New Channa keeper with noob questions

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ChannaForever

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2012
5
0
0
Singapore
Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum, so please bear with my noob questions :P
First of all i recently purchase a channa striata from a local market in Singapore. The fish monger was keeping him in a small bucket with about 10 other channas. Currently hes not eating and seems injured at his lower lip, theres a small bump just under his lower jaw ill try to post a picture of the bump, but i suspect it was the lip grip the fish monger told me the fisherman used. I am keeping him in a temporary 2ft tank its been 2 days and the only this he ate was a algea eater i had in his tank, although i never actually saw hin eat, i assume he did as he was the only other fish in the tank.
Any advice on how i can get him to settle down and start feeding? He turns pale occasionally when i turn on the tank light, is this natural?
I heard blackwater extract helps?
Lastly what kind of foods do they prefer? I'm feeding feeder bullfrogs and frozen shrimp, he looked at the shrimp on the first day but did not take it.
Thanks in advance.
 
Hi

Turning pale is natural especially with the light on and the fish stressed a bit. Give it time to recover from the wounds he has and once he starts feeling at home he will feed voraciously as striata usually do, not a worry to starve them for a bit.
 
He turns dark brown whenever the lights are off, i'm guessing the light stresses him out as he also tends to jump when i turn the light on. Also, I'm worried he might starve to death as the place i got him from sells them as food fish, so i doubt they have even been fed before. And fron what i know he was caught a week ago by fishermen, which means he hasn't for more than a week.
 
Hi,

it takes several months for a channa to starve to death, so no worry !
Wildcaught fish often are stressed by artificial lighting, you can help the fish to feel secre when you darken the light by using floating plants, and give the channa lots of hiding places, the more the better. If the fish feels secure it will be outside the hidings most time, knowing that he can flee in there all the time. When you have too less hiding places, the fish is always stressed and in search for a secure place.

Please show a pic of the tank.

Cheers
 
Hi,
i'll try to post a pic of the tank soon
I would say the tank is pretty plain all i have in there is the fish, some floating plants and some gravel. Other than that i have not been able to buy any other hiding spots and stuff as my lfs have are all closed due to the lunar new year celebrations.
 
Hi,

an empty tank, thats what I supposed. Go out in the woods, collect some dead dry wood and put it in the tank, u do not need to buy some plastic stuff from shops.

Cheers
 
Hi there, today i transfered the channa to my 50 gallon outdoor tub pond setup( water feature), the surface is mostly covered by floating plants. Just minutes after i transfered him in, i witnessed him eat a guppy. I'm not sure why but he also seems have became much more skittish, he darts whenever i am near the the tub. Also people have been telling me channa striatus tend to prefer eating frogs, is this true? If so will he be able to be coaxed onto eating frozen shrimp?
Thank in advance :)
 
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