Channa gachua

**Mez** · 13th Apr 2009, 06:25

Anyone here keep these?
I got 6 recently to hopefully form a pair, a bit reclusive, and have lost one due to injury.

**Mez** · 19th Apr 2009, 02:32

Starting to grow up a bit now, there is a clear leader. The rest take the duller colouration as shown above and here...

**Enda** · 20th Apr 2009, 15:46

Hi Mez, good looking fish there. I love their colours. Hopefully you get a breeding pair. What are you feeding them? Do you have a pic of their whole setup? These are great fish, but we don't see them for sale in Singapore as often as we do bleheri. They are found in the wild in Singapore, but are very rare.

**Mez** · 22nd Apr 2009, 03:05

Originally Posted by Enda

Hi Mez, good looking fish there. I love their colours. Hopefully you get a breeding pair. What are you feeding them? Do you have a pic of their whole setup? These are great fish, but we don't see them for sale in Singapore as often as we do bleheri. They are found in the wild in Singapore, but are very rare.

Hi Enda,
Im feeding them mainly chopped earthworms at the moment, they go mad for those!
Id actually be a bit embarresed to put a tank photo up, it really is a 'snakehead style' tank. Its a 3fter, with a fair few plants that have survived, lots of oak leaves and indian almond leaves, 2 internal power filters (one with spraybar, one pointing directly at some bogwood to stop too much flow) and LOTS of pipes. Some floating, most on the sandbed. There is also a few terracotta pots, a few big peices of rock, another peice of bogwood and a mass of java moss that has collected lots of detritus! Not so pretty as a 'show tank', but definatly very naturally setup.
A few more 'less quality' shots..

At least 2 of them have started to mature. Rather than swimming out in the open, they have taken to pipes 90% of the day, only coming out to feed or snap at another snakehead. You can actually hear their mouths 'clap' when they attack each other, but they learn to stay out of each others way. Also, the juvenile eye spot on the dorsal has gone in all the fish now, and markings are starting to darken around the head like an adult. Their anal and dorsal fin markings are rather nice i think..
James

**Fingerling** · 14th May 2009, 02:58

Hi Mez,

Awesome gachuas you have there. I just got a group of 5 gachuas which look about the same as yours! Would love to see your interpretation of a snakehead style tank

. Do post up a full tank pic pleasssseeee?

**Enda** · 14th May 2009, 17:22

Hi Mez,

How are the gachua doing? Any breeding activity?

How do they look now? Their colour should be really coming out.

Rgds,
Enda

**Mez** · 16th May 2009, 03:21

Today i spilled a whole culture of bbs eggs and their salt mixture into my snakehead tank.

Two 25% water changes later, the tank still looks like crap. The gatchua seem unnafected.
Their body colour has darkened, and their anal fin now become really blue with white edging. I have lost my rechargable batteries so will pick some up tomorrow and take photos..