FishfreshwaterSpecialistHigh invasive risk

Giant snakehead

A snakehead exceeding a metre in length, sold at five centimetres as a bright red-striped juvenile under the name red snakehead. It is one of the most consequential mis-sales in the aquarium trade and is prohibited in many jurisdictions for good reason.

Quick profile

Scientific name: Channa micropeltes
Adult size: 80–130 cm (31.5–51.2 in)
Lifespan: 10–15 years
Temperature: 22–30 °C (72–86 °F)
pH: 6–7.8
Hardness: 3–18 °dGH
Minimum tank: 8000 L (2113 US gal)
Minimum length: 460 cm
Swimming zone: All levels
Social: Solitary
Diet: Piscivore
Overall confidence: moderate confidence

What keeping this species involves

Not keepable in a domestic aquarium and illegal in many places. The record exists so that a juvenile in a shop tank can be recognised for what it is.

Large slow rivers, lakes and reservoirs with deep water and vegetated margins.

Identity and names

Common name: Giant snakehead
Scientific name: Channa micropeltes
Family: Channidae
Order: Anabantiformes
Class: Actinopterygii
Also sold as: Channa micropeltes, red snakehead, toman, redline snakehead

Adult size and growth

80–130 cm (31.5–51.2 in) — Juveniles are red-striped and entirely unlike the plain grey-blue adult. The colour that sells the fish disappears within the first year.

Typical lifespan in an aquarium: 10–15 years. Almost every animal sold in a shop is a juvenile, so the tank has to suit the size in the first line rather than the size in the bag.

Shape, which is what the compatibility engine reads instead of length alone: elongate with a very large — prey approaching its own length. Channa micropeltes takes prey approaching its own length. At 45 cm it is a threat to fish the old rule regarded as safely large, and this is the single biggest correction the model makes.

Water and tank requirements

A fish exceeding a metre that must be able to turn and must reach the surface to breathe. The figure is the animal's requirement and is beyond any domestic aquarium.

Temperature (°C)

Giant snakehead

22–30

Scale: 0 to 36 °C.

pH (pH)

Giant snakehead

6–7.8

Scale: 4 to 9.5 pH.

Hardness (°dGH)

Giant snakehead

3–18

Scale: 0 to 30 °dGH.

The bands AquariumHQ publishes for the giant snakehead, each drawn against the full range this catalogue uses for that parameter. A narrow band on a wide scale is a specialist; a wide one is a genuinely tolerant animal. Source: AquariumHQ husbandry position for this record — an editorial range, not a measurement

Why these ranges: Warm South-East Asian river and lake water. The species is tolerant and the constraint on keeping it is entirely one of size and legality.

Where these figures come from

Habitat class

Lowland floodplain

Seasonally inundated flat country — várzea, chaco, swamp margin — where the water body changes size, depth and chemistry through the year.

The habitat's defining feature is change, so a single band describes it badly. Species from here are generally tolerant of a wide range and intolerant of nothing much — which makes them easy to keep and easy to keep wrongly.

Conductivity: 40–300 µS/cm
Flow: still
Dissolved oxygen: low
Seasonality: strong

These are figures for the KIND of water body, not measurements of this species. They are AquariumHQ’s summary of the general limnology and are given wide because the water is.

TemperatureReasoned on this record: This record states its own reason for this band. See the water section.
pHReasoned on this record: This record states its own reason for this band. See the water section.
General hardnessReasoned on this record: This record states its own reason for this band. See the water section.

Requirement	Value	Notes
Temperature	22–30 °C (72–86 °F)	Stability matters more than hitting an exact figure.
pH	6–7.8	A stable pH outside the ideal band is usually better than an unstable one inside it.
General hardness	3–18 °dGH	Check your supplier's published figure before choosing species.
Minimum volume	8000 L (2113 US gal)	A floor, not a recommendation.
Minimum footprint	460 cm long × 180 cm deep	A fish exceeding a metre that must be able to turn and must reach the surface to breathe. The figure is the animal's requirement and is beyond any domestic aquarium.
Water flow	low	Match the outflow to this rather than to the filter's rating.
Lid required	Yes	This species jumps.
Structure	Open water with unobstructed surface access and an extremely secure cover. Decor is a hazard at this size.

