Black Snakehead

About

The black snakehead (Channa melasoma) is one of the smaller members of a family that often gets a bad reputation, and in a well-planned setup it can make a genuinely rewarding aquarium fish even for relative newcomers to the hobby. Native to a broad range stretching from the Mekong basin in Thailand down through Indonesia and the Philippines, it lives naturally in shaded forest streams where the water moves slowly, the substrate is buried under leaf litter and tangled roots, and the pH can dip into strongly acidic territory. Recreating that kind of environment, dim lighting, plenty of cover, soft acidic water, brings out the best in this fish. Like all channids, it possesses a pair of suprabranchial chambers behind the gills that allow it to breathe air directly from the surface, so you will regularly see it rise for a gulp. This also means it tolerates low-oxygen conditions far better than most fish, though a tight-fitting lid is non-negotiable since snakeheads are escape artists. Behavior is primarily nocturnal, and its diet in the wild consists of smaller animals including fish, so tankmates need to be chosen carefully. Dark brown above and pale below, it can be distinguished from the similar C. baramensis by the absence of dark central spots on the body scales and a plain rather than barred tail.