My cobra snakehead has stopped eating

[Chrislisk]

My Channa seems back to normal now and eating really well and active again. On the subject of water temp I also have the Brahmaputra river Assam area temps and today was like 28. I’ve kept her heater set to 19 at the moment and was planning on letting it rise up to whatever our summer days get to which for some will be around 26 ish. I took this Channa of a lady that needed her gone (husband left and was his tank and she sold it) but he/she had her in the lounge with no heater so I’m guessing also didn’t follow any real changes in temps as her lounge I doubt ever went below 20.

since reading the last few comments I have increased the heater to 21 and will gradually inchrease to mid summer (July) around 26 then step it back down through August and then back end of year set it back to 16 so it doesn’t go below. UK weather means I don’t need a chiller but do need to stop her freezing as she is in my garage as I’ve said. My question is does this sound a good plan?

secondly water changes! As now I’ve seen my Channa come back to like after this 15-20% change should I do this for a while longer through summer then stop? Or just leave her be again for a few months?
Want to do the best for her and it seems there’s some really clued up Channa people giving advice. ?

 

[jjohnwm]

I have essentially zero experience with any Channa, but I am and have always been a firm believer in clean water and copious water changes...so I just have to ask: do these Channa breeders truly believe that the fish actually prefer water that is never changed...or do they simply take advantage of the fact that Channa are tough, resilient fish that can survive in conditions that would be toxic to most other species?

Hearing the comment by B BobsBitchyBottom when she says "I'm intrigued by the monthly water changes! Haven't heard anybody do that." leaves me flabbergasted!

I can't help but think that all those Channa living in ammonia-laden water in swamps and backwaters would go elsewhere if they had a chance and a choice. But there are plenty of examples of "extremophiles" that survive handily in conditions that would normally be considered unlivable...so why not these? I'd love to hear some comments on this topic.

 

[Ca5566]

I have essentially zero experience with any Channa, but I am and have always been a firm believer in clean water and copious water changes...so I just have to ask: do these Channa breeders truly believe that the fish actually prefer water that is never changed...or do they simply take advantage of the fact that Channa are tough, resilient fish that can survive in conditions that would be toxic to most other species?

Hearing the comment by B BobsBitchyBottom when she says "I'm intrigued by the monthly water changes! Haven't heard anybody do that." leaves me flabbergasted!

I can't help but think that all those Channa living in ammonia-laden water in swamps and backwaters would go elsewhere if they had a chance and a choice. But there are plenty of examples of "extremophiles" that survive handily in conditions that would normally be considered unlivable...so why not these? I'd love to hear some comments on this topic.

I believe in most fish preferring clean water, but not snakeheads, as they seemed to have evolved to survived in conditions that is uninhabitable for most fishes, because if they evolved that way, and then us humans anthropomorphize them, thats actually going against nature and i personally try to avoid going against what nature intended, Another reason for totally no filter would be for some snakeheads having super high flow filter you can actually see them being stressed and displaying signs of sickness. Or having poor development of wild physical attributes like the marulioides "flowers" example below, wild caught marulioides have these patterns on them and someone tested and recorded in a marulioides blog that keeping a marulioides in high flow tank causes these to not develop properly which is again would be against what occurs in nature.

 

[Ca5566]

My Channa seems back to normal now and eating really well and active again. On the subject of water temp I also have the Brahmaputra river Assam area temps and today was like 28. I’ve kept her heater set to 19 at the moment and was planning on letting it rise up to whatever our summer days get to which for some will be around 26 ish. I took this Channa of a lady that needed her gone (husband left and was his tank and she sold it) but he/she had her in the lounge with no heater so I’m guessing also didn’t follow any real changes in temps as her lounge I doubt ever went below 20.

since reading the last few comments I have increased the heater to 21 and will gradually inchrease to mid summer (July) around 26 then step it back down through August and then back end of year set it back to 16 so it doesn’t go below. UK weather means I don’t need a chiller but do need to stop her freezing as she is in my garage as I’ve said. My question is does this sound a good plan?

secondly water changes! As now I’ve seen my Channa come back to like after this 15-20% change should I do this for a while longer through summer then stop? Or just leave her be again for a few months?
Want to do the best for her and it seems there’s some really clued up Channa people giving advice. ?