Behaviour

Guards its young in a dense shoal and defends them with genuine determination, including against animals much larger than itself.
Breathes atmospheric air and can survive in water with almost no dissolved oxygen, which is part of why it establishes so readily where it is introduced.

Telling males from females

No reliable external difference.

Feeding

An apex freshwater predator. It takes prepared and frozen food readily and grows very fast on it.

Diet type: Piscivore
Staples: Whole frozen fish, Prawn, Large sinking pellets
Avoid: Live feeder fish, Mammalian meat

Breeding

Strategy: A surface nest with both parents guarding a large shoal of fry
Difficulty: rarely achieved
Parental care: guarding

Tankmates and compatibility

Assessments are derived from stored traits by the compatibility engine, with the reasoning shown. A verdict is a statement about probability, not a guarantee — individual temperament can override it.

Risk this species poses to common tankmates
Towards	Risk	What it means
Small fish	near-certain	Anything that fits in the mouth is at risk once this species reaches adult size.
Adult dwarf shrimp	near-certain	Cover reduces losses but rarely prevents them where the risk is high.
Shrimplets	near-certain	Determines whether a shrimp colony can grow rather than merely persist.
Snails	moderate	Applies to snails you wanted as well as snails you did not.
Long or trailing fins	none	Fin damage is an entry point for secondary infection.
Plants	uproots	Tough species such as Anubias and Java fern survive most grazers.

Any pair in the catalogue can be assessed with the compatibility checker.

Welfare considerations

Points where the way this species is commonly sold or kept differs from what it actually needs.

Sold as a small brightly coloured juvenile with no indication of adult size. This is the single clearest case in the catalogue of a fish whose sale is a welfare problem in itself.
Established outside its native range in several regions and the subject of eradication efforts in some of them.

Problems to watch for

Most problems in a tank containing this species are general rather than species-specific. Start with the troubleshooting index and work from the observation rather than from a guess at the cause.

What AquariumHQ does not yet hold

Species-level disease susceptibility is modelled in the graph and is not yet populated. Health pages will not be published until each condition has veterinary sourcing, because health content written without evidence is the most harmful thing this product could publish. The gap is recorded in the coverage report.

Where it comes from

Native range: South-East Asia — the Mekong, Chao Phraya and Sundaic river systems
Habitat: Large slow rivers, lakes and reservoirs with deep water and vegetated margins.

What the checklists say

9 distribution statements retrieved from GBIF checklists. Establishment means is reproduced from the source where it states one, and left unstated where it does not — a record of presence is not a record of origin.

Status	Places	What this means
Introduced	6	A checklist states the species arrived here with human help. That is not a statement that it is established, harmful or illegal.
Recorded as present, establishment means not stated	3	The source records the species as present and does not say whether it is native or introduced. AquariumHQ does not fill that in.

No checklist AquariumHQ holds positively calls this species native anywhere, so the native range above rests on AquariumHQ’s own reading of the literature rather than on a cited checklist.

Legal status and responsible practice

Restriction note

Prohibited from import and interstate transport in the United States under the Lacey Act along with the rest of the genus, and banned or licensed in numerous other jurisdictions. Where snakeheads are legal at all, this species is frequently excluded specifically on size grounds.

Where this species has been introduced, and what followed

Two databases on two continents hold records for this species, and they are not two accounts of one event. They are separate introductions with separate causes, and the differences between them are the most informative thing on this panel.

Florida

Locally established

NAS records the route in full as "Most likely all aquarium releases", with no supporting account and no cited work. A large predatory fish established from tanks, and the documentation of how is one sentence long.

Deliberate aquarium releaseSomebody took the animal out of a tank and put it into open water. The commonest reason is that the fish outgrew the aquarium, which is why size at maturity is a conservation question as well as a welfare one.

What has been established

Nothing. The species is present outside its native range and no study has measured what it does there. The absence of data is not the absence of effect — it means the question has not been asked, and this is the ordinary state of the evidence for most aquarium species that have established somewhere warm.

USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database · Species Profile — Means of Introduction; Species Profile — Impact of Introduction · read 2026-08-29. A United States database: the routes and effects recorded here are the ones documented there, and say nothing about other regions.

Europe — Italy from 2014, also the United Kingdom

Recorded, not established

Other intentional release and — implausibly — horticulture. Two European records for a fish that reaches over a metre. The horticulture pathway is another aggregation artefact and is left visible rather than tidied away.

