One of the smallest and most colorful species of snakehead has been described recently. Since about 12 years this fish is in the trade under the name of Channa sp. “Blue bleheri”. This mouthbrooding species becomes sexually mature at a length of about 8 cm. In the wild, they hardly ever become larger than 10 cm. Under aquarium conditions they may become exceptionally about 15 cm long.
This species is known so far only from a swamp area in the north of India (West-Bengal / Assam). It can be easily distinguished from most species of snakehead by the lack of ventral fins. The most similar species is Channa bleheri. However, C. bleheri has always large orange-red spots in the caudal fin, which are always missing in the caudal fin of C. andrao.
Females stay smaller and have more red coloration on the body. Thus Channa andrao is one of the few species of snakehead in which the sexes can be easily distinguished.
For our customers: the fish have code 409073 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Lexicon: Channa: ancient Greek, means “snapper”, probably referring to the airbreathing. andrao: dedication name for the Indian ornamental fish exporter Andrew Rao. bleheri: dedication name for Heiko Bleher.
Common name: Blue Rainbow Snakehead
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
| Angaben zum Tier | |
|---|---|
| Herkunft | Indien / India |
| Verfügbare Größe in cm | 6-8 |
