Channa thread #2

[Occellatus]

Love these new species of fishes that are landing on our shores.

Almost got one today. I think i will go get one tom.

[mictok]

Buy a few and comm to get a pair out of it

[_kai_]

Originally Posted by amiidae

Care to elaborate ?

Fist off, I apologise if i jumped to conclusions, just a bit excited.

Anyway, here's my reason I think it's a Channa argus, hope it's worth something .

So, this platinum snakehead is brought in from China. As far as i know, there are only 4 species, Channa argus, Channa asiatica, Channa maculata and Channa striata. I have noted down all the ray count for the dorsal, anal and caudal fin as well as the lateral line scales of these 4 species.

Channa argus
Dorsal fin: 47-50
Anal fin: 31-36
Caudal fin: 16
Lateral line scales: 60-67

Channa striata
Dorsal fin: 41
Anal fin: 26
Caudal fin: 15
Lateral line scales: 54

Channa Asiatica
Dorsal fin: 41-47
Anal fin: 28-32
Caudal fin: 13
Lateral line scales: 55-63

Channa maculata
Dorsal fin: 40-46
Anal fin: 26-30
Caudal fin: 13
Lateral line scales: 41-60

Platinum snakehead
Dorsal fin: 47
Anal fin: 30
Caudal fin: 17
Lateral line scales: 60

Pics of my own platinum.
caudal fin

Lateral line scales

Dorsal and anal fin


So the closest match for the ray and scale count would be argus and maculata. Another reason I removed striata from the list is because of Channa striata's head shape as well as the scales on its face.

Channa striata
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...9_0221_rwg.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/...998d415368.jpg
Channa argus
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...na_argus_2.jpg
The size difference in the scales are quite obvious. And here's the platinum snakehead.

Platinum snakehead by Aristoheliam, on Flickr
The platinum snakehead scales on its face are also very small, similar to Channa argus.
Lastly, another reason why i think its an argus is the body shape.
Channa argus
http://www.mentalfloss.com/sites/def...Snakehead.jpeg
Channa striata
http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/bjCNvjLpRe4/hqdefault.jpg
http://www.jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/w...a_striata2.jpg
Platinum Channa body shape

Channa argus 'platinum' by Aristoheliam, on Flickr

Body shape is slender, even up till adulthood, unlike C striata where it is bulky and broader. I know its not the best comparison as its still a juvie(maybe?). I think it matches C argus if it is truly a species from China, otherwise, it may be a new species/hybrid. That's all I got, hope it clears things up .

*So sorry for all the links, i didnt want to steal the images .

[gavin]

Originally Posted by mictok

Seems to be a big batch as most popular LFS carries it,too bad no tank for me to get it.

It is very aggressive. Usually cannot keep more than 1 in tank.
I keep with my tigers and catfish and gar..
so far so good...
great eater.. feeding on MP

[mictok]

Originally Posted by gavin

It is very aggressive. Usually cannot keep more than 1 in tank.
I keep with my tigers and catfish and gar..
so far so good...
great eater.. feeding on MP

I tried 4pcs of albino,manage to get a pair but war world 3 ,lost one n badly injured the other.

[gavin]

Even mine also got bad injury in the tank before I got him.
Now it is healing well under my care....

[amiidae]

Originally Posted by _kai_

Anyway, here's my reason I think it's a Channa argus, hope it's worth something .

So, this platinum snakehead is brought in from China. As far as i know, there are only 4 species, Channa argus, Channa asiatica, Channa maculata and Channa striata. I have noted down all the ray count for the dorsal, anal and caudal fin as well as the lateral line scales of these 4 species.

a) Where did you get the info that China is the origin ?
b) So you are saying this is just a color morph of a C. argus ?

[_kai_]

Originally Posted by amiidae

a) Where did you get the info that China is the origin ?
b) So you are saying this is just a color morph of a C. argus ?

Seems thats there's my mistake. I assumed it was originated from China since it was brought in from there. I'm probably wrong after all, sorry to have brought that up.

[amiidae]

Originally Posted by _kai_

Seems thats there's my mistake. I assumed it was originated from China since it was brought in from there. I'm probably wrong after all, sorry to have brought that up.

No apologize needed.

I just want to compare info. why do you think your info may be is wrong ?

btw, where did you get the info that these Channa are imported China ?

Originally Posted by amiidae

No apologize needed.

I just want to compare info. why do you think your info may be is wrong ?

btw, where did you get the info that these Channa are imported China ?

I believe that is generally what the LFS are telling us now. From my LFS, I was also told imported from China, I believe the source is the same for all LFS for this batch. There are a lot of them too.