Deliberate stockingSomebody put the species into open water on purpose, for food, angling, ornament or mosquito control — frequently a government agency, and frequently before anyone considered the consequences.

What has been established

Predation on native speciesInferred from the animal's biologyRated HIGH against animal health and MEDIUM against fisheries. Nothing has been measured in Europe; the rating reasons from what the animal is, which is a large obligate piscivore.

A fish sold at 10 cm that reaches over a metre, and one of the few aquarium species where the size at maturity is itself the environmental argument.

EASIN — European Alien Species Information Network · EASIN catalogue record R19540 (apixg/catxg) · read 2026-08-30. A European network: the routes and effects recorded here are the ones documented in Europe. EASIN compiles national inventories, DAISIE and CABI rather than measuring, and its pathway assignments carry its own uncertainty flags, which are reported above where it sets them.

What AquariumHQ has recorded, by jurisdiction, with the instrument each entry comes from and how far the check went. Ecological risk and legal status are separate: a species can be ecologically risky and legally unrestricted, or restricted where it could never establish.

US

Prohibitedimport

The listing covers any live fish or viable eggs of the genera Channa and Parachanna of the family Channidae, and then names species individually 'including but not limited to' that list. Channa micropeltes is among the species named. Importation, transportation and acquisition are prohibited.

Instrument: 50 CFR § 16.13(a)(2)(iv), injurious wildlife listing under 18 U.S.C. 42

The genus-level framing is what makes this listing so wide, and the species list that follows it is explicitly non-exhaustive. A dwarf snakehead nobody has heard of is inside the prohibition just as squarely as this one.

Checked against the instrument · last checked 2026-08-29 · An editor has read the current text of the named instrument and confirmed this species' entry on the date shown.

EU

Not verified by AquariumHQpossession

The consolidated Union list was read in full on 2026-08-29. The only snakehead it contains is Channa argus, the northern snakehead, added by the 2022 amendment. Channa micropeltes is not listed, and no restriction was identified in that instrument. That is not a finding that keeping it is lawful in the EU: member states legislate separately and have not been checked here.

Instrument: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1141 (consolidated text 02016R1141-20220802)

The contrast with the United States is instructive. The US lists the whole family; the EU lists one temperate species that could survive a European winter. Both are defensible and they produce opposite answers for a tropical snakehead.

Checked against the instrument · last checked 2026-08-29 · An editor has read the current text of the named instrument and confirmed this species' entry on the date shown.

GB

Prohibitedrelease

Release or escape of any non-native animal is an offence. A snakehead is among the aquarium animals best equipped to survive the attempt, because it breathes air and can move overland.

Instrument: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 14

Instrument recorded, species entry not re-checked · last checked 2026-08-11 · AquariumHQ has recorded the instrument and what it does, but has not re-confirmed this species' entry against the current consolidated text. Listings are amended, so treat this as a pointer to the right law rather than as a confirmation of the current position, and check with the authority before acting.

Never release aquarium life into the wild

Aquarium animals, plants, and aquarium water must never be released into ponds, rivers, canals, drains or the sea — not even in a country where the species is sold freely. Released fish and invertebrates establish populations that displace native species, and released plants and water carry pathogens, parasites and fragments capable of spreading without any animal at all. If you can no longer keep an animal, rehome it through an aquarium society, a retailer that accepts returns, or another keeper.

Rehome through a local aquarium society, a specialist retailer or another keeper.
Unwanted plants go in household waste or a hot compost heap, never in a watercourse or a garden pond.
Never empty a bucket of tank water into a drain that discharges to open water.
If an animal is beyond rehoming, ask an aquatic veterinarian about humane euthanasia rather than releasing it.

Legal status is recorded from the sources named and was correct on the verification date shown. Rules change, and sub-national rules often differ from national ones. Check the current position with the relevant authority before acquiring, selling or moving any animal or plant.

Evidence

Every stored value with the kind of support behind it and where to check it. Evidence type and confidence are separate axes: an editorial position held confidently and a measurement held tentatively are different things.

