Baram Snakehead

About

The Baram snakehead (Channa baramensis) is a smallish member of the family Channidae, native to the waters of Sarawak, Malaysia. Specifically the Baram River drainage of Borneo. Like all snakeheads, it takes its common name from the large, plate-like scales covering the head, which bear a genuine resemblance to the cephalic scales of a snake. This species can be told apart from close relatives like Channa melasoma and Channa cyanospilos by the dark spot sitting near the center of many of its body scales, and by a distinctly barred pattern on the tail fin that develops once the fish reaches a reasonable size. It spent several decades lumped together with C. melasoma as the same species before being revalidated in the 1990s, so it remains less well-documented than some of its cousins. Behaviorally, expect a confident, opportunistic carnivore that will eat anything it can fit in its mouth. So tankmates need to be chosen with care. One of the more fascinating traits shared across the whole snakehead family is obligate air-breathing: paired chambers above the gills allow these fish to extract oxygen directly from the atmosphere, and you will regularly see them surfacing for a gulp of air. Despite the predatory reputation of snakeheads as a group, this species is considered manageable even for less experienced fishkeepers.