What i personally think is if your auranti is doing fine keep it in such condition until its time for your own water change schedule. Since your fish could have possibly gotten used to your schedule. I like to believe less is more in fish keeping, if the fish tank and fish is fine i try to leave it alone. Instead of doing extra stuffs and being over enthusiastic then causing unintended problems to the tank and fish ?

What i suggested was merely the wild conditions they have and i try my best to replicate it for them and so far its been working great for me ? have not lost a single channa except the one that came sick to me and i did not have enough experience to notice its sick

 

[Ca5566]

What i personally think is if your auranti is doing fine keep it in such condition until its time for your own water change schedule. Since your fish could have possibly gotten used to your schedule. I like to believe less is more in fish keeping, if the fish tank and fish is fine i try to leave it alone. Instead of doing extra stuffs and being over enthusiastic then causing unintended problems to the tank and fish ?

What i suggested was merely the wild conditions they have and i try my best to replicate it for them and so far its been working great for me ? have not lost a single channa except the one that came sick to me and i did not have enough experience to notice its sick

And yes regarding your temps its great you do not need chillers saves you lots of hassle. So using the brahmaputra river basin as your reference for temperature would be a good way to find out what your auranti likes(there are people that do keep them in constant 25 to 27 degree temps all year) what you were doing before obviously works as your fish is not sick and looks very healthy ? i think your temperature ranges is more similar to their natural habitat compared to mine so it saves you the hassle of constantly adjusting the temps if you decide to do seasonal temps.

Water changes you can do it as you see fit as snakeheads while preferring aged water, they also do just fine in clean-ish water. 15 to 20% would not hurt them even if done on weekly basis ? every fish is unique because every fish keeper has their own ways in keeping their fish as long as its not detrimental to the fish ? we can advice you based on what we do with ours, but most importantly its for your own enjoyment in the hobby no need to make it a chore if what others do and say might make your fish keeping life a hassle ?

 

[jjohnwm]

I believe in most fish preferring clean water, but not snakeheads, as they seemed to have evolved to survived in conditions that is uninhabitable for most fishes, because if they evolved that way, and then us humans anthropomorphize them, thats actually going against nature and i personally try to avoid going against what nature intended, Another reason for totally no filter would be for some snakeheads having super high flow filter you can actually see them being stressed and displaying signs of sickness. Or having poor development of wild physical attributes like the marulioides "flowers" example below, wild caught marulioides have these patterns on them and someone tested and recorded in a marulioides blog that keeping a marulioides in high flow tank causes these to not develop properly which is again would be against what occurs in nature

What I am suggesting or questioning here is absolutely not anthropomorphism; I am not in any way, shape or form attributing human thoughts or motivations to these fish. I am simply pointing out the difference between being adapted by nature to tolerate conditions which we normally consider toxic, and actually being so far evolved in that direction that those conditions become the animal's preferred habitat. Your stance seems to be that these high-ammonia water parameters are in fact a better environment for the fish than the sort of "clean" conditions for which most of us strive, and that by providing what are normally considered to be "better" conditions, i.e. by changing water, we are actually having a negative impact on the health of the fish.

Okay, so snakeheads are able to live in this environment that would be toxic to most fish; but they are also found in other areas that are inhabited by numerous other species as well. By your logic, those snakeheads are actually suffering stress by living in that "clean" water, and are merely tolerating it, as opposed to other specimens in poorer water. Does that truly sound reasonable to you? Or are Channa breeders simply capitalizing on the species' extreme hardiness, believing that the extra work demanded by water changes does not pay sufficient dividends to make it worthwhile?

Again, I am not trying to be argumentative, and freely admit that I have next to no experience with Channa. Just trying to make some sense of this, since it flies so hard in the fact of common wisdom.

Edited to add: okay, just saw your last post, so I see that you aren't against "clean" water per se, just not sold on the benefit or need for water changes. Sorry if I misunderstood you originally.

 

[Ca5566]

What I am suggesting or questioning here is absolutely not anthropomorphism; I am not in any way, shape or form attributing human thoughts or motivations to these fish. I am simply pointing out the difference between being adapted by nature to tolerate conditions which we normally consider toxic, and actually being so far evolved in that direction that those conditions become the animal's preferred habitat. Your stance seems to be that these high-ammonia water parameters are in fact a better environment for the fish than the sort of "clean" conditions for which most of us strive, and that by providing what are normally considered to be "better" conditions, i.e. by changing water, we are actually having a negative impact on the health of the fish.

