May 10, 2008

Snake head fish photo

Snake head fish has been called with names such as Evil Snakehead, voracious fish, nightmarish creatures, predacious, awful and dreadful fish.

A snakehead fish is a large, predatory freshwater fish native to Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other parts of Asia. There are 28 varieties of snakehead fish. The snakehead is imported to the U.S. as a food fish and also for the aquarium trade where many thousands are sold every year as pets.

The snakehead fish is unique in several ways from most other fish. Similar in body-type to a muscular eel, some varieties can grow to 4 feet (1.2m) in length. The snakehead has a flat snake-like head and toothed maw, hence it's name. What makes the snakehead so unique, however, is its voracious appetite and its ability to breathe air. In fact the snakehead can travel short distances across land and live for up to three days out of water! It will eat fish equal in size to itself and will consume small mammals as well. There are even reports in Asia of snakeheads attacking and killing humans.



Snake head fish


Snake head fish, full body shot

The northern snakehead is extremely adaptable to various climates including cold waters, and like all snakeheads, breeds easily. Adaptability, carnivorous appetitive, lack of natural enemies and ability to transverse land, makes the northern snakehead a real threat to U.S. waterways and indigenous species of fish and amphibians. Tropical and subtropical breeds of snakeheads can pose an additional threat to warmer waterways like those in Florida and Hawaii.

Photos taken at Sarawak Museum Aquarium

Related posts:
* Tropical Transparent Fish - Glass Fish - X-Ray Fish

5 comments:

Unknown January 6, 2009 at 5:32 AM  

Hi, i was just wondering... what is the type of snakehead pictured in this article.

Anonymous April 27, 2009 at 10:03 PM  

Why in the hell would you have a snake head fish?

Unknown April 28, 2009 at 11:23 PM  

After much research, i have found out that it's an emperor snakehead.

I would have one because they make awesome pets.

RWS April 29, 2009 at 9:37 AM  

Thanks for pointer Kevin.

It also look like a Channa marulius or a Channa gachua

Unknown November 22, 2009 at 12:09 AM  

I have 32 snake heads living together in a pond in my garden In Udon Thani

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