Snakehead fish Channa brunnea - Tips for raising fish to maximize color

Channa brunnea, a fish endemic to southern India, has colorful fins with orange background, orange stripes, gentle, mild temperament, and needs hibernation.

Channa brunnea , a snakehead fish endemic to the Western Ghats of India, is not found elsewhere and has only been discovered in recent years. It has a striking appearance with a dark brown body and eye-catching orange-striped fins, a unique hibernation habit, and is very peaceful with its own kind.

To learn more about Channa brunnea fish from its origin, habits to tips to help the fish have beautiful colors, please follow the article below of ornamental snakehead fish !

Information about snakehead fish Channa brunnea :

Origin and distribution of snakehead fish Channa brunnea

Channa brunnea is endemic to India.

Channa brunnea is an endemic snakehead fish found only in the Western Ghat mountain range of southern India, one of the world's most biodiverse hotspots.

This snakehead fish is commonly found in the Chaliyar River basin, Kerala state, where the area has low to medium mountainous terrain, dense moist forests, clear, cool streams, moderate flow, and plenty of shade from the dense forest canopy.

The name "brunnea" in Latin means "dark brown" referring to the color of this fish.

Currently, Channa brunnea is very rare in the aquarium world because it has a limited distribution and has only appeared in recent years.

Appearance of snakehead fish Channa brunnea

The brilliant appearance of the Channa bleheri fish.

Channa brunnea is often confused with Channa bleheri because of their similar appearance, however, in fact they have completely different characteristics that help you easily recognize them, specifically as follows:

• Size : Average 15 - 20 cm, belongs to the small - medium snakehead fish group.
• Body : Long, round, tapering towards the tail, quite muscular, head and body ratio is balanced, not flat or uneven like some other snakehead fish species.
• Color : The fish's body has a reddish brown background, with a green or copper tint depending on the viewing angle and light reflection, generally darker in color than Channa bleheri (five-color rainbow snakehead fish).
• Pattern : On the body there are many scattered, uneven spots and faint stripes, creating a marble effect.
• Dorsal fin : Extends from behind the gills to the caudal peduncle, dark in color, with bright orange or blue edges, interspersed with orange and brown fin rays, very eye-catching.
• Anal fin : Shorter than dorsal fin, grey with dark edges and attractive blue rays.
• Caudal fin : Rounded, with orange dotted patterns standing out on a black background, looking extremely brilliant.
• Pectoral fins : Fan-shaped, with orange, red-orange background and dark black stripes
• Eyes : Round, large, with a light metallic blue streak behind the eyes.
• Whiskers : There are two short whiskers in front of the mouth.

Snakehead fish Channa brunnea

The Channa brunnea fish has a calm temperament.

Let's find out if this rare, wild snakehead fish Channa brunnea has any interesting habits and behaviors.

Calm, quite gentle

Compared to many other snakehead fish species in the family, Channa brunnea is very calm, even considered "lazy" because they rarely swim around, spending most of their time resting at the bottom or hiding in caves.

They are also very peaceful with their own species and other fish of the same size when kept in a large enough tank. However, when threatened, they still have an agitated reaction such as spreading their fins, opening their mouths wide, swimming slowly but showing fierceness.

Hibernation behavior

Although Channa brunnea prefers to live in an environment with an average temperature of 20 - 26 degrees Celsius, they are required to have a "hibernation" period of several weeks at a temperature of 12 - 15 degrees Celsius if they want to survive long term. After hibernation, the fish will have more beautiful colors and be easier to reproduce. If they do not hibernate, the fish will be susceptible to disease and their lifespan will be shortened.

They also like to hide under leaves, rocks, driftwood and do not like too strong light, only prefer soft, gentle light or even dark light.

Don't chase long prey.

Although it is a predatory, carnivorous fish, Channa brunnea does not tend to chase its prey for long periods of time. On the contrary, it prefers to lie still, wait for its prey, then rush out and swallow it whole.

Floating egg laying

Unlike some snakehead fish species in the family that reproduce in bubble nests or carry their eggs in their mouths, Channa brunnea lays eggs floating on the water surface in clusters of floating eggs. Both the male and female fish guard the eggs and protect the young.