Okay, so snakeheads are able to live in this environment that would be toxic to most fish; but they are also found in other areas that are inhabited by numerous other species as well. By your logic, those snakeheads are actually suffering stress by living in that "clean" water, and are merely tolerating it, as opposed to other specimens in poorer water. Does that truly sound reasonable to you? Or are Channa breeders simply capitalizing on the species' extreme hardiness, believing that the extra work demanded by water changes does not pay sufficient dividends to make it worthwhile?

Again, I am not trying to be argumentative, and freely admit that I have next to no experience with Channa. Just trying to make some sense of this, since it flies so hard in the fact of common wisdom.

Edited to add: okay, just saw your last post, so I see that you aren't against "clean" water per se, just not sold on the benefit or need for water changes. Sorry if I misunderstood you originally.

Yep, i keep my gars, fire eel, rainbow wolf, bichir and lima cat tanks in weekly 30 to 40% changed water. I love clean water for them, but just not snakeheads as logically thinking, and i only mentioned most snakeheads preferring swamp conditions because in their country of origin, they are originally found and bred there in those conditions that you seemed so against which is nature...there are chances that there are snakeheads that likes and will only breed in pure 100% ammonia free waters since breeders all over the world are trying to breed whatever species of snakehead they could get their hands on.

I am not sold in the clean water for all snakeheads because the snakeheads i am keeping right now (marulioides and auranti) they get stressed whenever i change water for the past 6 months by changing their camouflage into a dull and pale color where i can barely see any colors and hiding behind plants or driftwood that is a sign they are uncomfortable or scared. And that lasts for atleast 2 hours.

And no, they are not afraid of the siphons or pumps because they would gladly mistake it for food and try to bite it whenever it goes in the tank..

 

[Ca5566]

Yep, i keep my gars, fire eel, rainbow wolf, bichir and lima cat tanks in weekly 30 to 40% changed water. I love clean water for them, but just not snakeheads as logically thinking, and i only mentioned most snakeheads preferring swamp conditions because in their country of origin, they are originally found and bred there in those conditions that you seemed so against which is nature...there are chances that there are snakeheads that likes and will only breed in pure 100% ammonia free waters since breeders all over the world are trying to breed whatever species of snakehead they could get their hands on.

I am not sold in the clean water for all snakeheads because the snakeheads i am keeping right now (marulioides and auranti) they get stressed whenever i change water for the past 6 months by changing their camouflage into a dull and pale color where i can barely see any colors and hiding behind plants or driftwood that is a sign they are uncomfortable or scared. And that lasts for atleast 2 hours.

And no, they are not afraid of the siphons or pumps because they would gladly mistake it for food and try to bite it whenever it goes in the tank..

And to add on to one final point, i don't think i said anything about being kept in 100% clean waters is bad.. other than the fact that they do not like it like mine when i do water change.. The thing that i pointed out was they prefer the swamp conditions because thats where they are originally found and have bred.. so i have no idea what makes you think that swamp dwelling snakeheads should have the swamp living condition taken away and then replaced with clean water keeping conditions when they do not originate from clean waters just because most other fish likes and survives in clean water..

 

[Chrislisk]

I keep hearing about these snakeheads being kept in high ammonia levels. Guys so you know this is the first time for water change in what nearly 6 months. I test my tank regularly and I’ve never had ammonia or nitrites just the nitrates that rise slowly but then my tank is heavily planted.

 

[Ca5566]

I keep hearing about these snakeheads being kept in high ammonia levels. Guys so you know this is the first time for water change in what nearly 6 months. I test my tank regularly and I’ve never had ammonia or nitrites just the nitrates that rise slowly but then my tank is heavily planted.

Yeah when i was reading about aquarium plants quite a few article said that plants prefer ammonia over nitrite and nitrates, so its good to always maintain a planted tank and if possible like what you got, its a really nice set up which bears resemblance to their wild habitat. I plan to do my auranti's adult tank heavily planted like yours too ? wonder if you use any form of fertiliser, root tabs or co2 for such well grown plant density?