My channas

Miguel

Ole Dawg
MFK Member
Dec 28, 2006
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Very much south..
Beautyfull as always, Auranti. And yep, Pulchra is special.
 

-DC-

Polypterus
MFK Member
Sep 3, 2009
1,606
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Canada
Very nice !

Pulchra was the first snakehead species i saw and got me hooked. I have never owned them (YET)

A local shop had 3 very large wild caught ones largest pulchra i've ever seen. Was 2 females 1 male, live together and both females produced fry several times while living in the tank together. Tank was loaded with terracotta pipes and plants but knowing what i know now i'm amazed that the one male had 2 females and nobody got killed.
 

Auranti

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 7, 2013
228
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singapore
Beautyfull as always, Auranti. And yep, Pulchra is special.
Thank you Miguel :). They are special indeed!

Very nice !

Pulchra was the first snakehead species i saw and got me hooked. I have never owned them (YET)

A local shop had 3 very large wild caught ones largest pulchra i've ever seen. Was 2 females 1 male, live together and both females produced fry several times while living in the tank together. Tank was loaded with terracotta pipes and plants but knowing what i know now i'm amazed that the one male had 2 females and nobody got killed.
Thank you :).

This was also one of the species that made me stick to channas all the way. It was either a pulchra or a pic of a fire and ice on the web.

Does that local shop still carry the trio? Sounds amazing! A male with 2 females! Sounds like he knows what he's doing hahaha :D.

Do you ever plan to keep these guys?
 

-DC-

Polypterus
MFK Member
Sep 3, 2009
1,606
111
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Canada
Does that local shop still carry the trio? Sounds amazing! A male with 2 females! Sounds like he knows what he's doing hahaha :D.

Do you ever plan to keep these guys?
No, they died after breeding for him a couple times, as did many fish under his care at one point... Shop has since closed. I did knw of a couple people who had fry from the pair that raised up to nice adults, but the last of them that i'm aware of went belly up last year on it's owner.

and yes, I fully intend to buy some on the first opportunity i get !
 

Auranti

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 7, 2013
228
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singapore
No, they died after breeding for him a couple times, as did many fish under his care at one point... Shop has since closed. I did knw of a couple people who had fry from the pair that raised up to nice adults, but the last of them that i'm aware of went belly up last year on it's owner.

and yes, I fully intend to buy some on the first opportunity i get !
Oh that's a pity, at least they bred a few times before dying off.

Great! Are they quite common from where you are?
 

-DC-

Polypterus
MFK Member
Sep 3, 2009
1,606
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Canada
Oh that's a pity, at least they bred a few times before dying off.

Great! Are they quite common from where you are?
No not at all, have not seen them other then that time years back, Actually i haven't seen any species of snakehead in a shop since then and that would have been 5-6 years ago. Here on the east coast of canada even most "common fish" are few and far between. The hobby is VERY small here , I cannot everjust go to a shop and buy a fish they have, EVERYTHING has had be a individual order and shipped in. On the bright side there are no impulse buys for me lol since nothing is easy to find and it get's pricey to get anything between minimal orders and shipping charges!

The few shops that are around carry the standard African Mbuna , piranhas and cheap community fish. One shop recently opened, he orders his own fish in from Europe and although he specializes in community/planted tanks he will let me order 1/4 box lots on his shipment, as long as I take them all right out of the box he'll bring me in whatever I'd like,it helps with availability but it's still not cheap.
 

Auranti

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 7, 2013
228
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0
singapore
Oh i didnt realise that they were so rare in your area. Does this apply to to other parts of Canada?

Well at least you can order what fish you want from that new store. I wouldnt mind paying for Channas as long as the prices are not extreme. Over here is different, i asked the shop to bring in a particular species for me but he won't do it unless i have a group of interested people, as he will only bring in one shipment, which is around 50 - 60 pcs haha!
 

-DC-

Polypterus
MFK Member
Sep 3, 2009
1,606
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Canada
Sounds similar to the shop who helps me, except he can do 1/4 box. Unfortunately getting a group together here isn't likely just arn't buyers, occasionally i'll have someone contact me because they want some snakeheads, and i'll jump at the chance to split a group as long as it's a species i dont already have. but 90% of the time i go through the effort of finding the fish setting up shipment etc and then they back out last minute and i end up with the full order.

They are pretty rare in most of Canada, but especially rare on the east coast, there just isn't enough population/demand for any sort of exotics to make it this way.

With snake heads it's worse because many suppliers ship through the US where snake heads are illegal, on top of that within Canada they have ban's in Ontario , Quebec, and now BC (although they dont seem to be enforcing it in BC YET). These 3 provinces hold some of the most heavily populated urban hubs of the country so many Canadian distributors are located in these provinces and many imports from other countries have to pass these provinces to clear costumes along the way (like all shipments from India for example , which effectively ended my chance at some decent priced barca lol)!

So really for snakeheads in canada that all are coming in on the west coast of the country unless i've ordered them lol. When they do pop up out west they get snatched up quickly. I have a feeling BC will crack down hard and soon as laws are in place but not enforced and shops still sell them. I doubt they'll bother hobbyists but all it's going to take is one bad news scare/hype again and I'm sure the Gov will take that next step and crack down hard on the shops who have them at the time to make a point. Just like they did in other provinces.
 
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