Tips for raising snakehead fish Channa brunnea to have beautiful colors

A Channa brunnea fish with super colorful, outstanding fins.

Right below is the secret to help Channa brunnea fish have beautiful, dark colors and grow well. If you want to raise this fish, don't miss it.

Natural color stimulation by temperature

Changing the temperature periodically will help the fish to have the most beautiful and clear color because it simulates the natural conditions in the "cold rain" season, thereby activating the pigment system in the fish, helping the color to be standard. The stages of temperature change are as follows:

• Normal stage : Maintain temperature 22 - 25 degrees Celsius
• Color stimulation stage : Lower the temperature to 18 - 20 degrees Celsius for 2 weeks, then gradually increase to 24 - 26 degrees Celsius.

Maintain dim lighting

One factor that helps fish have beautiful colors or not is the light in the tank. When installing LED lights, you should note the following:

• Use light with soft yellow light from 5000 - 6000K
• Avoid using strong LED lights shining directly on the aquarium.
• You can use a bright spotlight from the side of the tank to help the fish highlight the orange stripes on their fins.

Choose the right food

Food is the key factor to help Channa brunnea fish bring out their maximum color. You can feed them the following foods:

• Live shrimp : rich in astaxanthin, stimulates red pectoral fin and tail color.
• Earthworms, superworms : rich in protein, helps to turn on body color
• Small bait fish (clean) : Stimulates hunting instinct, helps fish show beautiful colors.
• Arternia, water insects : helps stabilize color.

Note : Do not feed fish too much pellets because it will make the fish pale and fat.

Maintain a stable environment

Equally important as food and light is maintaining a stable water environment with the following basic parameters:

• pH : 6.5 - 7.0, slightly acidic
• Alkaline : Low, helps the metallic color stand out more.
• Change water : Change about 30% of the water in the tank every week to remove toxins and maintain water quality.
• Add more : Indian almond leaves to create a black water environment, helping the fish keep their best color.

Provide spacious space

Providing ample space and shelter will help the fish feel comfortable, reduce stress, and help stabilize the fish color. Therefore, the aquarium needs to meet the following criteria:

• Size : 60 x 30 x 30 cm for 1 individual.
• Decorate the tank : Use lots of rocks to create caves, rock crevices, black driftwood, plant cool-tolerant and shade-tolerant aquatic plants such as bucep, moss,... to help fish have many places to hide.
• Create many hidden Shady corners in the tank so the fish feel safe.
• Filtration system : Use membrane filter, external filter to create medium or light flow.

Hibernation

As shared in the behavior section, Channa brunnea needs a hibernation period to develop beautiful colors and prolong its lifespan, specifically as follows:

• Hibernate your fish once a year by reducing the tank temperature to 12 - 15 degrees Celsius for 3 - 4 weeks.
• During this time, absolutely do not turn on the lights, let the fish rest, and limit feeding.
• After 3 weeks, gradually increase the temperature again, do not increase suddenly, this will help the fish to bloom and have the darkest color.

Price of snakehead fish Channa brunnea

As shared above, Channa brunnea is an endemic species, very rare so they are not popular in the Vietnamese aquarium market, therefore, we do not know the most accurate price of this fish species.

However, one thing is certain, the price of Channa brunnea will be much higher than that of common ornamental fish, certainly from several million per fish.

Currently, there are some aquarium stores that accept orders for Channa brunnea fish. If you really want to try this fish, please contact us immediately for more details on how to order and price.

Snakehead fish Channa brunnea image

Please enjoy some beautiful moments of Channa brunnea fish compiled below to fully experience the brilliant beauty of this special ornamental snakehead fish!

A super beautiful Channa brunnea fish swimming in the tank.

Frontal view of a Channa brunnea fish.

The graceful swimming form of a Channa brunnea fish.

Thus, through the article on snakehead.info has helped you better understand the snakehead fish Channa brunnea , although they are an endemic fish species that only appear in India, they deserve to be widely known because of their eye-catching, colorful appearance, calm, gentle temperament and need for hibernation.

If you want to explore more about the rich world of ornamental snakehead fish, please read more articles in our Blog section!