Claim	Value	Evidence type	Confidence	Source
scientific name	Channa micropeltes	Observed / measured	high confidence	Catalogue of Life; GBIF — Global Biodiversity Information Facility
native range	South-East Asia — the Mekong, Chao Phraya and Sundaic river systems	Observed / measured	moderate confidence	GBIF — Global Biodiversity Information Facility
adult size	80–130 cm	Aquarium-literature consensus	moderate confidence	AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis
lifespan	10–15 years	Aquarium-literature consensus	moderate confidence	AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis
temperature	22–30 °C	Aquarium-literature consensus	moderate confidence	AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis
ph	6–7.8 pH	Aquarium-literature consensus	moderate confidence	AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis
general hardness	3–18 °dGH	Aquarium-literature consensus	moderate confidence	AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis
minimum tank volume	≥ 8000 L	AquariumHQ editorial position	moderate confidence	AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis
minimum tank length	≥ 460 cm	AquariumHQ editorial position	moderate confidence	AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis

Last reviewed 2026-08-10. Values labelled as an aquarium-literature consensus are AquariumHQ editorial positions rather than measurements — see how evidence is handled.

Why we say this

What each figure on this page rests on, and how far that is from being independently established.

Every figure on this page has a provenance. Open any claim to see what AquariumHQ holds for it, which sources say what, and what a claim of that kind actually needs. Different claims need different evidence: an accepted scientific name is settled by one authority, while a legal restriction needs a current primary instrument. A single source is often the right answer rather than a thin one.

scientific nameAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableBased on a verified authoritative source.

AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.

What this kind of claim needs: accepted scientific name and classification — 1 authoritative source in an appropriate context. Checked against gbif on 2026-08-29. One authoritative backbone is what this class requires.

What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.

native rangeAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableBased on a verified authoritative source.

AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.

What this kind of claim needs: where the species occurs — 1 authoritative source in an appropriate context. 9 distribution statements held from GBIF checklists — introduced in 6 country. Establishment means is reproduced from the source, never inferred from occurrence.

What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.

adult sizeOne sourceAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.1 citation, 1 independent origin

A single source: Roberts 1989.

100 cm — USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database · Maximum recorded · Observed in the wild · checked 2026-08-29

What this kind of claim needs: size a well-kept specimen reaches — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. A documented maximum is held and the catalogue's typical adult range is stated separately, with the relationship between them recorded rather than collapsed. The catalogue's typical adult range already reaches the largest recorded specimen.

What would improve this: Corroborate against a second, independent source.

lifespanAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.

AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.

What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.

What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.

temperatureAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.

AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.

What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.

phAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.

AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.

What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.

general hardnessAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.

AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.

What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.

minimum tank volumeAquariumHQ's judgement — no authority publishes thisAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.

No external authority publishes this. The rationale carries the reasoning.

What this kind of claim needs: minimum tank size — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No authority publishes this. AquariumHQ derives it, and the derivation is recorded with its inputs and assumptions.

What would improve this: Keep the rationale current. There is no source to find.

minimum tank lengthAquariumHQ's judgement — no authority publishes thisAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.

No external authority publishes this. The rationale carries the reasoning.

What would improve this: Keep the rationale current. There is no source to find.

Guides relevant to this species

Chosen from this record's own traits rather than listed on every page.

Predator and prey sizeIt takes fish that fit in its mouth, and its mouth grows with it.
Territorial behaviourIt defends ground, and the shape of what it defends decides the tank more than the volume does.
Native, introduced and invasiveThis record carries an invasive or legal note, and those are five separate claims that are easy to read as one.
Wild conditions and aquarium recommendationsThe water band on this page is an AquariumHQ position with a stated reason, not a measurement of a river.
How aquarium species get into the wildThis species has a documented introduction outside its native range, with the route recorded.
Rehoming an animal you can no longer keepThis animal reaches 130 cm. Most of the difficult rehoming cases are fish sold small that were always going to become impossible.
What a legal restriction on a species actually meansAquariumHQ holds a structured legal status for this species, and possession, sale, import and release are four separate questions.

Giant snakehead

Quick profile

What keeping this species involves

Identity and names

Adult size and growth

Water and tank requirements

Where these figures come from

Group size and social behaviour

Behaviour

Telling males from females

Feeding

Breeding

Tankmates and compatibility

Welfare considerations

Problems to watch for

Where it comes from

What the checklists say

Legal status and responsible practice

Where this species has been introduced, and what followed

Florida

What has been established

Europe — Italy from 2014, also the United Kingdom

What has been established

US

EU

GB

Evidence

Why we say this

Guides relevant to this species