Peacock snakehead

Care at a glance

Overview

Reaching about 30 cm, it needs a tank of at least 280 litres with a secure lid and plenty of cover. Provide cooler water at 16 to 26 C with a seasonal dip and pH 6.0 to 7.5. It can be aggressive toward its own kind, so keep singly or as a proven pair with dither fish too large to swallow. Feed prawns, earthworms and other meaty foods, weaning it off live fish.

In the wild

The peacock snakehead is a medium dwarf species from clear Myanmar streams, marked with orange spots and white-edged pectoral fins. Adults develop rich blue-green tones along the body. It is an ambush predator that holds station among rocks and roots.

Good to know

Channa pulchra is endemic to the upper Irrawaddy drainage and reaches around 30 cm. Like several Burmese snakeheads it is thought to be a mouthbrooder. It comes from cooler, flowing water rather than warm still swamps.

Did you know

Wild peacock snakeheads come from streams that cool sharply in winter, so year-round tropical warmth actually shortens their lives.

Related species

• 

  Orange-spotted snakehead

  Channa aurantimaculata

  15.7 in (40 cm)119 gal (450 L)59–77°F (15–25°C)

• 

  Ocellated snakehead

  Channa pleurophthalma

  15.7 in (40 cm)70 gal (265 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Rainbow snakehead

  Channa bleheri

  7.9 in (20 cm)42 gal (160 L)59–77°F (15–25°C)

• 

  Giant snakehead

  Channa micropeltes

  39.4 in (100 cm)528 gal (2,000 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Forest snakehead

  Channa lucius

  15.7 in (40 cm)70 gal (265 L)68–86°F (20–30°C)
• Bullseye snakehead

  Channa marulius

  47.2 in (120 cm)396 gal (1,500 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)