DevonC

I'd be careful of bichirs , I find silver colored fish trigger their feeding response . I havent tried piranha with them but I know balas, silver dollars and tinfoil barbs were all quickly hunted down in with me my bichirs . Even my attempts with larger 6"+. ones that were too large to swallow were an epic fail, although I did get to whiteness the bichirs doing the crocodile style death roll for the first time as they ripped them into peices that could be swallowed!! I would worry any bichir large enough not to be seen as food for the piranha would be large enough to take it down.

Not sure about sources for channa in sask, if anyone comes across any please let me know!! As for my sources I mentioned earlier in the thread they all came from different sources some local some shipped in from out west before bans started to cause problems but none of them sell channa any more.

Next up channa gachua !

Just a few more pleuro shots , Belive it or not this is the same two fish a second later , liturally snapped 2 pics in a row and the green one turned blue as he spun around to face me that's how fast these guys change color!

they all were brought in through diffrent shops some local some out west before bans took hold . None of which can get them any more . There is no easy way to get channa between the bans and their seasonal availability it's more like a constant search for new species and I jump on them when I can! I have debated importing some myself a couple times but between hitting the minimum orders , shipping expenses from overseas and the potential for doa's you have to worry about with any freshly imported wild caught fish it typically works out too be too expensive to be worth while . I do have a couple contacts left that I know could get new species for me by piggybacking on their imports but they are some of the more pricey suppliers and with the low canadian dollar im not in a rush to jump into it. I might this spring of next fall though when the season rolls around for some of the species I want.

Thanks & you are correct , there are bans on all channa In Ontario, Quebec, BC and alberta . I do have 5 bleheri in My collection as well though so I'll show them off next lol Hopefully the dominate pair will breed this spring Those are pics from last year , ill try to get new ones this week as they group is quite split some are very dark blues , but a couple devoloped to look like what is now being traded as blerhi sp. "chocolate" or "flame fin". Basically a higher red bleheri with thick red trim on the fins.

Yes I do have a breeding pair of Aurantimaculata. They are still doing well . They breed annually in the spring . They are also subtropical, from north eastern India and require the winter cool downs. Hard to beat a nice Aurantimaculata beautiful colors and top out around 16" . They are territorial and aggressive toward other fish but have good attitudes around people. I've had ones hand feeding in the past I can clean there tanks easily without worry of attacks. That is unless fry are involved , they are incredible parents and become hyper agressive when they have fry to defend. The male is actually holding a fresh batch of eggs in this pic A freshly hatched fry, less then a week old in this pic. The male keeps them at the surface and quickly gathers them up if you approach . Some of my CB Juvies :

How is this guy doing a year later?

Thanks ! Here's another . Channa Asiatica ! She's my oldest snakehead , the one that started my addiction to channa. She's a big solo female 6+ years old now , unfortunately she brutally killed her male on the first breeding attempts. This ones a subtropical species out of china , they require the colder end of the subtropical temp range & is most active during winter in colder weather. They max out around 14". This species is by far the most territorial agressive fish I've ever seen. By 3" long she had no fear of attacking my hands and was killing fish 3-4x larger then herself, she even attacks new decore if you add anything to the tank . Also the only fish I've seen that regularly bounces off the lid trying to attack my cats or people if you linger in front of her tank for too long !

Thanks, the species is a fully tropical open water predator. They top out around 16" and are very heavy bodied. They are incredibly fast , active & agressive .

Don't worry I'm not in Alberta , I'm in NB where these guys are still legal so I thought I'd share some pics. First up Channa pleuropthalma, these are my newest additions and still quite young but colouring up nicely !

You are correct there is a hybrid of channa maculata x argus that was/is produced in china for commercial purposes. The 2 species are very similar, maculata is basically a smaller tropical version of argus.

Yup , complete bans in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta & BC . Manitoba only has a ban on the Northern Snakehead -Channa Argus . It's too bad the other provinces couldn't have taken the time to research the species and put the ban on the one that matters rather then lumping all snakeheads together. I can understand the reasoning behind to banning a potentially evasive top level Pred like channa argus , but the others are not a risk.

Thanks for the info ! Too bad nobody is fighting this , it seems ridiculous to ban all channa over one potential invasive species . Espicallt so ce most channa look nothing like argus do they should be worried about misidentification. Argus is also rarely traded as aquarium species in the ranges where it has been introduced it was from agricultural sources not hobbiests. I will be righting to find out about the grandfathering thing . Not that I can see them hunting down hobbiests but if they are going to perhaps I could offer them a home if/when they are found. Does Anyone know of any organization in your province who is fighting this?

Maybe I should stick some of my holdbacks up for sale to give people a chance before the ban takes effect . I'm assuming that any that are/were purchased before the ban will be grandfathered in .

This is very sad to hear , is their any information available online in regards to this list and what gov agency is banning them??

Rainbow snakeheads or channa bleheri , top out ~6 inches (as previously stated by the op) They also would not survive our winters. There are no channa causing any harm in any Canadian waters. Your post is an excellent example of ignorance fed by ridiculous media hype . Simply because the fish has a common name that includes the word "snakehead" you start making ridiculous assumptions , obviously with absolutely no real knowledge of the species. You clearly didn't even bother to read the other posts in this thread since he even mentioned it's a dwarf and stated it's max size... I realize that's blunt but I keep many channa species and I see this sort of nonsense frequently , frankly it ticks me off . There are dozens of beautiful channa species , only a handful reach large sizes and only 1 species would even be capable of surviving a winter in Canada. Most are small colourful personable creatures who's unique natural adaptations make them perfect for aquarium life. Sorry for being blunt but posts like yours only feed into the media hype that has already resulted in ridiculous bans in some provinces. My advise is do some research on the species and the subject if your going to make statements like that.

Very nice!!

Nice build ! I second the warning on that RTC , it will very quickly outgrow that tank and I'm sure it'll swallow some tankmates along the way!

Good read! I remember seeing this sort of mod way back before I owned an fx5 and I had forgotten about it. I now have 3 fx5's that I'll have to get working on !

Depends on the size . I keep a fire eel with my rope they are roughly the same girth and do fine together.

Very nice! Keep the updates coming as he grows !

Ich can easily be treated with heat alone. Temperatures of 86f or higher will leave the ich parasite incapable of reproduction, maintain those temps for a period of 7-10 days and it is more then enough to completely eliminate them. The key to success here is the tank cannot fall below 86 at any time and there can't be any colder spots . If their is a place or period if time at 85f or lower the ich will just come back even worse! Use an internal thermometer, make sure to have good flow to evenly distribute heat and monitor both day and night temps to make sure it's all stable above 86. In the initial days of heat treatment expect to see an increase in the white spots on the fish , initially the heat speeds up the ichs life cycle so infestations spike , quickly after those cysts will drop off and it's in this stage that heat stops them from reproducing effectively ending the infestation. Also as a warning with high temps oxygen levels drop. I highly recommend adding an air pump if u don't have one , bottom dwellers will be effected first so keep an eye in them for any signs of oxygen depletion. Hope that helps

Thanks , I live just across the bridge in Riverview .

To be honest in a smaller pond/outdoor tank partial sun alone will often keep it warm enough . Direct sunlight may over heat it . I don't use a heater,I actually had to add grubs for shade. To keep the heat down . If u find a heater is necessary just plumb a black tube into the filter and coil it next pond in the sun. The sub will hear the black pipe and voila the filter pump now doubles as a heater with no extra cost. Covers/partial covers will also retain heat.