Snakehead fish Channa rara - Habits, care from A to Z

Channa rara, a snakehead endemic to India, is small in size, has a distinctive false eye spot at the end of the dorsal fin, is aggressive in temperament, and is highly territorial.

Channa rara is a fish endemic to the western region of India, one of the smallest fish in the genus Channa, with a wild, unique appearance with "ocelli" fake eye spots at the end of the dorsal fin, a strong, aggressive temperament, highly territorial, and quite new to the aquatic world in Vietnam.

To learn more about the origin, habits and how to take good care of Channa rara fish, please follow the content in the article below of ornamental snakehead fish !

Information about snakehead fish Channa rara :

Origin of snakehead fish Channa rara

Channa rara is a fish endemic to western India.

Channa rara is a snakehead fish endemic to the western region of India, commonly found in the Jagbudi River basin, Maharashtra state, in the Western Ghats mountain range - the world's largest biological hotspot, home to many endemic species of flora and fauna.

They were first scientifically described in 2020 by an Indian research team. The name "rara" in Latin means "rare", referring to the endemic distribution of this fish in the wild. Because the distribution area of ​​Channa rara is quite narrow, it has become an ornamental snakehead fish that needs to be preserved.

Appearance of Channa rara snakehead fish

The Channa rara fish has a striking appearance with its pseudo-eyes and distinctive pelvic fins.

Let's learn in detail about the appearance of Channa rara fish to see what outstanding features they have to distinguish them from dozens of other snakehead fish in the Channidae family.

• Size : Only about 9 cm in adult fish, belongs to the small snakehead fish group.
• Body : Long, cylindrical, tapering slightly towards the tail, firm.
• Head : Wide, flat, slightly flat, like a snake's head
• Eyes : Quite small, round, pupils are jet black.
• Mouth : Wide, slightly slanted upwards, sharp, small, pointed teeth.
• Color : The body has a dark gray or charcoal blue background, with a faint metallic sheen. There are no bold stripes but there are faint bright spots or broken, lightly spread patterns on the body.
• Ocelli : There are from 1 to several black spots appearing at the back of the dorsal fin with a black center, bright edges that look like a false eye, helping them deceive predators or use to communicate with others.
• Dorsal & anal fins : Run along the body, have thin areas, are usually blue-gray in color, and are slightly opaque.
• Pectoral fins : There are 6 - 7 concentric circles of dark color, most obvious when the fish spreads its fins fully, creating a wood grain effect.
• Pelvic fins : Small, not too prominent.
• Swimming style : Slow, graceful

Behavior of snakehead fish Channa rara

The fierce appearance of the Channa rara fish.

Below are the typical habits and behaviors of Channa rara fish, which are derived from specific scientific studies. We invite you to learn more.

Professional predator

In the snakehead family, Channa rara is indeed an extremely professional predator. They often hunt by lurking under rocks, leaves, and roots to ambush their prey with the following tactics:

• Keep the body still or move extremely slowly and quietly
• When the prey comes close, rush out at a very fast speed to capture it in the blink of an eye.

Calm but highly territorial

Although normally Channa rara tend to be calm, inactive and swimming around, they tend to be very territorial, often choosing a corner and considering it their own "territory", if any fish invades it will threaten and even chase.

Have mating habits when mature

Channa rara are strongly territorial but they tend to pair up as adults, and once in pairs they bond for a long time, foraging together and defending their territory together.

However, if you have not paired them before, you should raise each individual separately to avoid conflicts.

Nocturnal activity

Like most other snakehead fish, Channa rara is most active in the evening and early morning, when they go out to hunt and forage. During the day, they tend to lie still and hide under rocks, foliage or dense aquatic bushes to rest and avoid predators.

Breathe fresh air

This is probably a characteristic of the snakehead fish family, they have an accessory respiratory organ, also known as a labyrinth organ, which helps this fish species to get oxygen from the air. Therefore, the aquarium does not need to be aerated too strongly, the water surface of the tank must be clear and not blocked so that the fish can "rise" to the surface of the water to breathe.

How to raise Channa rara snakehead fish in aquarium

A Channa rara fish tank with lots of driftwood.

If you want to raise Channa rara fish in an aquarium, please refer to the detailed instructions shared below to help them adapt and develop in the best way.

Tank size and layout

For Channa rara fish to thrive in captivity, you need to design an aquarium that is large enough and has conditions similar to the natural habitat of this fish. Please note the following:

• Tank volume : Minimum 80 - 120 liters for 1 adult fish, if raising a pair or mixed fish, the volume needs to be 150 liters or more.
• Tank length : Minimum 80 cm or more so that fish can swim comfortably.
• Tank layout : Need to design many hiding places such as caves, driftwood, ceramic tubes, plastic tubes, aquatic plants such as java fern, Anubias, mini moss, the tank floor should be lined with fine gravel and add a few dry Indian almond leaves, arrange more dark areas because they like shade.
• Filtration system : Arrange external filter or light waterfall filter to avoid creating strong flow.
• Aeration : Should have.

Water parameters suitable for Channa rara fish

To raise Channa rara fish, you need to prepare a water source in the tank that meets the following basic parameters:

• Temperature : 24 - 27 degrees Celsius
• pH : 6.0 - 7.5
• Hardness : Soft to medium.
• Water change : Change 30 - 40% of water in the tank every week.
• Ammonia/nitrite : Always 0 ppm

Suitable diet for Channa rara fish

In the wild, Channa rara is a "veteran" in hunting and loves to eat meat, so when raised in an artificial environment, you can feed them the following foods:

• Shrimp, small prawns, live bait fish, bloodworms, earthworms.
• Frozen or processed foods such as beef tripe, fish fillets, pellets for predatory fish.

If possible, train your fish to hunt on time to form good habits and limit excess food from affecting water quality.

Should Channa rara fish be raised together?

Channa rara are very territorial and are therefore not suitable for keeping with small, docile fish or fish with long fins. However, you can keep them with some individuals of the same species, of similar size and temperament such as tiger fish, emperor fish, etc.

Prevention and treatment of diseases for Channa rara fish

Preventing and treating diseases for Channa rara fish is an important thing to ensure that the fish are always healthy, have beautiful colors and have a long life. Please refer to the details below.

Optimal disease prevention :

• Maintain stable water quality, change water regularly, use dechlorinated water
• Newly purchased fish must be quarantined for 7 - 14 days before being released into the tank.
• Ensure fresh food source is clean and free of parasites.
• Do not shine strong light or change water suddenly to avoid stressing the fish.

Common diseases and treatments :

Channa rara snakehead fish price

Currently, there is no exact information about the price of Channa rara fish in Vietnam because they are a species of fish endemic to India and are not really popular in the ornamental fish market in our country. If you want to know the most accurate price, please contact reputable ornamental fish stores or groups specializing in ornamental snakehead fish on social networking sites for detailed information.

Through the above article, snakehead.info has shared details about Channa rara snakehead fish . Although this fish is not popular in the Vietnamese ornamental fish market, it still deserves to be known as a representative of wildness, strength and impressive appearance in the ornamental snakehead fish world. If you have enough ability and conditions to care for it, I believe that Channa rara will be a great choice for your aquarium.

Goodbye and see you soon in the next articles of the Blog section to discover more new snakehead fish breeds.