank.

Suitable water parameters for raising rainbow snakehead fish

Although rainbow snakehead fish can adapt well to different water conditions, if you want the fish to be healthy and grow well, you need to pay attention to the following basic parameters:

Price of rainbow snakehead fish

The rainbow snakehead fish is a very popular ornamental fish because of its colorful colors and compact size. Currently, in Vietnam, their price depends on size, origin and color, usually ranging from 300,000 - 1,500,000 VND/fish.

To buy fish at a good price, you should consult directly with reputable aquarium stores to get the most accurate price.

Beautiful rainbow snakehead fish image

Finally, we invite you to look at some more beautiful rainbow snakehead fish images that we have compiled below to fully enjoy the beauty of this ornamental fish breed.

An adult rainbow snakehead fish.

Image of rainbow snakehead fish swimming close to the surface of the tank.

Rainbow snakehead fish is swimming in a tank full of algae.

A rainbow snakehead fish is swimming close to the bottom of the tank.

The rainbow snakehead fish not only attracts aquarium players because of its bright and eye-catching appearance but also because of its high adaptability. However, during the care process, you need to pay attention to water parameters as well as diet to help them grow best!

Hopefully, the information that snakehead.info shares above will help you better understand this special ornamental fish species. If you are a lover of ornamental snakehead fish, follow the next articles in our Blog section to learn more about other special fish species.